CBD plans suit over GoM dumping

The environmental group Center for Biological Diversity filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue the federal government for allowing oil and gas companies to dump unlimited amounts of waste fluid, including chemicals used in fracking, into the Gulf of Mexico. The group, in a document filed in federal court Dec. 7, says a permit approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows companies operating offshore oil and gas platforms to dump waste fluid into the Gulf. The CBD claims fracking is on the rise in federal waters off Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Billions of gallons of wastewater and other oil extraction processes was released into the GoM in 2014, according to public records obtained by the group. The Gulf was designated a critical habitat for loggerhead sea turtles and dolphins following the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010. The center's 60-day notice of intent to sue is required before a lawsuit can be filed. (Source: NOLA.com 12/08/17)