Environmental Groups Seeks Adequate Wildlife Protection In Gulf Of Mexico - Lawsuit

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd October, 2020) Four environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service accusing the Federal agency of failing to comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by inadequately assessing the environmental harm of the offshore oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico, especially after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

"NMFS did not account for post-Deepwater Horizon population or habitat changes when assessing the effects of the program on ESA-listed species and habitats," the complaint said on Wednesday.

"And the agency once again arbitrarily assumed - as it did in 2007 - that an extremely large oil spill will not result from Interior's oil and gas program."

The environmental group Earthjustice filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Serra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth and Turtle Island Restoration Network.

The environmental groups are asking the court to order the National Marine Fisheries Service to sufficient protective biological opinion within six months, the lawsuit said.