The Obama administration has filed an appeal in the Fifth Circuit challenging a federal judge’s reversal of its deepwater drilling moratorium:

In replying Tuesday to Judge Feldman’s order, the Interior Department, joined by the Justice Department, stated that the continued suspension of drilling was required because continued operations without new safety measures threatened irreparable harm to the marine and coastal environment across the gulf. The government also said that the BP oil spill had taxed the resources available to respond to and clean up the mess and that a second blowout would be impossible to address.
“Because this deepwater spill has been impossible to fully contain,” the government reply said, “Interior had to take immediate action to minimize the risk of another spill, especially while efforts to contain and clean up this one are ongoing. The stakes are even higher now that it is hurricane season.”
The Interior Department, which oversees oil and gas exploration on public lands and offshore, is charged with the “prudent and safe” management of those resources, the court filing said.
“A short-term suspension of deepwater drilling while safety regulations are updated is necessary to achieve that goal,” the document stated.

More here.