please-oppose-gulf-biop-provision-in-reconciliation-ed6e3374615c1160.pdf

A coalition of environmental and animal welfare organizations argues that a House reconciliation bill would jeopardize the Rice’s whale by legislating that a 2020 Trump-era Biological Opinion (BiOp) is sufficient for oil and gas lease sales, despite the BiOp being struck down by a U.S. District Court in 2024. The authors claim the bill would allow oil and gas companies to bypass environmental reviews and further weaken existing mitigation measures, specifically those regarding seismic airgun surveys, risking the extinction of the 50-100 remaining Rice’s whales.

• The House reconciliation bill proposes to legislate that a 2020 Biological Opinion (BiOp) regarding oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico is sufficient for all mandated lease sales and development for the next 40-50 years, despite that document being previously struck down in court.
• The proposed bill would further reduce protections by removing specific mitigation measures from the 2020 BiOp, particularly those intended to reduce harm caused by seismic airgun surveys.
• In 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ruled that the 2020 BiOp violated the Endangered Species Act because it failed to account for the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, future oil spills, and the need for mitigation to prevent the extinction of Rice’s whales.
• Rice’s whales, with an estimated population of 50-100 individuals, are exclusively found in Gulf waters and face threats from oil spills, ship strikes, and underwater blasting from seismic air guns.

APA

Earthjustice (2025). please-oppose-gulf-biop-provision-in-reconciliation-ed6e3374615c1160.pdf. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/please-oppose-gulf-biop-provision-in-reconciliation.pdf

Chicago

Earthjustice. please-oppose-gulf-biop-provision-in-reconciliation-ed6e3374615c1160.pdf. 2025. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/please-oppose-gulf-biop-provision-in-reconciliation.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Earthjustice |title=please-oppose-gulf-biop-provision-in-reconciliation-ed6e3374615c1160.pdf |date=May 2025 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/please-oppose-gulf-biop-provision-in-reconciliation.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{earthjustice2025pleaseopposegulfbiopprovisioninreconciliationed6e3374615c1160pdf, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{please-oppose-gulf-biop-provision-in-reconciliation-ed6e3374615c1160.pdf}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2025}, month = may, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/please-oppose-gulf-biop-provision-in-reconciliation.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }