Jindal steps up battle against Obama's 6-month deepwater drilling moratorium

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) has spent weeks throwing political punches at the Obama administration’s six-month freeze on deepwater oil-and-gas drilling, alleging it will wreak havoc on the region’s already battered economy.

Now, Jindal is battling the moratorium in the courtroom, too.

Jindal and state Attorney General Buddy Caldwell on Sunday filed a legal brief in support of a Louisiana-based offshore services company that’s asking a federal judge to lift the ban.

The ban is “effectively turning an environmental disaster into an economic catastrophe for the state,” the brief alleges.

The ban is in place while the administration and a White House-created independent commission review drilling safety in the wake of the BP oil spill.

Jindal’s brief — filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana — alleges the Interior Department “completely ignored” the effect the ban will have on Louisiana’s economy.

Offshore oil-and-gas is a $3 billion annual industry in the state, the brief claims, noting the salaries of rig workers, the scores of companies that have boat, food and other types of contracts, and many other ways the state's economy is tethered to drilling.

So, destroy a $3 billion industry to protect same; BRILLIANT.