"[P]eople acting in a group can accomplish things which no individual acting alone could even hope to bring about." - FDR

News & Analysis | REG•WATCH Blog | Press Room

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

One Year Later, White House Still Sitting on Whale Protection Rule

Today, a rule that would protect the North Atlantic right whale celebrates its one year anniversary of being stuck in the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Under Executive Order 12866, OIRA has 90 days to review regulations before they are finalized. In consultation with the issuing agency (in this case, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) OIRA may extend the review period by 30 days.

NOAA submitted the whale protection rule on Feb. 20, 2007. Therefore, OIRA has exceeded the review period by about eight months, and there is no end in sight.

The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most critically endangered marine species in the world. Although the species has benefited from federal protections for years, it is still having difficulty recovering. Collisions between whales and shipping vessels are a particularly serious problem.

In response, NOAA began working in 1999 on a federal rule to limit the speed of large shipping vessels traveling along the eastern seaboard. The speed limits would vary based on geographic location and season.

NOAA published a proposed rule (which OIRA also reviewed) in June 2006. Since receiving and reviewing public comments into early 2007, NOAA has been waiting for OIRA to give its approval.

OIRA may be delaying the rule to help out the shipping industry. In a May 3 letter to OIRA Administrator Susan Dudley, the World Shipping Council expressed opposition to the rule citing economic costs and questioning the validity of NOAA's research. The World Shipping Council represents some domestic but mostly foreign shippers.

The Ocean Conservancy has a timeline on the rulemaking and reported ship strikes of the right whale. According to the Ocean Conservancy, since NOAA published the proposed rule, there have been five reported ship strikes and three confirmed deaths.

While that may not sound like many, according to the Ocean Conservancy, "Only about 350 North Atlantic right whales are left, and the loss of even one whale is detrimental to the species."

The Ocean Conservancy also has an action alert on their website where you can send a letter to OIRA administrator Susan Dudley urging her to allow NOAA to finalize the rule. See the action alert here.