WASHINGTON (XOL Africa) — A federal court in Washington dismissed a lawsuit challenging federal wildlife protections for oil and gas activities in the Gulf of America, the U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday, in the latest ruling involving a national security exemption under the Endangered Species Act.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a challenge to a 2018 biological opinion issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a 2025 consultation determination concerning oil and gas activities in the Gulf, according to the Justice Department.
The decision follows rulings in Maryland in June and Louisiana in April that also gave effect to the exemption, the department said.
In March, the Endangered Species Committee voted unanimously to exempt oil and gas activities in the Gulf from requirements of the Endangered Species Act after the administration determined the exemption was necessary for national security reasons, according to the Justice Department.
“This Department of Justice will never cease defending this Administration’s efforts to ensure our Nation’s security,” Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said. “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.”
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said the ruling removed another legal obstacle to energy production.
“The national security exemption for Gulf of America oil and gas activities means what it says, as another federal court has now confirmed,” Gustafson said. “This decision removes another obstacle to energy production vital to our national security.”
The Endangered Species Committee, chaired by the Interior secretary, has authority under federal law to grant exemptions from certain requirements of the Endangered Species Act. Federal regulations provide for an exemption when the relevant national security finding is made by the secretary responsible for defense.
The Justice Department said the exemption applies to oil and gas activities in the Gulf of America and that the latest ruling is the third federal court decision to give effect to it.
The department said attorneys from its Wildlife and Marine Resources Section handled the case.
The ruling comes as the Trump administration continues to pursue expanded U.S. oil and gas production as part of its broader energy policy. Gustafson said the Justice Department would continue defending the administration’s energy agenda.
The Gulf of America is the name adopted by the U.S. government for the body of water traditionally known internationally as the Gulf of Mexico.
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