Issues

  • ICYMI: IPAA held its annual meeting in Austin, Texas this week. The event included an array of sessions, including a panel on State Perspectives on Wildlife Conservation featuring Texas Comptroller Glen Hegar. For more information on the session reach out to SMcDonald@ipaa.org.

Trump admin. rolls out proposal for Interior, merging NOAA and FWS. This week, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held the first congressional hearing to review the 132-page government-wide reorganization plan of the Trump administration. The energy and environmental ideas presented by the White House Office of Management and Budget are only part of a larger reorganization blueprint that includes a possible merger of the Education and Labor Departments as well as merging the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and NOAA Fisheries within the Department of the Interior (DOI).

The plan, released by the White House on June 21,seeks to efficiently bulk up the DOI, among other changes. DOI officials have often cited FWS and NOAA Fisheries overlap, such as with their joint responsibility for reviewing the impacts of a proposed dam on endangered species. Administration officials said it would make sense to combine the agencies as a way to end the confusion over who’s in charge of implementing the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Critics have long complained that the agencies oftentimes have overlapping jurisdictions, leading to unnecessary red tape.

Congressional criticism of the plan largely tackles the timing and structure of the proposal especially after Margaret Weichert, deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, testified that the ambitious government reorganization plan could take 3-5 years to fully implement. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), ranking member of the committee, faulted the administration for failing to work on the proposal with Congress, asserting that its details were kept “secret” from members. Former chairman of the House oversight panel Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) sounded a similar theme by saying that previous government reorganization plans were rolled out in such a way “where Congress has to buy in along the way, along with interest groups,” and faulted the process of the current proposal because it “brings Congress into the process to seek approval of a plan after it is written.”

Despite his criticism of the proposal process, Issa was “delighted to see a real proposal” for reorganization, and spoke approvingly of the plan’s aim to improve government services through better use of technology, something he said was “long overdue in government.”

Lawmakers won’t, however, be able to approve the administration’s plan immediately, as many proposals will require congressional approval. The plan is expected to be under review for the duration of the summer.

New gas project in Wyoming Sage-Grouse habitat as Forest Service and BLM announce Sage-Grouse plan changes. A new gas project in Wyoming drew closer to federal approval last Thursday with the release of a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).  The BLM is considering the Normally Pressured Lance (NPL) natural gas project from Jonah Energy. The firm proposed a well-drilling project that would generate more than 900 jobs during development and about $1.1 billion in royalty revenue for Wyoming, according to the federal estimates. The project has been subject to additional scrutiny as its location encompasses the only winter concentration known for the Greater sage-grouse.

While the BLM mulls over Jonah Energy’s proposal, the agency is also in the process of hosting open house meetings, along with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), in Wyoming and across 5 other neighboring  Western states to discuss the proposed changes to their management plans for the sage-grouse. Changes include eliminating special designations for sage-grouse habitat and opening up previously closed land to mining, oil and gas.

Despite pushback on their plans, BLM made clear its’ priorities as they consider Jonah Energy’s NPL project and other oil and gas leasing proposals. “I think there’s no delusion here, with the state of Wyoming or with the proponent. There is sage grouse habitat here, and we’re going to have to be judicial of development in this area,” said Brad Purdy, a BLM Wyoming spokesman. Public comments on the proposed changes to sage-grouse management plans are being accepted through Aug. 2 and BLM is expected to decide the fate of the NPL project within a month.

**Please note there will be no ESA newsletter next week. Happy July 4th to all!**

In the News

House passes farm bill on partisan vote; eyes turn to Senate. E&E News (Sub req’d).  The House yesterday passed — on a partisan and razor-thin vote — a five-year farm bill that would preserve much of the farm safety net while cutting conservation programs and tightening work-related mandates for recipients of low-income nutrition assistance. The vote was 213-211. Twenty Republicans voted against the bill, and no Democrats voted for it. Yesterday’s passage was an about-face from the same bill’s demise in May, when conservative Republicans pushing for a vote on separate legislation imposing tougher immigration restrictions voted against the farm bill in protest, causing it to fail on the floor. Supporters say the 2018 farm bill (H.R. 2) would preserve crop insurance and other farm supports at a time of declining farm income, while giving recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program an incentive to grow out of the program.

FWS pitches new plan to protect red wolves. E&E News (Sub req’d). The Fish and Wildlife Service today called for significant changes in the management of the North Carolina red wolf, an animal that has long been entangled in both science and politics. Citing the “limited” success of current tactics, and a need for greater “flexibility to respond to the red wolf’s conservation needs,” the agency proposed new approaches that include shrinking the wolf’s management area and releasing some wolves raised in captivity into the wild. “It is apparent that the current regulations are not effective in terms of fostering coexistence between people and red wolves, and that changes are needed to reduce conflict associated with red wolf conservation,” FWS stated. The long-anticipated announcement will be published tomorrow in the Federal Register, kicking off a 30-day public comment period that is bound to be intense.

Greens ask court to mandate Gulf of Mexico species review. E&E News (Sub req’d). A coalition of environmental groups is heading to court over offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf Restoration Network, Sierra Club and Center for Biological Diversity filed suit today to compel the Trump administration to review how drilling affects threatened and endangered species in the area. “The Gulf of Mexico has long been written off as America’s dirty gas station, jeopardizing Gulf Coast communities, coastal economies, and thousands of whales, sea turtles, dolphins, oysters, and other wildlife that wind up in the path of oil and gas spills,” Earthjustice attorney Chris Eaton, who is representing the groups, said in a statement. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, alleges that NOAA Fisheries and the Fish and Wildlife Service have taken too long to complete a new consultation with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on how offshore drilling affects at-risk species.

Judge OKs greens’ lawsuit over EPA registrations. E&E News (Sub req’d). In a win for environmentalists, a federal judge has greenlighted a lawsuit challenging the registrations of more than 2,000 pesticide products. The Center for Biological Diversity and Pesticide Action Network North America contend EPA failed to consult with federal wildlife agencies on the products, which contain 35 active ingredients. Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order late yesterday allowing most of the claims in the suit to move forward. He rejected all of EPA’s arguments to dismiss the suit. “This is an important win. The court’s decision to allow this case to move forward — despite efforts to block it by EPA and pesticide industry lawyers — reaffirms the agency’s duty to protect health and the environment,” said Kristin Schafer, executive director of Pesticide Action Network, in a statement.

EPA settles with greens, will assess species impacts. E&E News (Sub req’d). The Trump administration has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by environmentalists over EPA’s approval of Washington state’s water quality standards, the first settlement the agency has participated in since Administrator Scott Pruitt’s so-called “sue and settle” directive. Under the draft agreement, EPA would review the effects of changes to Washington’s ammonia criteria on endangered species and, if necessary, initiate a formal consultation with U.S. wildlife agencies. EPA agreed to complete an endangered species effects determination within three years. The proposed agreement, which was first published Friday in the Federal Register, comes after EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s controversial directive in October aimed at curbing settlements with environmental groups. Pruitt’s directive instructed EPA to post proposed settlement agreements online and open them up for public comment. It also required EPA lawyers to reach out to states and regulated entities affected by potential agreements with environmental groups.

Democrats push to amend sea lion death penalty bill. E&E News (Sub req’d). The House is expected to vote today on a bill that would give fisheries managers in the Pacific Northwest more authority to kill California sea lions. While opponents say it’s wrong to euthanize the animals, supporters regard them as a growing nuisance as they eat endangered salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River. “It’s literally a smorgasbord,” Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) told the House Rules Committee yesterday. Newhouse is one of the co-sponsors of H.R. 2083, a bill that would greatly increase the number of California sea lions that could be legally euthanized every year. The legislation is headed to the House floor after clearing the Rules Committee on a vote of 8 to 3 last night. The panel also signaled that it’s ready to advance a larger bill that would shift more control of U.S. fisheries to state and regional officials, a move that critics fear would lead to overfishing.