Dismantling landmark environmental laws has been one of the hallmarks of the Trump Administration. The environmental villany now extends to the vital MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT (MMPA). Established in 1972, the law provides a layer of protection from harassment or harm to whales, dolphins, porpoises, polar bears, seals, walrus, sea lions, otters, manatees and every other marine mammal now struggling to swim freely as an inherent part of the marine landscape.<\/p>\n
Protection from excessive noise due to sonar, seismic exploration, fossil fuel extraction processes and drilling, even wind farm operational noise, as well as overall habitat destruction from military exercises, decimation to prey species, overfishing and so much more are being cast aside to facilitate a quick and feckless exploitation of the marine environment. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS IN THEIR WASHINGTON DC OFFICES and tell them to vote NO to HR 3133; let them know that it will decimate hard won marine mammal protections!<\/p>\n
Read the FACT SHEET below from some of the groups (including our parent Cetacean Society International) that are working to stop HR 3133, and speak up today for marine mammals!<\/p>\n
To call your Member of Congress:\u00a0<\/strong> To locate your Member on-line:\u00a0<\/strong> White House:\u00a0http:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n FACT SHEET<\/strong><\/p>\n EVISCERATION OF IMPORTANT PROTECTIONS Bill Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Fact Sheet on H.R. 3133<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n H.R. 3133, the Streamlining Environmental Approvals (SEA Act), would gut core provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to fast-track seismic airgun surveys and other activities in the ocean that can harm marine mammals. The bill would gravely weaken the legal standards for issuing Incidental Harassment Authorizations (IHAs), prevent the regulatory agency from requiring almost any kind of mitigation, and require automatic approval of IHAs if the agency misses a series of tight deadlines. Since \u201charassment\u201d is defined in the MMPA to include permanent injury and disruption of vital functions, the negative consequences of these changes for marine mammal conservation would be profound.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The bill clearly reflects the wish list of companies seeking to conduct seismic air gun surveys for oil and gas deposits in the Atlantic. It favors the oil and gas industry, and other industrial activities in the ocean, over protecting whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals. Fishing activities are not affected by this bill.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n What would H.R. 3133 do?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \uf0d8 Allow harm to huge numbers of whales and dolphins. The bill would remove important safeguards, including the requirement that harassment of marine mammals is limited to \u201csmall numbers\u201d of specific species or population stocks. This expansion removes an important check on NOAA\u2019s authority to issue IHAs, which was put in place to account for the gaps in scientific data on some marine mammal stocks. It would also drop the condition that the activities allowed by the permits have the \u201cleast practicable impact\u201d on marine mammals\u2014putting these animals at much greater risk.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \uf0d8 Allow harm to marine mammals in much larger areas of the ocean. H.R. 3133 would delete the requirement that IHAs can only be issued within a \u201cspecific geographic region.\u201d The current requirement limiting permits to specific geographic regions allows for better application of the best available science and tailoring of measures to mitigate the impacts of the activity allowed by the permit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \uf0d8 Permit harassment without mitigation. The bill would sharply curtail NOAA\u2019s authority to require mitigation measures to reduce the impacts of activities that harass marine mammals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \uf0d8 Cover up cumulative impacts. The bill would limit any requirements for monitoring of the impacts on marine mammals to the period in which the activity\u2014such as a seismic airgun survey\u2014is taking place. The bill would not allow the agency to require monitoring of long-term or cumulative impacts after the activity has ended, thereby missing significant, but not immediately evident, effects on marine mammals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \uf0d8 Rush permitting process\/automatically approve permits. H.R. 3133 would lay out a highly unrealistic timeline for agency scientists to review permit applications, determine whether sufficient information has been submitted, and evaluate the impacts of the proposed activity on marine mammals. For example, the bill would give agency scientists only 15 calendar days to determine whether the information in the lengthy and complex permit application is sufficient\u2014and would allow only one request for additional information. After that, the application would be deemed complete, and scientists would have only 120 days to analyze it. If the review is not completed in 120 days, the Incidental Harassment Authorization would automatically be granted, regardless of the potential harm to marine mammals, and without any of the mitigation that may be necessary to eliminate or minimize that harm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \uf0d8 Automatically extend permits. For an existing IHA, which has a one-year term, the bill would require the agency to grant a one-year extension of the permit, and would give agency scientists only 14 days to determine whether an extension is appropriate. The agency would only be able to withhold the extension if there has been a substantial change in the activity for which the permit was originally granted, or in the status of the affected marine mammal species or stock.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \uf0d8 Create a dangerous loophole in Endangered Species Act protections. H.R. 3133 would exempt IHA permit holders from complying with the Endangered Species Act\u2019s prohibition on the take of threatened and endangered species. It would substitute the bill\u2019s abbreviated approval process for the obligation the Endangered Species Act puts on federal agencies to ensure their actions are not likely to jeopardize the survival and recovery of endangered and threatened species.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Contact Information<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Lara Levison, Senior Director, Federal Policy, Oceana: llevison@oceana.org Dismantling landmark environmental laws has been one of the hallmarks of the Trump Administration. The environmental villany now extends to the vital MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT (MMPA). Established in 1972, the law provides a layer of protection from harassment or harm to whales, dolphins, porpoises, polar bears, seals, walrus, sea lions, otters, manatees and every … Continue reading HR 3133 – TEAM TRUMP’S ATTACK ON THE MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT<\/span>
\nUS Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nU.S. House of Representatives:\u00a0www.house.gov<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>
\nU.S. Senate:\u00a0www.senate.gov<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>FOR MARINE MAMMALS<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nNora Apter, Legislative Advocate, Natural Resources Defense Council: napter@nrdc.org
\nCT Harry, Marine Campaigner, International Fund for Animal Welfare: charry@ifaw.org Keisha Sedlacek, Senior Regulatory Specialist, Humane Society Legislative Fund: ksedlacek@hlsf.org Naomi Rose, Marine Mammal Scientist, Animal Welfare Institute: naomi@awionline.org<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"