(Reuters) -President Donald Trump’s administration will delay by two years a final rule designating protections for the endangered Rice’s whale in the oil and gas drilling region of the Gulf of Mexico, according to an agreement with environmental groups filed in a federal court.
The agreement between the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Marine Fisheries Service and green group Natural Resources Defense Council gives the government agency until July 15, 2027, to finalize the geographic area considered to be critical for survival of the Rice’s whale.
The agreement was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on July 3 and seen by Reuters on Monday.
“NMFS continues to make diligent progress on this complex Final Rule,” the agreement said. “NMFS, however, requires additional time to analyze the impact of the Rule and evaluate the science underlying it. As part of that process, NMFS plans to coordinate its efforts with the scientific and academic communities.”
NMFS officials were not immediately available for additional comment. NRDC, representing the environmental group Healthy Gulf in a lawsuit over designation of the so-called critical habitat, was also not immediately available for comment.
Oil and gas companies in the region welcomed the delay. Drillers had faced restrictions on how they could operate in key parts of the northern Gulf under a proposal published by former President Joe Biden’s administration in 2023.
“We strongly support the decision to extend the timeline for finalizing the Rice’s whale critical habitat. Given how much work is needed to get this rule right, extending the deadline is both responsible and necessary,” Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, an oil and gas trade group, said in a statement.
(Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Mark Porter and David Gregorio)
