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Brian Collins, an attorney for the Justice Department, insisted Monday that the suspension is necessary while officials conduct a safety review after the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
But a group of companies that provide boats and equipment to the offshore drilling industry filed a lawsuit claiming the government has no evidence that existing operations pose a threat to the Gulf of Mexico. They want a court to declare the moratorium invalid and unenforceable.
The office of Louisiana's governor has filed a brief supporting their case.
"This is environmental disaster. Let's not make an economic disaster," Henry Dart, an attorney for the state of Louisiana, said Monday.
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