Alarmed that proposed new regulations at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would put a damper on oil and natural gas production, the Permian Basin Petroleum Association says the agency should not expand the Endangered Species Act to allow the direct and indirect regulation of species that are not currently endangered but might become so in the future.
The PBPA, five ranchers’ associations and the State of Texas have also just filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over the FWS’s listing of the northern population of the Lesser Prairie Chicken as threatened and the southern population of the species as endangered.
In a letter sent Monday to the FWS in Leesburg Pike Falls Church, Va., the PBPA was joined by the Western Energy Alliance, Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma and Petroleum Association of Wyoming in protesting the expansion of endangered species regulations.
“We greatly support the stated intentions of the offered revisions to clarify the authority of the service to implement the number of varying conservation measures that have been developed over the years,” PBPA President Ben Shepperd said. “However, we believe the offered revisions go beyond the authority of the service as determined by Congress and in several areas create more concern than clarity.
“Without a listing under the ESA, direct and indirect regulation of unlisted species is beyond the legal authority of the Fish and Wildlife Service,” Shepperd said. “Further, these types of expansion of federal policy with regard to species that are clearly under state authority create unnecessary costs and inefficiencies in implementing conservation and potential disincentives for voluntary participation on private lands.
“While certain proposed changes could reduce the costs and time incurred in the implementation of conservation measures, others are highly likely to result in ambiguity, lack of transparency and additional cost and ultimately trigger the need for legal action to definitively establish authority and intent.”
Shepperd said the PBPA and the other organizations oppose the FWS’s combining of post-listing conservation efforts such as safe harbor agreements with pre-listing conservation efforts such as candidate conservation agreements with assurances “into one-size-fits-all agreements.
“We believe the proposed language to do so undermines the service’s stated intent to simplify the process to encourage conservation,” he said.
Calling the proposals “a drastic change,” Shepperd said they would encourage the conservation of fish and wildlife before the species become depleted to the point that they required listing.
“This equates to convicting someone of a crime before it is committed and it is well outside the bounds of the service’s legal authority,” he said. “The member companies of the organizations represented in this letter have proved themselves to be trustworthy stewards of the land and supporters of effective conservation efforts.
“We have compiled a record of accomplishment and partnership of which we are very proud. For example, over $65 million has been spent by industry participants and beneficial conservation practices have been implemented to conserve the Lesser Prairie Chicken across its range of over six million acres. An additional 40 oil and gas companies are enrolled in the New Mexico Candidate Conservation Agreement with total enrollment including the New Mexico State Land Office of more than two million acres.”
Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association President Ed Longanecker said from Austin that his organization strongly supports the PBPA’s lawsuit.
“The U. S. oil and natural gas industry has been heavily engaged in conservation efforts and has contributed tens of millions of dollars to protect the habitat of the Lesser Prairie Chicken,” Longanecker said. “Thanks to this ongoing commitment, the population of this species has increased, not contracted.
“Unfortunately, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided to ignore these efforts and tangible results in order to advance an agenda that will have a detrimental effect on the oil and natural gas industry and our nation’s energy security. We applaud PBPA and the other organizations for filing this lawsuit and look forward to supporting this legal challenge.”
