A new biological opinion for the Gulf of America, formerly the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, has forestalled the risk of ending new and existing oil and natural gas operations, staving off the danger to American energy security, based on the industry’s reaction. This came shortly before President Donald J. Trump’s new tax reconciliation bill inched closer to the finish line with its passage in the House of Representatives.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), part of NOAA and known as NOAA Fisheries, was given more time last year to undertake an environmental review of the effects of oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of America, thanks to a revised court decision, which came after the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland vacated the NMFS 2020 Biological Opinion for Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas activities (BiOp).