Conservation Groups Take Gulf ESA Exemption to D.C. Appeals Court

Overview

• Environmental groups led by the Southern Environmental Law Center, which filed in the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday, ask judges to review and potentially pause a federal waiver that lifts Endangered Species Act checks for Gulf oil and gas.
• The Endangered Species Committee, a seven-member panel nicknamed the “God Squad,” voted March 31 to grant a blanket exemption that removes the usual ESA review for activities such as exploratory drilling and ship traffic.
• The petition argues the panel skipped required steps by giving only two weeks’ public notice, holding a meeting that lasted about 15 minutes, and forgoing mandated hearings and scientific review.
• Conservationists say the waiver heightens risks from vessel strikes, noise, and spills to endangered species including the critically rare Rice’s whale, which scientists estimate at fewer than 100 individuals, and wildlife near sites like Everglades and Dry Tortugas national parks.
• A parallel lawsuit in D.C. district court by Earthjustice on behalf of Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, Turtle Island Restoration Network, and Healthy Gulf challenges the same decision, which followed a national-security request from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.