Federal Court Dismisses Another Challenge to Energy Development in Gulf of America

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia yesterday dismissed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2018 biological opinion and 2025 consultation determination for oil and gas activities in the Gulf of America. 

In March, the Endangered Species Committee voted unanimously to exempt oil and gas activities in the Gulf of America from the Endangered Species Act’s requirements. The Committee acted on the Secretary of War’s finding that the exemption was necessary for national security reasons. The ruling follows a similar decision in Maryland in June and a related April ruling in Louisiana, both giving effect to the exemption.

“This Department of Justice will never cease defending this Administration's efforts to ensure our Nation's security,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. “We are pleased that a third court has correctly applied the Committee’s national security exemption to dismiss another legal challenge intended to pose an obstacle to oil and gas production in the Gulf of America. Make no mistake, under President Trump, American energy dominance is back.”

“The national security exemption for Gulf of America oil and gas activities means what it says, as another federal court has now confirmed,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Energy and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “This decision removes another obstacle to energy production vital to our national security. The Department will keep defending President Donald J. Trump’s agenda to unleash American energy.”

The Endangered Species Committee, chaired by the Secretary of the Interior, may exempt federal agency actions from the Act’s requirements. The statute directs the committee to grant an exemption for any agency action if the Secretary of War finds it necessary for reasons of national security.

Attorneys with ENRD’s Wildlife and Marine Resources Section handled this matter.