Supporters say the measures being taken by the US Fish and Wildlife Service will encourage companies and developers to take steps to prevent unintentional killing of birds.
Some oil and gas producers have emerged as early opponents, however, saying the rules could create an undue burden on the industry.
Measures being considered could include permit processes for new skyscrapers, power lines, wind turbines and other structures that birds fly into, often with fatal consequences. Businesses that obtain permits will limit the risk of hefty fines for inadvertently killing birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Fish and wildlife officials are also looking at assessing a conservation fee as part of the permit process, which lacks funding has led to a decline in the bird’s population.
The agency said the regulations are needed to protect dwindling populations of migratory birds, noting that about 10% of the roughly 1,100 species protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act are threatened or endangered.
While much of this is due to habitat loss from new development and agriculture, the agency says that “millions of birds are killed directly from human-caused sources, such as collisions with man-made structures,” according to the Fish and Wildlife document. .
Environmentalists are backing the effort, as well as some businesses that say the current rules are unclear and in need of clarification.
But the permit system, even in its infancy, is being opposed by the American Exploration and Production Council and several other oil and gas production groups.
They say no data exists to show that a permitting program would protect the birds “over and above our industry’s operating practices and conservation measures.”
“A new permitting program would provide another cost to our industry and unnecessarily delay development,” the groups said in a letter.
Oil and gas drilling contributes to the accidental deaths of birds in a number of ways, with birds soaring in colorless flames as excess methane gas is being burned from wells.
According to the Fish and Wildlife report, pits used to dispose of mud, wastewater and other liquids in connection with oil drilling are estimated to kill hundreds of thousands of birds annually. But the trade group said the same report shows cats are by far the biggest threat to birds.
The industry’s top lobbying group, the American Petroleum Institute, said the Biden administration should limit criminal penalties for intentional homicides following court rulings that the law does not apply to accidents. If regulators create a permit program, he said it should be general, not project specific, to reduce “undue administrative burden or delay”.
The US Chamber of Commerce and other business groups raised concerns that the permit process could disrupt projects funded by the bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure plan – along with new wind and solar power projects that the White House said would reduce US dependence on fossil fuels. Wants and wants to help coping. Climate change.
“Complicated federal procedures and permitting criteria can delay not only the implementation of any infrastructure program but any associated benefits—including climate benefits that will extend to migratory birds and other species,” says Room. and other groups, including the Associated General Contractors of America, said in a letter to Fish and Wildlife.
Wildlife researchers have estimated that wind turbines are estimated to kill between 140,000 and 500,000 birds per year, and a large expansion of those turbines could cause bird deaths in excess of 1 million annually.
Fish and Wildlife has given a broad outline of what a permit system might be, and is expected to issue a formal proposal for public comment this summer. Officials say they haven’t made a decision about who will need to get permits and how much they will cost.
The permission motion represents a back and forth middle ground between the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations.
Officials under former President Barack Obama first conceptualized the permit, but former President Donald Trump’s administration decided to pursue criminal penalties for intentional homicides, not accidental homicides. After President Biden took office, wildlife officials rescinded that guidance.
Violators of the seldom-enforced law face fines of up to $15,000 and up to six months in prison for each bird killed.
Duke Energy Corp., whose subsidiary was fined $1 million in 2013 after dozens of birds died at a wind-turbine project in Wyoming, said it supports the effort to create new rules.
The company said in comments on the proposed permit system, “Regulatory exceptions and general permits can provide regulatory clarity and certainty to regulated communities and, if implemented properly, serve and be meaningful birds while reducing the burden on the regulated community.” can provide protection.” ,
The measures are also supported by conservation groups, who note that North America’s bird populations have declined by about a third since the 1970s, much of it from habitat loss and threats posed by human development.
The National Audubon Society and Natural Resources Defense Council, conservation nonprofits, said the new rules could clarify corporate liability when “the country is on the verge of making generational investments in infrastructure and clean energy development.”
“This is the right time to address this issue,” both groups said.
Timothy Malee, executive director of the Center for Environmental Policy Innovation, said regulators who are developing the new permitting process face a challenging balance of coming up with a program that protects the birds and stresses agency staff. Minimizes costs and disruption in businesses without
With rule makers potentially focused on allowing for many large industries first, “it will be a long time before small businesses exist in reality,” he said.