To block all future oil and gas drilling in more than 625 million acres of federal waters, equivalent to nearly a quarter of the total land area of ​​the United States, President Joe Biden will move on Monday.

The action underscores how Biden has struggled to cement his legacy on climate change in his final weeks in office. President-elect Donald Trump, who has described his energy policy as “Mine, baby, mine,” is likely to work with congressional Republicans to challenge the decision.

Biden will issue two memos barring future federal oil and gas leasing in large swaths of the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, eastern Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s northern Bering Sea, the two people said. The oil and gas industry has long prized the eastern Gulf of Mexico, viewing the region as a key part of its offshore production plans.

Some details of the expected decision were first reported by Bloomberg News. The total extent and inclusion of the Northern Bering Sea has not been previously reported.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

OR Caroline Leavitta spokesman for the Trump transition team, said: “This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people for ordering President Trump to increase drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail and we’ll mine, baby, we’ll mine».

The move could have the biggest impact on the Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for about 14 percent of the country’s crude oil production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Industrial activities there are concentrated in a small patch of federal waters off the coast of Louisiana.

The decision would have little effect on a stretch of the Atlantic from North Carolina to Florida where no drilling is taking place. There is weak industry interest in the area, and lawmakers from both parties have expressed concerns about potential oil spills ruining local beaches and tourism.

In fact, Trump imposed 10-year moratorium to offshore oil exploration off the coasts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina when courting voters there during his 2020 campaign.”This protects your beautiful bay and your beautiful ocean, and will do so for a long time to comeTrump said as he announced the election-year reversal during an appearance at a Florida lighthouse.

The Northern Bering Sea, off the coast of western Alaska, is home to migratory marine mammals such as bowhead and beluga whales, walruses and ice seals, which are hunted by many Alaska Natives. In 2016, President Barack Obama issued an executive order banning oil and gas exploration in more than 112,000 square miles of marine habitat in the Northern Bering Sea and called for tribal management of the protected area.

Environmentalists praised Biden’s plans, saying they would prevent future oil spills that threaten coastal communities and marine wildlife.

“No one wants an oil spill on their shores, and our hope is that this can be a bipartisan historic moment where partisan differences are put aside for future generations.said Joseph Gordon, climate and energy campaign director for the conservation group Oceana.

The industry has defended its safety record, and several industry groups are criticizing the expected decision. THE Erik Militopresident of the National Ocean Industries Association, which represents the offshore oil and wind power industries, said areas of little interest today could become important to national security in the future.

“Even if there is no immediate interest in some sectors, it is vital for the federal government to maintain the flexibility to adjust its energy policy, especially in response to unexpected global changes such as the Russian invasion of UkraineMilito said. “Blanket bans only serve to shift energy production and economic opportunity overseas, to the benefit of countries like Russia at our expense».

Biden plans to invoke the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, which gives the president broad powers to withdraw federal waters from future leasing. A federal judge ruled in 2019 that such withdrawals cannot be reversed without an act of Congress.

The cRepresentative Mike Lee (R-Utah); the new chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, suggested he would seek to overturn the decision using the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers to overturn an executive action within 60 days of passing it by a simple majority.

The expected traffic is “yet another attempt by the Biden administration to undermine the incoming Trump administration and ignore the will of the American people – who voted decisively to reverse this war on American energyLee said, adding: “Republican Senators will push back the measure using every tool at our disposal».

Biden and his deputies are working to finalize several conservation policies in the final days of his term. The Interior Department proposed limiting energy development on more than 260,000 acres in Nevada’s Ruby Mountains earlier this week.

On Tuesday, Biden will travel to California to designate two national monuments on lands sacred to indigenous tribes — the roughly 644,000-acre Chuckwalla National Monument in Southern California and the roughly 200,000-acre Sáttítla National Monument near the Oregon border.