WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Katie Boyd Britt (R-AL), John Kennedy (R-LA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Roger Wicker (R-MS) called on U.S. Departments of Commerce and Interior to back away from advancing regulations regarding the Rice’s whale that would impede offshore energy development and military activities. The letter also highlights the lack of scientific evidence underpinning the Biden administration’s proposals.
“We write to express deep concerns with recent proposed rulemakings and potential future actions concerning the Rice’s whale. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), as well as the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), have actively pursued unnecessary measures for the Rice’s whale at the expense of communities along the Gulf of Mexico,” wrote the senators.
“[W]e strongly urge that NOAA, NMFS, and BOEM refrain from advancing regulations that lack sound scientific backing,” continued the senators. “It is unacceptable to impose regulations with significant impacts to coastal communities based on generalizations and poor data… When issuing regulations with such significant impacts to our economy and national security, it is imperative to rely on the best available science. We agree with the importance of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act but caution you to avoid moving forward with regulations without verifiable scientific data. Rather than depending on centuries-old whaling records and non-peer reviewed claims for rulemaking, NOAA and BOEM should gather new, verified data on the species in question.”
Read the full letter here or below:
Dear Secretary Raimondo and Secretary Haaland,
We write to express deep concerns with recent proposed rulemakings and potential future actions concerning the Rice’s whale. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), as well as the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), have actively pursued unnecessary measures for the Rice’s whale at the expense of communities along the Gulf of Mexico. While we appreciate that NOAA denied the petition to establish vessel speed measures in the Gulf and that BOEM removed Rice’s whale stipulations from Lease Sale 261, we strongly urge that NOAA, NMFS, and BOEM refrain from advancing regulations that lack sound scientific backing.
Look no further than NOAA’s own proposed rule designating a critical habitat for the Rice’s whale to see that the Biden Administration is relying on “limited data” and generalizations to set consequential regulations. The proposal clearly states, “As with its life history, little information exists on the behavior of the Rice’s whale.” Even the population estimate for the Rice’s whale is based on insufficient data with a massive confidence interval. NOAA admits that “precision of all estimates is poor.” Instead of gathering data on the specific species in question, the proposal then relies on information for “Bryde’s-like whales.” It is unacceptable to impose regulations with significant impacts to coastal communities based on generalizations and poor data.
In addition, the sources that NOAA cites to justify the rulemaking are questionable. The proposed rule includes four references to Garrison et al. (2022), a technical memorandum issued by NOAA that was “not subject to complete formal review, editorial control, or detailed editing.” Furthermore, the proposed rule justified the massive critical habitat expansion by citing whaling records from the 1700s and 1800s. Data that is more than 100 years old is surely not the best available science.
While NOAA and BOEM’s data is incomplete, we do have a robust understanding of the economic impact of the Gulf of Mexico. Our ports provide a clear view of commercial activity in and out of the Gulf. In Texas, the Port of Houston generated $439 billion in statewide economic value in 2022. Ports across the state of Louisiana generated $182 billion in statewide economic impact, which includes nine ports located directly on the coast. In Alabama, the Port of Mobile generated more than $85 billion in total economic activity in 2021. Imposing restrictions on development in the Gulf of Mexico would directly harm the economic activity and jobs across coastal communities.
When issuing regulations with such significant impacts to our economy and national security, it is imperative to rely on the best available science. We agree with the importance of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act but caution you to avoid moving forward with regulations without verifiable scientific data. Just yesterday, NOAA announced supposed sightings that “could be used to improve the Rice’s whale abundance estimate,” clearly highlighting that more work is needed before any agency action. Rather than depending on centuries-old whaling records and non-peer reviewed claims for rulemaking, NOAA and BOEM should gather new, verified data on the species in question.
Background
The Biden administration entered into a closed-door settlement agreement with the Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, and Turtle Island Restoration Network. As part of that agreement, the administration voluntarily removed 6 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico from potential oil and gas production. BOEM also wanted to impose a 10-knot speed limit and restrict nighttime transit for oil and gas vessels throughout the area, significantly disrupting companies’ ability to drill and produce oil and gas in the Gulf. The decision would effectively deter oil and gas companies from being able to use their vessels properly and efficiently in the Gulf of Mexico, making production unsafe and nearly impossible.
The agreement is based on the idea that ship traffic in the central and western Gulf of Mexico could disturb the habitat of the Rice’s whale. This is based on a singular study with a flawed methodology, and federal statutes and regulations require much more evidence before such a sweeping decision is handed down. BOEM is also unilaterally imposing these restrictions on only oil and natural gas companies, which make up a small portion of the overall ship traffic in the area.
The restrictions imposed by the agreement could result in reduced bidding in the next offshore lease sale, reduced investment in the region, fewer jobs, and higher prices for all Americans. Fifteen percent of the country’s crude oil is produced from Gulf of Mexico, which will be stifled due to the Biden administration’s shortsighted decisions.
Last September, Cassidy led a group of colleagues in introducing the Warding Off Hostile Administrative Lease Efforts (WHALE) Act to prevent the U.S. Departments of Commerce and the Interior from issuing maritime rules related to the Rice’s whale that would impede offshore energy development and military activities.
He also filed an amicus brief asserting that the settlement agreement undermined the faithful execution of the laws since the lease sale was required by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. At the direction of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the BOEM announced they will hold the oil and gas lease sale for the Gulf of Mexico on December 20, 2023, and include lease blocks that were previously and unlawfully excluded due to stipulations on the Rice’s whale.
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