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The judge has rejected the Interior Department's argument. He's denied the Obama administration's request for a stay.

The Justice Department says in court papers that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has instructed all employees to not take any action to enforce the moratorium. It also says the department is sending letters to operators who received notices of suspension that those notices have no legal effect at this time. The government is seeking a delay in the ruling overturning the moratorium while it appeals the decision. The moratorium had halted approval of any new permits for deep water projects and suspended drilling on 33 exploratory wells.

The Justice Department says in court papers that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has instructed all employees to not take any action to enforce the moratorium. It also says the department is sending letters to operators who received notices of suspension that those notices have no legal effect at this time. The government is seeking a delay in the ruling overturning the moratorium while it appeals the decision. The moratorium had halted approval of any new permits for deep water projects and suspended drilling on 33 exploratory wells.

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A federal judge halted President Obama's deep-water oil-drilling moratorium on Tuesday, telling the government its justification for the ban was "rather overbearing" and misled the public in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.Judge Martin L.C. Feldman issued an injunction, describing the president's decision as rushed and ruling that the government had jumped to the conclusion that all deep-water drilling rigs are dangerous despite the lack of any evidence.The White House said it will immediately appeal, but in the meantime it is yet another setback as Mr. Obama seeks to show he has gained control of the environmental disaster in the region two months after the BP well first began gushing. Eleven workers were killed when the rig exploded on April 20.The moratorium has come under fire from lawmakers of both parties in the region, who said the halt could hurt the already struggling economy's chances of rebounding.