The federal government has auctioned off sections of the Gulf of Mexico for offshore oil drilling for the first time since the area was hit by the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Companies submitted $1.7 billion in winning bids for areas off the coast of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. Oil company BP reportedly won dozens of leases to drill in the region near the site of its historic 2010 disaster. Environmental groups had tried to block the sale with a lawsuit earlier this week, saying the drilling would imperil an already battered ecosystem.