NRDC Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration's Decision to Bypass Endangered Species Protections for Gulf Oil and Gas

WASHINGTON, D.C.  — NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s use of the Endangered Species Committee, known as the “God Squad,” to exempt Gulf of Mexico oil and gas activities from the Endangered Species Act. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that the exemption lacks any rational basis and otherwise fails to comply with the law.

The Committee voted on March 31 to grant the sweeping exemption, allowing the oil and gas industry to bypass protections for some of the most imperiled wildlife in American waters, including five species of sea turtles, manatees, Rice's whales, sperm whales, shorebirds, and seabirds. It was the first time the Committee had been convened in more than 30 years, and the first time a Secretary of Defense has ever invoked the national security provision to force the Committee’s hand.

Following is a statement from Andrew Wetzler, senior vice president for Nature at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):

“On Monday, a panel of political appointees signed what amounts to an extinction warrant for Gulf wildlife. Today, we are going to court to tear it up. This exemption is illegal and has no basis in science, and no basis in national security. It exists for one reason: to insulate some of the wealthiest companies on the planet from accountability as they drive endangered species toward extinction.

“The law requires the wildlife agencies to first determine that a specific action would jeopardize a listed species and that no alternatives exist to avoid it. None of that happened. Instead, the Secretary of Defense invoked a national security power that has never been used in the history of the ESA, and the Committee rubber-stamped a blanket exemption for an entire industry in under twenty minutes.

“The national security rationale does not hold up. This administration shut down offshore wind projects, gutted renewable energy programs, and then manufactured an energy crisis to justify sacrificing endangered wildlife. The Endangered Species Act has protected America’s wildlife for more than 50 years. We are not going to let this administration bypass it based on bogus national security concerns.”

Species at risk

The Gulf of Mexico is home to more than two dozen marine and coastal species listed as endangered or threatened under the ESA. The exemption strips protections for wildlife already facing grave threats from oil and gas operations, including vessel strikes, seismic blasting, and oil spills.

The Rice’s whale is the only large whale that lives in the Gulf year-round, with an estimated population of just 51 individuals. Federal scientists have concluded that Gulf oil and gas operations are likely to jeopardize the species' continued existence. The Deepwater Horizon disaster killed nearly 20 percent of the entire population, and the loss of even a single breeding female could push the species into extinction.

Five species of sea turtles, including the Kemp's ridley, are directly threatened by Gulf oil and gas operations. NOAA has estimated that, without mitigation, the industry will kill more than 30,000 sea turtles in the region over the next 45 years.

Manatees are considered among the most vulnerable species to oil spills because they forage in intertidal seagrass habitats. For manatee habitat, a major spill could be catastrophic and irreversible.

The exemption also affects endangered sperm whales, Gulf sturgeon, and threatened shorebirds and seabirds including piping plovers, rufa red knots, and the endangered Black-capped Petrel.

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).