Offshore drilling platforms during sunset in the Gulf of Mexico.( Credit: Jim Pintar/Adobe Stock) 'Arbitrary and Capricious'?: Federal Judge Nullifies Gulf Coast Big Oil Assessment
"Deferring vacatur of the BiOp until mid-December strikes the appropriate balance between the importance of getting this unlawful agency action off the books and the public interest in a predictable, managed transition to a new biological opinion," U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman wrote in her memorandum opinion.
August 30, 2024 at 04:46 PM
4 minute read
What You Need to Know
- U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman ruled a 2020 Biological Opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service violates the Administrative Procedure Act and Endangered Species Act.
- Hogan Lovells, King & Spalding and Holland & Hart represented Chevron USA in the case as an intervening defendant.
- Stoel Rives represented the American Petroleum Institute and other trade groups as intervening defendants in the case.
The American Petroleum Institute warns of possible "disruptive consequences" stemming from a Maryland federal judge striking down a government assessment of oil and gas program activities in the Gulf of Mexico as arbitrary, capricious and in violation of Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman ruled the National Marine Fisheries Service's 2020 Biological Opinion violates the Administrative Procedure Act and ESA. Her 84-page memorandum opinion filed Aug. 19 rejects numerous arguments made by Hogan Lovells, King & Spalding, Holland & Hart and Stoel Rives on behalf of intervening defendants, including Chevron USA and API.
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