(The Center Square) — The Trump administration’s plan to allow more oil and gas exploration off the Gulf Coast has received a legal challenge from environmental groups. 

A lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeks to halt a Dec. 10 offshore oil and gas lease sale covering 80 million acres. The sale is the first of 30 required in the Gulf through 2040 under a bill signed by President Donald Trump in July.