Tag Archives: Trump administration
Expensive Offshore Wind in Jeopardy in a Trump Administration
Offshore wind is much more expensive than onshore wind with costs to build at 4.5 times the cost of natural gas generation and operational costs at 2.3 times. President-elect Trump recognizes offshore wind’s high costs and limited utility and is likely to end its massive subsidies promulgated by the Biden-Harris Administration. Immediate actions available include revoking Biden’s executive order that paved the way for higher cost, less reliable electricity. Biden-Harris officials have heaped subsidies upon offshore wind through the Inflation Reduction Act and cut corners on regulations to expedite the technology. Offshore wind has had recent catastrophic failures including broken blades that have closed beaches in a tourist town and imperiled fishermen. Biden’s Executive Order 14008 issued on February 1, 2020–only two weeks after his Inauguration– launched the offshore wind program in the United States. This is an executive order that President-Elect Trump could easily rescind on his first day in office by just issuing a counter-executive order, which would stop the onslaught of this very expensive energy being added to the U.S. grid. Another way is to remove the excessive tax credits that encourage its adoption, which would take new legislation and add time to the process. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:47
Louisiana Shrimp Association sues federal government over turtle excluder device requirement
The Louisiana Shrimp Association (LSA) has filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) regarding a 2019 rule that requires the installation of turtle excluder devices (TED) on fishing trawlers. TEDs have been required on shrimp trawlers in certain circumstances since 1987 in order to separate sea turtles, sharks, and other large bycatch so they can escape through an opening in the netting. But in 2015, the ocean conservation organization Oceana sued the government arguing that the rules were insufficient and claiming that over 53,000 estimated sea turtles were still being killed via shrimp nets each year. Video, more, >>click to read<< 19:32
At-Sea-Monitoring: U.S. Supreme Court takes up fishermen’s fight over US conservation funding
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether the government can require commercial fishermen to help fund a program monitoring herring catches off New England’s coast in a case that could undercut the regulatory power of federal agencies. The justices took up an appeal by New Jersey-based fishing companies of a lower court’s ruling in favor of the U.S. government in a challenge to a conservation program overseen by the National Marine Fisheries Service. The case is the latest bid asking the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, to rein in the authority of federal agencies. The companies are asking the Supreme Court to overturn its own decades-old precedent calling for judges to defer to federal agency interpretation of U.S. laws, a doctrine called “Chevron deference.” >click to read< 14:09
Blown Away: Offshore wind regulators ignore danger to fishing industry
“This industry, this group of people in the room today, really are the key to unlocking that clean energy future,” Beaudreau, the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, proclaimed at a conference hosted by the American Clean Power Association, a lobbying group largely funded by offshore wind developers. Just one year earlier, Beaudreau had been a corporate lawyer, earning part of his $2.4 million income from offshore wind developers. Then he was appointed to regulate the industry he was previously paid to represent. During Beaudreau’s tenure, developers including several of his former clients have gained preliminary or final approvals for an unprecedented expansion of offshore wind, despite repeated warnings from federal scientists about potential harms to marine life and the fishing industry. Photos, >click to read< 07:48
Intense reaction to wind/fishing investigation – >click to read the comments< 4/25/2023
Biden’s lavish lobster dinner doesn’t change his hostility to seafood industry
Bob Vanasse, executive director of Saving Seafood, commended Golden for calling out Biden on the issue and said that his organization has had trouble meeting with the current administration. Vanasse said that it’s not just lobster, but other seafood industries like tuna and swordfish, are having issues meeting with the White House. “I applaud the congressman for calling out the administration’s hypocrisy when it comes to our domestic fisheries and their policies,” “This is not the first time that something like this has happened, but it is good to see, and particularly a Democrat pointing it out because this administration has frankly not been friendly or helpful to our domestic fishing industry,” >click to read< 20:02
‘These Waters Are Hot’: U.S. Auction Opens Up Offshore Wind Farm Rush
When the U.S. last auctioned big plots of ocean to companies that wanted to build offshore wind farms a few years ago, it raked in a then-record-setting haul of $405 million. That’s set to be obliterated Wednesday,,, “We expect high bids, potentially the highest on record.” While the Trump administration only held two lease sales for offshore wind areas in four years, President Joe Biden has said he wants enough offshore wind farms to power 10 million homes by 2030 and is planning six more auctions from California to the Carolinas. Not everyone is excited about the prospect of hundreds of new turbines,,, There’s also another potential problem with a record-setting sale: power prices. Since developers will eventually be passing on the costs of building the wind farms to the homeowners and businesses that buy the electricity they generate, bidding wars and high prices for the tracts of ocean could eventually boost the price of that power. >click to read< 13:58
Critics rip feds’ “half-baked” plan to save California salmon
Fishing groups and water suppliers fought the Biden administration’s proposed drought rules for California’s water system, telling a federal judge Friday the emergency plans won’t stop the demise of endangered salmon. The rules call for new water temperature targets and improved collaboration between federal and state officials on the management of California’s two main water conveyance systems. But the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations and other conservation groups cast the “interim operations plan” as a half-baked measure that will lead to a third consecutive year of salmon die-offs. >click to read< 17:36
Judge advances lawsuit over California drift gillnet ban
A federal judge has advanced a lawsuit against a California state law that bans the use of swordfish catching gillnets,,, Two fishermen sued the state two years ago, arguing that because they obtained federal permits to use gillnets, California cannot pass a law that deprives them of those federal rights. The fishermen, Joseph Abad and Austen Brown, asked for a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of the state law, but a federal judge denied that request. >click to read< 10:17
Former Senator Scott Brown to return to the political arena
New Hampshire Primary Source has confirmed that Scott Brown, the former Massachusetts US Senator who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate from New Hampshire in 2014, has reactivated his political action committee and intends to help Republican candidates from New Hampshire and elsewhere who share his desire to end partisan gridlock in Washington. That’s according to a letter of resignation Brown sent Wednesday to New England Law-Boston, where Brown had served as president since 2019, when he returned from New Zealand and Samoa, where he served the Trump administration as ambassador. “In the months ahead, I look forward to re-engaging in the political arena in support of candidates and causes who share my vision of rebuilding the Republican Party,” Interested in your position on offshore wind farms, Scott! >click to read< 13:59
Biden administration gives boost to offshore wind. Orstead fails to renew fisheries representative contract
The Biden administration’s announcement this week of a plan to resume an environmental review of a wind farm off the Massachusetts coast and accelerate green-energy development was welcomed by developers and proponents of projects for Long Island. Biden on Jan. 27 signed an executive order,,, Orsted officials declined to comment on the decision by the company not to renew the contract of Julie Evans, a Montauk fishing boat captain who had been a fisheries representative to the company for local fishing issues. She had worked with fishermen in 2020 on fishing-gear loss cases tied to Orsted survey work. One fishermen, Vinny Damm of Montauk, had his claim rejected. Orsted declined to comment on the matter. >click to read< 11:16
Trump Dumps Pebble – administration denies permit
The Trump administration on Wednesday denied a permit for a controversial gold and copper mine near the headwaters of the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery in southwest Alaska. The Army Corps of Engineers said in a statement that the permit application to build the Pebble Mine was denied under both the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act., The agency “concluded that the proposed project is contrary to the public interest,” according to the statement from Col. Damon Delarosa, commander of the corps’ Alaska district. >click to read< 14:41
National Fisheries Institute Statement on EU Parliament Removing Tariffs on U.S. Lobster
The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) welcomes today’s announcement that lawmakers in the European Parliament’s trade committee have voted in favor of removing tariffs on U.S. lobster and encourage the full Parliament to back the deal when they vote. The duties on live and frozen U.S. lobster shipped to the EU had been between 8 and 20 percent, but as part of a mini trade deal announced by the Trump Administration in August, the rate will drop to zero. NFI applauds President Trump and Ambassador Lighthizer for focusing on U.S. seafood exports. We also commend Senator Susan Collins on her steadfast advocacy for the U.S. seafood community. >click to read< 08:47
New Bedford port nets $20 million to protect against natural disasters
A $16 million grant is bound for the city of New Bedford to improve the city’s port, helping prepare it for future natural disasters. According to a U.S. Economic Development Administration press release, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the grant funding on Tuesday. The money, according to the press release, will “make port infrastructure improvements needed to protect commercial fishing businesses from floods and severe weather events.” >click to read< 16:13
Trump Administration ‘Slow-Walking’ Offshore Wind Permits says Sheldon Whitehouse
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, has accused the Trump administration of “slow-walking” offshore wind approvals with an eye toward helping natural-gas suppliers. (gas works, and its domestic!) The U.S. offshore wind industry, which is gearing up fantasizing to deliver 25 gigawatts or so of capacity over the coming decade, is effectively on hold while the country’s first major project, the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind sited off the coast of Massachusetts, awaits its final federal permits. Last August the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) called for additional environmental reviews, delaying Vineyard and in effect the larger industry as a whole. BOEM has said it intends to issue a final decision in December. “I think what we’re seeing is a deliberate slow-walk, and not just staff unfamiliarity and hesitation [at BOEM],” Whitehouse said in a prerecorded interview played Monday at Greentech Media’s Power & Renewables Summit. >click to read< 09:56
“We’re not sure what it means,” – Trump turns an eye on Canadian lobster, launches Trade Investigation
On Aug. 24, the United States International Trade Commission announced it will investigate the possible negative effects of the Canada-Europe Trade Agreement (CETA) on American lobster exports. The investigation was requested by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. The investigation will also examine tariff treatment of Canadian lobster in the United Kingdom, China and other countries. “We’re not sure what it means,” said Geoff Irvine, executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada. “We’re studying it. The government of Canada is studying it. Now we’re talking to our colleagues in the U.S. and we’re trying to figure out how best to manage it from the Canadian side.” >click to read< 08:36
Trump set to block controversial Pebble Mine
The Army Corps of Engineers office in Alaska is planning to hold a conference call on Monday with groups connected to the proposed mine discuss the decision,,, Corps officials will say outstanding technical issues with a key permit remain, the people said, adding they anticipate Trump will then follow with a public statement opposing the project. The people said they’re not entirely sure what form Trump’s disavowal will take, although they said it is more likely to come as a rejection of the Army Corps of Pebble’s water permits rather than a veto from EPA, which earlier this year indicated it would not exercise that power. >click to read< 06:30
Trump admin Coronavirus task force urges Alaska to require masks for seafood plants and hot spots
The state should mandate masks, especially in seafood processing plants and places with high or rising case counts, to slow Alaska’s explosive coronavirus infection rates. That’s the recommendation of a July 26 report distributed to states by the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force,,, The update summarized the state’s largest COVID-19 outbreaks to date. The top four involve the seafood industry and together involve more than 350 people: 139 out of about 252 workers at the OBI Seafoods plant in Seward; 85 out of about 119 workers on the factory trawler American Triumph; 76 workers out of about 135 at the Copper River Seafoods plant in Anchorage; and 62 out of about 150 at the Alaska Glacier Seafoods plant in Juneau. >click to read< 09:49
#FishermensLivesMatter: Until this pandemic is over, say no to fishery observers being placed on fishing vessels
On July 1st the Trump Administration’s agency, NOAA will require that fishing vessels resume taking fishery observers on their fishing trips. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic these activities have been suspended for almost three months due to the danger of spreading the deadly disease among the
fishing industry and their families. Fishery observers are required by National Marine Fishery Service regulations to observe commercial fishing operations in almost all of our countries fisheries based on various criteria that include likelihood of interaction with marine mammals or other protected species, amount of bycatch in each fishery, adherence to regulations, and anything else they can justify to support this huge taxpayer money gobbling con game they have created. >click to read< by Jim Lovgren #FishermensLivesMatter 22:27
Lawsuit Challenges Trump OK of Commercial Fishing in Atlantic Marine Monument
The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C. by the Conservation Law Foundation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Center for Biological Diversity and Zack Klyver, lead naturalist with the Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company in Maine. “Trump’s order was illegal because he can’t just declare commercial fishing is allowed in a protected marine monument,” said Kristen Monsell, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Seamounts monument was created to permanently safeguard this amazing ecosystem and vulnerable species like the endangered sperm whale. Presidents can’t be allowed to gut protections by decree as a favor to commercial fishermen.” >click to read< 11:40
Why New England Aquarium is fighting back against the Trump administration
Decades of work at the New England Aquarium went into securing special protected status for an area of underwater canyons and mountains off Cape Cod.,, During a visit to Maine last Friday, President Donald Trump announced he was signing a proclamation to allow commercial fishing in the nearly 5,000-square-mile ecosystem, which was declared a national marine monument by former President Barack Obama in 2016.,, Vikki Spruill, the CEO and president of the New England Aquarium, called the Republican president’s proclamation“irresponsible and shortsighted.” “The Trump Administration has chosen a moment of national vulnerability to take aim at the environment,” Spruill said in a statement Monday, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic and the national protests against police brutality. >click to read< 13:00
Federal review of offshore wind projects raises concerns over delays
The Trump administration’s unexpected review of “potential impacts” of offshore wind-energy projects could be published early this year, but it remains unclear whether publication will clear a logjam that has stalled one of the country’s first large-scale projects, and the dozen to follow.,,, Last year, when the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced an analysis of offshore wind projects slated for construction in U.S. waters, Vineyard Wind, the first affected by it, was caught off guard. Vineyard Wind is proposing a project off the Massachusetts coast. >click to read< 07:31
US lobster industry hopes new deal renews trade with China
One group that is cautiously optimistic about the trade deal signed Wednesday between the U.S. and China is the lobster industry. The hope is that the deal will reopen one of the biggest markets in the world for lobsters. China is one of the biggest export destinations for lobster, which are trapped in the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean by American and Canadian fishermen. >click to read< 06:59
Maine lobster industry will benefit from the China trade deal, Sen. Collins says – >click to read<
Feds Tap 300,000 Square Miles of Pacific for Humpback Whales
The proposed rule is the result of a settlement with the National Marine Fisheries Service, who were sued last year for not following through on a 2016 plan to designate two groups of Pacific Ocean humpback whales as endangered and a third group as threatened. The Center for Biological Diversity, joined by Turtle Island Restoration Network and the Wishtoyo Foundation, filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of California claiming the lack of action by the Trump administration violated the Endangered Species Act. >click to read< 16:25
Trump aide offers no guidance on Vineyard Wind
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management put the offshore wind farm on hold indefinitely in early August while it tries to gain a better understanding of the cumulative impact of the many East Coast wind farm projects currently in the pipeline. With the project in danger of being canceled if the delay lasts too long, James Bennett, the renewable energy program manager at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, gave no indication of when the agency’s review will be completed. >click to read< 08:33
PCFFA Reacts to News of Jeopardy Finding for Salmon, Southern Resident Killer Whales
As reported today in the LA Times, the National Marine Fisheries Service determined in an important draft biological opinion [link to the document here] that the changes to California’s Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) operations championed by the Department of the Interior would result in jeopardy to spring and winter run Chinook salmon, steelhead trout, and southern resident killer whales (SRKW). The draft opinion was transmitted to the Department of the Interior, which immediately convened a team of outside lawyers and scientific staff from its own agencies to adulterate NMFS science and suppress the document’s findings. >click to read< 20:18
Vineyard Wind, welcome to our world…
Headline – Trump admin throws wrench into offshore wind plans – The Trump administration is ordering a sweeping environmental review of the burgeoning offshore wind industry, a move that threatens to derail the nation’s first major project and raises a host of questions for future developments. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a division of the Interior Department, is ordering a study of the cumulative impact of a string of projects along the East Coast. The review comes in response to concerns from fishermen about the impact of offshore wind development on East Coast fisheries. Must watch video! >click to read< 17:15
Rep. Young fights fish farms
In his 46 years as Alaska’s lone representative in Congress, Don Young helped toss out foreign fishing fleets from Alaska waters with the onset of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in 1976, and today he is intent on doing the same with offshore fish farms. The MSA established an ‘exclusive economic zone’ for US fleets fishing from three to 200 miles from shore. Young’s effort follows a push that began a year ago by over 120 aquaculture and food-related industries to have lawmakers introduce an Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act, which failed to get any traction. The campaign is organized under a new trade group called Stronger America Through Seafood and includes Cargill, Red Lobster, Pacific Seafoods and Seattle Fish Company. >click to read<15:50
Opinion: Atlantic drilling issue dries up again, without lasting resolution
The curtain has come down on the latest of “to drill or not to drill in the Atlantic.” It ran two years, just a bit longer than the one before it in a series dating to the 1980s. The ending, as expected, was the same, since deepwater drilling in the Atlantic wouldn’t be profitable and is broadly opposed. A renewed federal effort begun in May 2017 to offer leases to drill for oil and natural gas off the East Coast was suspended indefinitely by the Trump administration. A similar push by the Obama administration ended with reinstatement of a temporary moratorium on drilling. Other than the presidents, most of the players remained the same. Opposition was led by state and local officials in both parties the length of the coast,,, >click to read<18:36
Con Groups File Intent to Sue to Protect Atlantic Sharks, Giant Rays From Lethal Longlines, Gillnets
On behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice today filed a notice of intent to sue the Trump administration for failing to protect oceanic whitetip sharks and giant manta rays from being killed by longlines and huge nets used by U.S. fishermen in Atlantic fisheries. >click to read<13:59
Conservation groups threaten lawsuit against Trump administration over salmon fishing
Two conservation groups say the federal government is violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to consider how salmon fishing off the West Coast is affecting endangered killer whales. The Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity and the Washington state-based Wild Fish Conservancy on Tuesday notified President Donald Trump’s administration that they intend to file a lawsuit within 60 days unless officials reevaluate whether the fishing further jeopardizes orcas that frequent the inland waters of the Pacific Northwest. Video, >click to read<15:39
