Donald Trump is sending the so-called “God team” of top officials to remove protections for endangered species in the Gulf of Mexico, which is said to protect national security by expanding the activities of the oil and gas industry.
If successful, the system could kill many protected species – from Rice’s whales and cranes to sea turtles.
A rarely used “divine group” provision in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) allows the president to convene a committee of agency heads with the authority to protect endangered species. The committee is actually assessing whether the benefits of the proposed project outweigh the continued presence of protected wildlife.
The Trump administration is trying to justify the ESA exemption for “national security reasons”, marking the first time a defense request has been made. However, oil and gas companies have not requested this release, raising questions about why it is being requested, said Brett Hartl, director of government affairs for the Center For Biological Diversity, which has sued to prevent the committee from meeting.
The move may be aimed at lowering gas prices that are rising during the US-Israel war against Iran, opponents say. Trump wants to make it seem like the administration is taking action on the growing crisis, but the idea that there is a national security threat is “absurd” for a number of reasons, Hartl said.
“What’s the threat here? Or is the bigger threat Donald Trump’s poll numbers?” Hartl asked. “This is working and it’s red meat being dumped on the right side and the industry.”
There are only 51 whales left, and they and other wildlife are at risk of extinction as a result of the 2010 Horizon Deepwater oil spill, which devastated the bay when it leaked 210m litres.
This group, officially called the Committee on Endangered Species, includes seven leaders of government agencies, who, in rare cases where a major social or economic action enters into an “irresolvable conflict” with the ESA, each decision on whether the benefits of the project outweigh the health of the protected species.
If five of the seven votes are in favor of going ahead with the project, which could lead to the extinction of the species. It meets on March 31.
Among other actions, the “Team of God” suggests ignoring the need of the National Marine Fisheries Service for the oil and gas industry to drive ships at a safe speed in the eastern part and to watch the area of whales to avoid hitting and dying.
Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, wants to exempt all the activities of the oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico from the ESA, although the military and the industry have not proposed a specific plan, or talked about conflicts.
“No one wants this,” Hartl said.
The administration is also trying to get rid of Hegseth based on the clear, specific rules set out in the ESA, and citing national security threats as reasons.
The law requires that committee documents and meetings be open to the public. It has refused public documents requested by the Center for Biological Diversity, Hartl said. Its supposed open meeting was publicized, but not open to the public, the agency says in its lawsuit.
“God’s team” has been assembled only three times, and the only project that it destroyed the ESA was a dam, but the projects included reasonable provisions that helped the endangered cranes to survive. Andrew Bowman, president of the advocacy group Defenders of Wildlife, said no administration from either party has tried to circumvent the protocols like Hegseth.
“Hegseth’s view that our national security somehow needs to risk the extinction of threatened and endangered species by ignoring the requirements of the ESA is an outrageous disregard for America’s national wildlife heritage — and the rule of law,” Bowman said in a statement.
Even if Hegseth and the administration were following protocol, it’s not clear whether lowering gas prices is consistent with the spirit of the law, Hartl said. He noted that Congress included a military exemption when it passed the ESA, but lawmakers at the time made it clear that it was intended to apply to military exercises or exercises.
The original Center For Biological Diversity argued Friday during an emergency hearing, and the judge has yet to make a decision. The suit focuses on the system’s failure to follow protocol.
Administrators can easily follow the protocol and reissue the release in a few days, Hartl said. If it does, the Center for Biological Diversity will likely object, and argue against using gas prices as a reason for the exemption.
“It’s sad that Rice’s whale, which has lived in the oceans of this planet for millions of years, can now become extinct because of the carelessness of a small person,” said Hartl.
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