**Court Mandates Improved Protection for Rice’s Whales Amid Oil and Gas Drilling Concerns in the Gulf of Mexico**
A recent decision by the US District Court for the District of Maryland has significant implications for the future of oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, particularly in the context of protecting the endangered Rice’s whale. The court ruling, issued on August 19, 2024, vacated the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) 2020 biological opinion due to its inadequate protection measures for the Rice’s whale and the Gulf sturgeon.
**Flawed Biological Opinion**
The originally flawed biological opinion was criticized for underestimating the risk and harm caused by oil spills to protected species. Specifically, the court noted that the NMFS assumed the population of the Rice’s whale remained as large as it was before the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which is not supported by the available evidence. The court highlighted that there are only an estimated 33 to 44 Rice’s whales in the world, significantly lower than the pre-spill numbers.
Additionally, the biological opinion was found to address only two of the five stressors likely to jeopardize the Rice’s whale. It failed to provide a clear explanation of how mitigation measures would protect the species, and it did not recognize oil spill take as an incidental take. These inadequacies led to a ruling that the biological opinion is unlawful and must be revised.
**Impact on Oil and Gas Industry**
The court’s decision has sent shockwaves through the offshore oil and gas industry, particularly in terms of potential disruptions to future drilling activities. Energy trade associations, including the American Petroleum Institute, the National Ocean Industries Association, and the EnerGeo Alliance, expressed significant concern about the delays in issuing a new biological opinion. These organizations fear that any disruption could severely impact energy production, threatening hundreds of thousands of energy workers in the region and contributing to energy