Aug 12, 2019 IPAA Welcomes FWS’s Logical Changes to Endangered Species Act
Proposed reforms provide clarity, couple development “with our responsibility for mindful conservation”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representing the independent producers that develop 91 percent of America’s oil and natural gas wells, Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) Senior Vice President of Operations and Public Affairs Jeff Eshelman issued the following statement on the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife Services’ announcement today of regulatory reforms to the Endangered Species Act:
“IPAA is pleased with Fish and Wildlife Services’ commonsense reforms to streamline the Endangered Species Act. The final rule is an important step towards getting back to the original intent of the ESA as designed by Congress. After decades of working under a broken system, these reforms will help provide clarity to the process that will engender development coupled with our responsibility for mindful conservation of species. Specifically, IPAA applauds the Services’ clarity for the Section 7 consultation undertakings as well as rescinding of the Blanket 4(d) rule, as this shows the differences between a ‘threatened’ and ‘endangered’ listing.
“IPAA applauds the Agency for diligently working through reforms by engaging stakeholders at every point along the way. These thoughtful reforms take steps to ensure that the ESA will not be used as an environmental weapon to halt all other activities without science-based facts.”
About the Independent Petroleum Association of America
The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) is a national upstream trade association representing thousands of independent oil and natural gas producers and service companies across the United States. Independent producers develop 91 percent of the nation’s oil and natural gas wells. These companies account for 83 percent of America’s oil production, 90 percent of its natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) production, and support over 4.5 million American jobs. Learn more about IPAA by visiting www.ipaa.org and following @IPAAaccess on Twitter.
