Today, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) led a letter with 54 other members to Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Shalanda Young and Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Administrator Richard Revesz, expressing concerns with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) pending North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strike Reduction Rule. The letter asks OMB and OIRA to return the rule to NOAA for further input and review. In part, the members wrote:

"NOAA’s proposed changes would expand the current restriction to include vessels from 35 to 65 feet. Stakeholders point out that NOAA grossly underestimated the number of boats impacted by this rule, using data that is publicly available. This expansion will fundamentally change operations for commercial and recreational ocean users. Stakeholders have shared that this expansion will dramatically limit outdoor recreation including boating and fishing, disincentivizing activities that collectively contributed more than $550 billion, or 2.2 percent, to the United States’ gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022. These limitations would also pose economic harm to the many industries that support these activities and reduce revenue for important restoration programs that have benefitted our communities...

"We share the objective of preventing vessel strikes and protecting critically endangered marine mammals like the North Atlantic right whale. However, we believe that there are better strategies to accomplish this goal while safeguarding the multiple uses of our ocean resources."

Read the full letter here.

Background

Right whales migrate seasonally along the East Coast, spending summer and fall in the waters off New England and Canada and the winter months calving in the waters off the southeastern United States. They have been considered endangered in the U.S. since 1970, even before the enactment of the Endangered Species Act.

Since 2008, to protect endangered species like the North Atlantic right whale, NOAA has enforced a 10-knot speed restriction for vessels over 65 feet in length traveling in seasonal management areas. This rule included exemptions for mariner safety and military concerns. 

However, on Aug. 1, 2022, NOAA published a proposed rule that would expand the existing regulations to apply to vessels 35 feet and longer. NOAA’s 2022 proposed rule also expands the seasonal management areas and changes the existing safety exemptions to the point they are not workable. Stakeholders estimate the economic impact of canceling boating and fishing trips due to the proposed rule could jeopardize 340,000 American jobs and nearly $84 billion in economic contributions. By sending the rule back to NOAA, OMB and OIRA can allow for a full accounting of the economic consequences of this misguided rule.