The parties in the GOM Take Rule litigation in Louisiana Federal Court asked the judge to extend the case deadline extension for settlement discussions to June 10, 2020. The judge has granted their request.
The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has received a request from the U.S. Navy to take marine mammals incidental to training and testing activities conducted in the Northwest Training and Testing Study Area. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act. NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue regulations and subsequent Letters of Authorization to the Navy to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS will consider public comments prior to issuing any final rule and making final decisions on the issuance of the requested LOAs. Agency responses to public comments will be provided in the notice of the final decision. Comments and information must be received no later than July 17, 2020.
Editor’s note: Rigzone published the above titled article, which reads as follows
Potential leasing and drilling bans threaten the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) oil and natural gas industry’s contribution to U.S. energy production, employment, gross domestic product (GDP) and government revenues, according to a new National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) study.
Citing calls for no offshore drilling by former Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and others, NOIA contends political efforts to curb offshore production would harm the Gulf Coast and national economies.
Tuesday, May 19, 2020 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM CST
Zoom Meeting
The IAGC is hosting a Webinar: Energy in the Time of COVID, featuring Dr. Scott Tinker, Chairman of Switch Energy Alliance to facilitate a discussion about where the oil and gas industry will be post-COVID19.
IAGC has set up a Virtual Screening Room to stream the global energy documentary Switch On, the highly anticipated sequel to Switch! Watch Now!
Our streaming page will be available for 1-month to an unlimited number of viewers. Share this link with friends and colleagues and enjoy the film!
Click here for more information and relevant links.
On April, 29, 2020, the United District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana granted the parties stipulated motion to extend the settlement deadline in the Gulf of Mexico oil and gas seismic case. The court extended the settlement stay from May 5, 2020, to June 4, 2020. The parties’ stay motion stated in part:
“Federal Defendants have informed the parties that making the necessary revisions to the MMPA rule and securing the necessary reviews and coordination will require additional time and prevent NMFS from completing Final Action by May 5, 2020. NMFS and BOEM therefore have initiated discussions amongst the parties regarding an extension of the litigation stay beyond May 5, 2020. The Parties presently seek a 30-day extension of the litigation stay as an interim measure to allow them to continue their discussions.”
On April 21, 2020, the Federal Defendants filed with the Atlantic MMPA IHA litigation Court a supplement to the administrative record pursuant to the Court’s January 6, 2020 Order (ECF 352). The Government’s record supplement is voluminous and comes with the following Government caveat:
“Consistent with the arguments advanced in the United States’ petition for certiorari in U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. v. Sierra Club, Federal Defendants believe that drafts of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s biological opinion that were exchanged with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management are protected by the deliberative process privilege, see, No. 19-547, cert. granted (U.S. Mar. 2, 2020), but are including them in this supplement as directed by the Court pursuant to its January 6, 2020 Order.”
The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service seeks public comment on an Incidental Harassment Authorization for the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University to take marine mammals incidental to a marine geophysical survey in the northeast Pacific Ocean. This IHA is proposed under the U.S Marine Mammal Protection Act. NMFS also requests comments on a possible one-year renewal that could be issued under certain circumstances and if all requirements are met. Comments and information must be received by NMFS no later than May 7, 2020. Click here for more information and relevant links.
PAME II – 2020
22 Sep-24 Sep 2020
Anchorage, Alaska, USA
By invitation only.
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has published its Record of Decision for its proposed Gulf of Mexico region wide oil and gas Lease Sale 254. This Record of Decision identifies BOEM’s selected alternative for proposed Lease Sale 254, which is analyzed in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Lease Sale: Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement 2018 (2018 GOM Supplemental EIS). Click here more information and relevant links.
The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has issued an IHA to the United States Department of the Navy to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, marine mammals during submarine training and testing activities associated with Ice Exercise 2020 (ICEX20) north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. The Navy’s activities are considered military readiness activities pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004
This authorization is effective from February 1, 2020, through January 31, 2021.
Click here for more information and relevant links.
