<
https://worldanimalnews.com/victory-court-overturns-alaskas-cook-inlet-oil-lease-sale-safeguarding-critically-endangered-beluga-whales/>
"Animal welfare and environmental groups are celebrating a significant victory
after a federal district court judge overturned an offshore oil and gas lease
sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, the sole habitat of critically endangered beluga
whales. The judge ruled that the federal government violated the law when
conducting the sale.
The Center for Biological Diversity and Natural Resources Defense Council filed
the lawsuit together with Earthjustice, on behalf of Cook Inletkeeper, Kachemak
Bay Conservation Society, and Alaska Community Action on Toxics.
“Today’s legal victory is a win for Alaska communities, threatened beluga
whales, and future generations who will face a hotter planet,” said
Earthjustice attorney Carole Holley. “We’re celebrating the fact that this
destructive lease sale has been sent back to the drawing board, and we will
continue to push for a transition away from fossil fuels and toward a brighter
and healthier energy future.”
Lease Sale 258, conducted by the Department of the Interior in December 2022,
opened nearly a million acres of federal waters in Southcentral Alaska to the
fossil fuel industry, potentially committing the area to decades of future oil
and gas drilling.
Initially, the Interior Department canceled Lease Sale 258 in May 2022.
However, following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the department
announced in August that the sale would proceed. Despite the Act’s efforts to
combat climate change, it contained a provision that revived the Cook Inlet
lease sale, along with two others in the Gulf of Mexico: Lease Sales 259 and
261, which are currently being litigated.
Although Lease Sale 258 attracted only one bid for a relatively small tract,
the auctioned areas overlapped with critical habitats of federally endangered
marine mammals. Cook Inlet is home to beluga whales and sea otters, both
protected under the Endangered Species Act. The sole bidder was Hilcorp.
Tuesday’s ruling noted that, among other things, the Department of the Interior
failed to fully consider the lease sale’s cumulative impacts on beluga whales,
as well as the issue of blaring vessel noise. Belugas use sound to “see” in a
process known as echolocation, which supports behaviors such as hunting,
avoiding obstacles, and finding each other. Noise impacts can threaten the
whales’ survival.
Following the ruling, the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management must
conduct a supplemental environmental review and determine, based on this new
review, whether or not to add protections or redo the lease sale. The ruling
also suspends Hilcorp’s lease while this process is underway. Since the start
of 2024 alone, Hilcorp has been the subject of four different enforcement
actions from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission."
Via
Fix the News:
<
https://fixthenews.com/goodnews-aids-lgbtq-south-korea-canada-marine-protection/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
