On February 6, 2017, CRE filed its First Comments with the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service on the Service’s proposed Bryde’s Whales listing. On February 23, 2017, CRE filed its Second Comments on NMFS’ proposed Bryde’s whale listing .
CRE’s Second Comments address one additional issue: NMFS’ failure to comply with the Office of Management and Budget’s “Agency Good Guidance Practices” Bulletin and with OMB’s implementing guidance for this Bulletin.
This OMB Bulletin is available here.
The International Association of Geophysical Contractors published the following article:
Emily Yehle, E&E News reporter
Published: Friday, February 3, 2017
About 30 baleen whales live year-round in an underwater canyon off the Florida Panhandle, in an area of the Gulf of Mexico that is currently off-limits to oil and gas activity but could be reopened in 2022.
The subspecies of Bryde’s whale may be the most endangered whale in the world, and right now, one U.S. law prohibits companies and agencies from killing or harassing them: the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has issued an incidental harassment authorization to the City of Kodiak to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, marine mammals during construction activities associated with pile driving
and removal and down hole drilling activities in Kodiak, Alaska. NMFS has issued this IHA under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. This Authorization is effective from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017.
NMFS used its new Acoustic Guidance in issuing this IHA.
The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service issued an Incidental Harassment Authorization to the U.S. Air Force, Eglin Air Force Base to take two species of marine mammals, the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin and Atlantic spotted dolphin, by harassment, incidental to a Maritime Weapon Systems Evaluation Program within the Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range in the Gulf of Mexico from February 4, 2017 through February 3, 2018. NMFS issued this IHA under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. This Authorization is effective from February 4, 2017, through February 3, 2018.
NMFS used its new Acoustic Guidance in issuing this IHA.
The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed to list the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale as an endangered species under the U.S Endangered Species Act. NMFS has extended the deadline for commenting on this proposed ESA listing to February 23, 2017. Click here to read NMFS’ Federal Register notice of this proposed action.
On February 6, 2017, the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness filed comments on the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Notice of 12-Month Finding on a Petition To List the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s Whale as Endangered Under the Endangered Species Act. CRE’s comments included the following Executive Summary (footnotes omitted):
“The Bryde’s whale is thriving all over the world. There is no evidence that they are declining in the GOM. NMFS has not identified a single Bryde’s whale that has actually been injured by oil and gas seismic, or by any other oil and gas activity in the GOM.
The International Association of Geophysical Contractors published the following article, which was originally posted here.
“Trump Immediately Makes Whitehouse.Gov Pro-Energy
Just hours after his inauguration, United States President Donald J. Trump has already started implementing changes on WhiteHouse.gov making it pro-energy. In addition to making America great again, Trump also wants to make American energy great again by eliminating “burdensome regulations.” A move he says will increase American wages by more than $30 billion over 7 years.
Below is a reprint of President Trump’s stated goals for American Energy on WhiteHouse.gov.
Seiche Ltd has distributed the following regarding a seminar on marine acoustics and regulation:
“We have an opportunity for you to discover the latest developments in marine acoustics and will help you understand the how noise impacts marine wildlife and get to grips with the regulations aimed at protecting our natural environment. Our four-day Marine Acoustics course is perfect for anyone working as a regulator, environmental consultant, researcher, policy or environmental professional who needs to understand the regulatory environment. It will give you the knowledge you need to analyse and act on the recommendations in reports generated as a result of environmental legislation.
