The Trump administration’s approval in March of BP’s first new ultra deep-water oil field in the Gulf of Mexico since 2010 drew a new court challenge on Monday, with environmental groups arguing regulators failed to adequately justify the decision. The groups filed suit against the U.S. Interior Department and related agencies, seeking review of the approval of BP’s Kaskida project.
The filing comes on the 16th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, when BP’s offshore rig sent an estimated 134 million gallons of crude into the ocean about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast, killing 11 people and causing extensive damage to wildlife and coastline. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs focused on what they said were gaps in the materials used to reach the March greenlight for drilling in ultra deep water.
The plaintiffs include Groups Healthy Gulf, Habitat Recovery Project, Center for Biological Diversity and others, and they asked for a review of the project approval. The groups targeted officials including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, as well as Bureau of Ocean Energy Management leadership tied to the approval, and director Matthew Giacona, according to the case filing described in the report.
The groups said information required for the approval was missing and that the administration did not demonstrate BP has the qualifications to conduct safe drilling at the depth involved in the Kaskida project. They also argued the Kaskida project would pose risks to Gulf residents’ health and would harm ecosystems, including effects on fishing and tourism industries.
Earthjustice, which represents the plaintiffs, said the administration’s decision effectively set up what the group described as a repeat of Deepwater Horizon conditions. Brettny Hardy, an Earthjustice attorney, said the “Trump administration has teed up the entire Gulf region for a Deepwater Horizon sequel,” according to the report.
Interior spokesperson Charlotte Taylor did not comment on ongoing litigation when asked by The Associated Press, but she defended the administration’s approach to energy production. Taylor said, “America sets the global standard for energy production. We do it cleaner, safer, and more reliably than anywhere in the world.” She also said the Kaskida project “represents a major step forward, unlocking more than 275 million barrels of previously unrecoverable oil in the Gulf of America,” adding that the development would drive job creation, strengthen U.S. national security and help cut energy costs.
BP has also challenged the lawsuit. Paul Takahashi, a BP America spokesperson, told The Associated Press that Deepwater Horizon “forever changed the company,” and he said BP believes the lawsuit is unfounded. Takahashi added that BP is “fully confident” in its Kaskida development plan and in its ability to deliver the project safely and responsibly while complying with U.S. regulations and industry standards.
The dispute comes as the administration has prioritized increased fossil fuel production in its second term and has proposed rollbacks of regulations viewed as unfriendly to the oil and gas industry, as described in the report. The Gulf of Mexico has been a particular focus, with the administration earlier this month announcing it was combining the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement under a new Marine Minerals Administration to expedite offshore permitting—changes that the report said followed the agencies’ separation after the 2010 spill.
The administration has also adjusted how certain environmental protections apply in the Gulf. The report said the administration last month exempted drilling in the Gulf from the Endangered Species Act on the basis of national security, and that those changes have unfolded amid soaring energy prices and global oil shocks linked to the U.S.-Iran war.
In the background, the lawsuit is also being filed as another recent Gulf spill draws attention to offshore risks, according to the report. The report said a massive spill last month spread more than 373 miles and into seven nature reserves, contaminating at least six species and sending 800 tons of hydrocarbon-laden waste into the ocean.