A U.S. District Court has rejected a flawed federal environmental assessment that underestimated the risks of offshore drilling to endangered marine species in the Gulf of Mexico.
The court found the National Marine Fisheries Service's 2020 biological opinion underestimated the risks of oil spills and failed to protect endangered species like the Rice’s whale.
The court ruled that the opinion violated the law by assuming that large oil spills, like the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, were unlikely to occur.
The federal agency must produce a new, legally compliant assessment by December 2024.
Key quote:
“This decision means the Fisheries Service must comply with the law to put in place meaningful safeguards for the Gulf’s rarest marine species.”
— Chris Eaton, senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Oceans Program
Why this matters:
Endangered species in the Gulf face severe risks from oil drilling, with flawed assessments potentially worsening these threats. Proper environmental oversight is crucial to prevent further ecological disasters.
Warming waters and a series of dams are making the grueling migration of the Chinook salmon even more deadly — and threatening dozens of other species.
