Obama really wants that drilling ban back

The White House asked a federal court in Louisiana to reinstate the ban on deepwater drilling, saying it is needed to lower the risk of a second spill similar to the one currently gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, several media outlets report.

The Justice Department said the six-month moratorium on drilling was needed to allow for the adoption of stricter safety and environmental regulations, according to a court filing Tuesday, the New York Times reports.

In the filing, the Obama administration listed “catastrophic impacts” of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion on April 20 that killed 11 workers and the need to minimize the chance of future oil spills.