Gulf oil spill: U.S. asks judge to delay his ruling against its gulf drilling moratorium

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WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration asked a judge to delay a court ruling that overturned a moratorium on new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

In court papers, the Justice Department says that it is appealing the decision by U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman.

On Tuesday, the judge overturned an Obama administration moratorium, saying the government simply assumed that because one deep-water rig exploded, the others pose an imminent danger too.

The Interior Department imposed the moratorium last month in the wake of the BP disaster, halting approval of any new permits for deep-water projects and suspending drilling on 33 exploratory wells.

-- Associated Press