Massachusetts Succeeds in Halting Georges Bank Lease Sale

On March 28, 1983, Judge David Mazzone of the U.S. District Court in Boston issued a preliminary injunction to stop Lease Sale #52 (Massachusetts v. Watt, 13 ELR 20445). The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Conservation Law Foundation had filed motions requesting that the Court prohibit the Department of the Interior (DOI) from conducting the scheduled lease sale for the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas in the Georges Bank region of the outer continental shelf (OCS).