"Appeals Court to Hear Arguments on Pace of Offshore Drilling Permits"

"The latest phase in the legal fight over offshore drilling permits that was kick-started by last year's Deepwater Horizon disaster begins this week with two back-to-back arguments in a federal appeals court in New Orleans.

[On Tuesday, April 26], a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will consider two related cases concerning permits that were approved around the time of the April 20 explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Both cases arise from allegations made by environmentalists that the government violated environmental laws in approving permits both before and in the immediate aftermath of the spill. "

Lawrence Hurley reports for Greenwire April 25, 2011.

SEE ALSO:

"New Containment Technologies Jump-Start Offshore Drilling but Fail to Quell Oil Spill Concerns" (Greenwire)