W. Parker Moore

What Happened: The Endangered Species Committee (the Committee, or the “God Squad”) voted to exempt Gulf oil and gas activities related to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Program from Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation requirements based on national security concerns. This action marks the first time the Committee has ever granted an exemption on the basis of national security.

What Happened: The Endangered Species Committee (the Committee, or the “God Squad”) voted to exempt Gulf oil and gas activities related to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Program from Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation requirements based on national security concerns. This action marks the first time the Committee has ever granted an exemption on the basis of national security.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services) proposed four rules that would modify key Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations. Two of the proposed rules were issued jointly by the Services, and two were issued solely by FWS.