Now, oil rigs in the region face strict regulations to ensure that their systems are up to date. They are also required to comply with Endangered Species Act requirements to minimize their impact on vulnerable animals. The discovery of the latest threat to Rice’s whales says boats should immediately begin using technology to avoid ship strikes and monitor the animal’s presence.
But Trump has rolled back many environmental protections that stood in the way of oil. He removed drilling restrictions in ecologically sensitive areas. The Center for Biological Diversity estimates that their offshore fossil fuel expansion plans, based on average spill rates in recent decades, could trigger thousands of oil spills across the country. And his administration in February rescinded a guidance requiring oil and gas ships to slow down in the western Gulf to avoid colliding with whales.
God Squad can remove other regulations on industry activities. Farber said, noting that this national security waiver is unprecedented, only time will tell how it works. But he expects further litigation.
The Trump administration “is going to have a real benefit, because it is [claiming] National security, but they’re really pushing it to its far limits,” he said.
Plater said the Endangered Species Act is one of the few laws that allows citizens to increase enforcement through concrete actions. He’s seen it firsthand: The snail darter case that thrust the law into the public spotlight decades ago was inspired by an idea for one of his law student papers.
In his view, the committee that emerged from that case is “a very fair, careful bypass” of what are mostly extreme scenarios.
Now, however, Plater fears it will be “weaponized to roll back civil enforceable protections for all endangered and threatened species in the Gulf.”
He said, “This is not just talking about whales and the need for fossil fuels. This is another step to politicize citizen participation in statutory enforcement and the protection of public values.” “Take away almost any environmental controversy, and very soon you’re looking at big questions of democratic governance.”
Kylie Price is a reporter at Inside Climate News with a special interest in wildlife, ocean health, food systems and climate change. She writes ICN’s “Today’s Climate” newsletter, which covers the most important environmental news each week.
He earned a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Wake Forest University. His work has appeared in National Geographic, Time, Scientific American, and others. He is a former Pulitzer Reporting Fellow, during which he spent a month in Thailand covering the intersection between Buddhism and the country’s environmental movement.
This story was originally published on Inside Climate News.
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