Trump Administration Uses “God Squad” to Allow Gulf Oil and Gas Industry to Bypass Endangered Species Protections

WASHINGTON, D.C.  — The Trump administration's Endangered Species Committee, known as the “God Squad,” today voted to exempt the federal Gulf of Mexico oil and gas activities from imperiled species protections under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The committee, convened for the first time in more than 30 years, voted to grant a sweeping exemption that bypasses critical safeguards for some of the most at-risk wildlife in American waters, including five species of sea turtles, manatees, Rice’s whales, and endangered sperm whales.

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

“What happened today is a warrant for the extinction of endangered species in the Gulf, signed by political appointees on behalf of some of the wealthiest companies on earth. The God Squad was designed for impossible, intractable conflicts where there was no other way forward. That is not what this is. This broad, baseless exemption could spell disaster for wildlife across the nation as it creates a gaping loophole in our most effective tool for protecting wildlife. 

“This is an administration handing Big Oil a free pass to kill off whales and sea turtles simply because complying with the law cuts into their profits. There are fewer than 100 Rice’s whales left on this planet. The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle has fought its way back from the edge of extinction. Today, a bunch of Cabinet officials with virtually no wildlife expertise acted like none of that matters.

“Let’s be clear about the so-called national security justification. This administration shut down offshore wind projects that were nearly complete, gutted renewable energy programs, and then manufactured an energy emergency to justify bulldozing protections for endangered animals. You cannot sabotage the alternatives and then claim the only option left is to sacrifice our wildlife. We will use every tool at our disposal to fight this.”

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 Rice’s whale is the only large whale that lives in the Gulf year-round, with an estimated population of just 51 animals. The National Marine Fisheries Service concluded that, without preventive measures, Gulf oil and gas activities are likely to jeopardize the species’ continued existence due to vessel strike risk. The BP Deepwater Horizon disaster killed nearly 20 percent of the entire Rice’s whale population.

Five species of sea turtles face ongoing threats from 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 highly vulnerable to oil spills because of their sea grass habitat and their foraging in the intertidal zone. The endangered sperm whale, the threatened Gulf sturgeon, and endangered and threatened seabirds like the piping plover, are also directly affected.

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).