White House: Revised drilling ban coming ‘in the next few days’

The Interior Department is on the cusp of issuing a revised moratorium on deepwater oil-and-gas drilling to replace an earlier ban that a federal judge blocked last week, according to the White House and the Interior Department.

Interior in late May issued the six-month ban on exploratory drilling in waters over 500 feet deep in response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar quickly pledged to impose a revised ban after the judge’s ruling.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday that he expects the revised Interior Department drilling freeze to be issued “in the next few days.” An Interior spokeswoman confirmed the time frame.

The administration is also appealing the June 22 ruling by Judge Martin Feldman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The judge ruled that Interior failed to justify the sweeping ban, siding with several companies that provide services to offshore rigs that challenged the drilling freeze.

Administration officials have defended the drilling freeze, but Salazar also hinted last week that the revised ban could be more flexible.