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Lawsuit Launched Against Trump EPA for Approving Fracking Waste Dumping Into Gulf of Mexico

The Center for Biological Diversity filed on Thursday a formal notice of intent to sue the Trump administration for allowing oil companies to dump waste from fracking and drilling into the Gulf of Mexico without evaluating the dangers to sea turtles, whales or other imperiled marine life.

In September the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) finalized a Clean Water Act permit for new and existing offshore oil and gas platforms operating in federal waters off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The permit allows oil companies to dump unlimited amounts of waste fluid, including chemicals involved in fracking, into the Gulf of Mexico.

"The Trump administration is letting the oil industry turn our oceans into toxic-waste dumps. The EPA’s supposed to protect water quality, not help pollute the Gulf," said Kristen Monsell, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. "It’s time for the courts to remind this agency that its mission is to safeguard the environment and public health."

Thursday’s notice letter highlighted the fact that the agency’s approval of the permit without studying risks to imperiled species in the Gulf of Mexico is a violation of the federal Endangered Species Act. […]

More about the Gulf of Mexico water quality:

Gulf of Mexico oil spill much worse than thought, federal lawyers say

2017 Summer Gulf ‘Dead Zone’ Could Be Bigger Than Connecticut

Gulf Coast Oil Spill May Be Largest Since 2010 BP Disaster

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