U.S. exempts oil industry from protecting Gulf animals, for 'national security'

U.S. exempts oil industry from protecting Gulf animals, for 'national security'

A committee of Trump administration officials voted unanimously on Tuesday to exempt the oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico from requirements of the Endangered Species Act, a move that would lift protections for endangered whales, turtles and other animals threatened with extinction.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth triggered the vote two weeks ago by asking Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to call it "for reasons of national security," and was present at the meeting.

"To be secure as a nation we need a steady, affordable supply of our own energy," Hegseth told the six members of the committee, nicknamed the God Squad for its ability to make life or death decisions about endangered animals. "This is not just about gas prices; it's about our ability to power our military and protect our nation."

Until now, oil and gas companies have been asked by federal agencies to protect Gulf species by not discarding trash into the Gulf and suspending their use of loud technology when they spot whales, among other requests.

One species of Gulf whale is particularly vulnerable. Scientists estimate that only about 51 Rice's whales are left on Earth, all of them in waters of the Gulf of Mexico, which the Trump administration has termed the Gulf of America.

On Tuesday, Dr. Neil Jacobs, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Under Secretary of Commerce, made clear that oil and gas companies would no longer need to adhere to protections — for Rice's whales and any other animals previously protected by the Endangered Species Act.

"I want to highlight that the agency action under consideration — all oil and gas activities in the Gulf of America — encompasses the full suite of actions including various protective measures for the Rice's Whale," said Jacobs. "I will be voting to grant the exemption."

Conservation and pro-democracy groups called the vote "illegal" and characterized the national security justification as a manufactured threat.

"On the one hand, you have the oil and gas industry, it's one of the wealthiest industries on the planet, and the other, you have one of our most endangered whales," said Michael Jasny, a senior policy analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "It's caused enormous outrage and astonishment."

The energy industry has been accused of causing the whales harm before. After the Deepwater Horizon spill leaked more than 200 million gallons of BP's oil into the Gulf in 2010, covering about half of the Rice's whale habitat, the Rice's whale population declined by as much as 22 percent. The number of existing whales is so low that scientists have warned the loss of a single additional whale could endanger future reproduction and tip the species toward extinction.

A spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute, a lobbying group for oil and gas companies said the energy industry had a track record of protecting wildlife while developing offshore energy.

"Over the long term, American energy leadership depends on getting that balance right through reasonable, science-based protections while meeting growing energy demand," said Andrea Woods.

A gathering of the six-person committee has only happened before after extensive prior consultation with environmental agencies and months of public notice. Just three meetings have happened over the past 50 years and only once did an exemption take effect.

"Not only is a God Squad convening as rare as hen's teeth in the first instance, but this snap announcement that came a week and a half ago is so vague that the public doesn't even really know what the committee is supposed to consider," said Jane Davenport, a senior attorney at Defenders of Wildlife, a conservation nonprofit. "So it's just completely baffling, but it is on brand for this administration."

The Center for Biological Diversity sued U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in federal court on March 18, saying the government violated the law by not taking the proper steps or providing enough public information before calling the committee meeting.

In its response to that lawsuit, filed Wednesday night, the Trump administration said Hegseth was the one who asked the Interior Department to call the committee meeting. The Endangered Species Act includes a provision requiring the committee to "grant an exemption for any agency action if the Secretary of Defense finds that such exemption is necessary for reasons of national security."

A federal judge last week declined to delay the meeting, which the Interior Department streamed on YouTube.

Brian Segee, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the consequences of the vote could be immediate and significant.

"Once an exemption is issued, it is sweeping. It applies not only to the one species that had a jeopardy finding, Rice's whale — it applies to every other listed species in the Gulf in relation to oil and gas operations, which will go on for decades," said Segee.

Rice's whales are not the only animals at risk in the Gulf. Sperm whales, the West Indian manatee and several Gulf sea turtles are also listed as threatened or endangered.