A federal judge has agreed to give NOAA Fisheries until next spring to complete its revised analysis of how offshore oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico could harm the critically endangered Rice’s whale.
The decision is a key reprieve for the fossil fuel industry and the Biden administration. NOAA Fisheries was originally slated to lose its existing analysis Dec. 20, which threatened to temporarily shut down new and existing offshore development in the region. A finalized analysis must be in place for companies to proceed with offshore oil and gas drilling.
NOAA Fisheries (NMFS) will now have until May 21, 2025, before the existing analysis — called a biological opinion or BiOp — will be tossed out by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
The agency will have to provide updates to the court about its progress every 60 days starting Dec. 15, until the court deadline.
