By Nichola Groom
March 31 (Reuters) – A federal panel, convened for the first time in more than three decades, voted unanimously on Tuesday to exempt oil and gas drillers in the Gulf of Mexico from a law meant to protect endangered species including whales, birds and sea turtles.
The meeting of the Endangered Species Committee, nicknamed the “God Squad” because of its power to grant exemptions to the Nixon-era Endangered Species Act, is the latest effort by the Trump administration to unwind regulations it says hold back domestic energy production.
The six members of the committee – Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Neil Jacobs and Acting Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Pierre Yared – said they were obligated to vote for the exemption because it had been requested by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Burgum, the committee’s chairman, invoked the global oil disruption from the war in Iran in linking the issue with the need for domestic energy supplies to support military operations and readiness.
“Current events have shown the impact of what can happen when major energy sources are taken offline,” he said.
Hegseth, who was seated next to Burgum at the livestreamed meeting, said he asked for the exemption because pending lawsuits threatened to stop oil and gas activities in the Gulf.
“We cannot allow our own rules to weaken our standing and strengthen those who wish to harm us,” Hegseth said. “So for these reasons, exemption from the Endangered Species Act in the Gulf is not just a good idea, it is a critical matter of national security.”
The ESA allows for exemptions if the defense secretary finds it is needed for national security reasons, a provision that has never been tested.
The endangered Rice’s whale has been the subject of litigation over oil and gas exploration in the Gulf in recent years. A federal environmental analysis last year found that vessel strikes related to oil and gas drilling are likely to threaten the whale’s existence.
Rice’s whales are one of the rarest whale species in the world, according to NOAA, with fewer than 100 remaining.
Environmental groups vowed to challenge the vote in court.
“This amoral action by Pete Hegseth and Trump’s cronies is as horrific as it is illegal, and we’ll overturn it in court,” Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in an emailed statement.
An oil and gas industry group said Gulf activities remained subject to environmental protections under a range of other federal laws, including the Marine Mammal Protection Act and National Environmental Policy Act.
“Today’s decision reflects that these robust protections are in place, and that serial litigation from activist groups targeting a lawful, well-regulated industry should not be allowed to indefinitely obstruct projects of clear national importance,” Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, said in an emailed statement.
(Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Bill Berkrot, David Gaffen and Mark Porter)
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