Trump plan to expand Gulf drilling ignores impacts on wildlife, lawsuit claims
MIAMI_A handful of environmental groups sued the Trump administration Thursday for failing to protect whales, sea turtles and other marine life in the Gulf of Mexico even as it pushes to expand drilling amid safety cutbacks.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Tampa, Earthjustice claimed the administration has yet to complete a long overdue study of hazards to wildlife from drilling following the 2010 explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig. The explosion, which left 11 workers dead, dumped at least 3 million barrels of oil into the Gulf, killing baby dolphins, causing heart problems in mahi mahi and leaving a trail of damage to marine life, from plankton to shrimp to oysters, that scientists are still trying to understand.
"You've got whales and sea turtles that not only have to contend with the everyday operations of drilling, but they have to rebuild their populations," said Earthjustice attorney Chris Eaton.
Following the spill, the Obama administration agreed to take another look at impacts from drilling. When it failed to complete a study by 2013, environmentalists sued. Wildlife officials agreed to complete it by 2015. It was never done.
A new assessment is even more critical now following Trump's move to undo Obama drilling bans and aggressively expand efforts, Eaton said. Earlier this year, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced plans to quadruple drilling in U.S. water, including Florida's Atlantic coast and in the eastern Gulf, where drilling was banned in 1988. Zinke quickly withdrew the plan after meeting with Florida Gov. Rick Scott in what critics called an election-year stunt.
More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-plan-to-expand-gulf-drilling-ignores-impacts-on-wildlife-lawsuit-claims/ar-AAyZeXE?li=BBnb7KB&ocid=Login
Fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon April 21, 2010. A Coast Guard MH-65C dolphin rescue helicopter and crew document the fire aboard the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon, while searching for survivors April 21, 2010. Multiple Coast Guard helicopters, planes and cutters responded to rescue the Deepwater Horizon's 126 person crew. © Tom Atkeson/Miami Herald/TNS
