Republicans led by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) proposed legislation that would prevent federal maritime rules from being issued related to the Rice’s whale, a recently discovered species in the Gulf of Mexico that’s causing a legal battle between the oil industry and the Biden administration.
Earlier this year, a coalition of environmental interest groups filed a petition with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish year-round vessel speed restriction zones and other mitigation measures for Rice’s whales, which were recognized two years ago by NOAA as a distinct species. In response, NOAA proposed a rule to establish critical habitat for the species in areas where the agency acknowledged oil and gas and military activity occurs, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Cassidy’s office.
Similarly, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) reached a sue-and-settle agreement with environmental interest groups to establish vessel transit restrictions and other obligations for only offshore oil and gas leaseholders that included removing millions of unleased acres from leasing, the summary says.
And while a federal district court recently ruled that BOEM could not do so, it’s expected such stipulations and the effort to withdraw acreage will appear in the next five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program, states the summary.
“At the last minute, the Biden administration imposed additional mitigation measures the Department of the Interior previously said were unnecessary and removed six million acres offshore for Rice’s whales at the request of their environmental donors,” Sen. Cassidy said. “Is there really no way for the whale to swim away from and around the area? We can protect wildlife, military activities, and vital energy production in the Gulf of Mexico at the same time.”
To end such efforts, Sen. Cassidy on Sept. 28 sponsored the Warding off Hostile Administrative Leasing Efforts (WHALE) Act, S. 2986, alongside six original cosponsors, including U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
If enacted, S. 2986 would prohibit the issuance of an interim or final rule — and prohibit the inclusion in certain oil and gas leases, exploration or development plans, or well permits requirements or recommendations — that establishes a vessel speed or operational restriction in the central or western planning area of the Gulf of Mexico until the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce complete a study demonstrating that proposed mitigation efforts would have no negative impact on supply chains, United States offshore energy production and generation, military activities, and U.S. commercial and recreational fishing maritime commerce, according to the bill’s text.
“Instead of placating Green New Deal activists, Washington needs to be doing everything we can to restore our nation’s energy independence,” said Sen. Lummis, the lead original cosponsor of S. 2986. “The WHALE Act will effectively thwart the Biden administration’s latest regulatory excuse it created out of thin air to target domestic energy production.”
Currently, only about 50 Rice’s whales remain in the Gulf of Mexico, making it one of the world’s most endangered marine mammals.