Pacific Environment Sues to Protect Endangered Wildlife from Oil Spills

 Pacific Environment Files Suit to Protect Endangered Wildlife from Oil Spills

Two Years After Gulf Disaster, EPA Still Hasn’t Studied Effects of Toxic Chemical Dispersants on Water Quality and Wildlife

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - “The Pacific Ocean encompasses some of the most unique marine ecosystems in the world, providing habitat for many endangered and threatened species. In the Arctic, dispersants would not only affect these animals, but the indigenous peoples who have subsisted on marine resources for centuries,” said Colleen Keane, Alaska program associate for Pacific Environment. “The EPA needs to take the precautionary approach in order to prevent future harm to the health of the environment and people.”  

“If chemical dispersants are going to be used after an oil spill, we have to know whether they’ll hurt or kill whales, sea turtles and other wildlife. So far, the EPA has no idea,” said Deirdre McDonnell of the Center for Biological Diversity, which brought suit with Surfrider and Pacific Environment. “Unprecedented amounts of dispersants were dumped into the sea during the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and they’re likely still affecting the Gulf of Mexico, where dead dolphins continue to wash ashore.”

The Center, Pacific Environment and Surfrider filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The suit seeks to force the EPA and Coast Guard to comply with the Endangered Species Act and examine the impacts of these toxins on endangered wildlife and consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before approving their use.

For more information contact:
Colleen Keane, Pacific Environment
(206) 734-9300