The Trump administration may be facing a lawsuit for allowing fracking companies to dump waste in the Gulf of Mexico.
As reported in a statement on The Centre for Biological Diversity (CBD) website, formal notice of intent has been filed against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), arguing the practice endangers sea turtles, whales and other marine life.
This comes just months after the EPA had finalized a Clean Water Act that would allow oil companies to offload unlimited amounts of waste into the ocean basin.
Kristen Monsell, a Senior Attorney from The Center for Biological Diversity released a statement on Dec 7th indicating that “The Trump administration is letting the oil industry turn our oceans into toxic-waste dumps. The EPA’s supposed to protect water quality, not help pollute the Gulf".
She went on to say that “It’s time for the courts to remind this agency that its mission is to safeguard the environment and public health.”
The release states that federal waters off Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi host the largest concentration of offshore oil and gas drilling activities in the country. Previous records requests revealed that oil companies dumped more than 75 billion gallons of wastewater into these waters in 2014 alone.
Records also show that fracking has been on the rise in the Gulf of Mexico, and the EPA has failed to conduct any meaningful review of the environmental impacts of dumping fracking waste into the water.
“Only the courts can stop Trump’s assault on our oceans” Monsell concluded.
December 7th's 60-day notice of intent to sue is required before a lawsuit can be filed to compel the federal government to comply with the Endangered Species Act.
