Congress moves to kill marine archaeology protections for offshore energy
H.J.Res. 62 — Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management relating to "Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources". · Filed by Mike Ezell (R-MS) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 26, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This resolution disapproves a rule issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in September 2024 that was designed to protect marine archaeological resources. If passed, the rule would be nullified and have no legal effect, allowing oil and gas development activities in federal waters to proceed without the archaeological protections the rule would have imposed.
Why we flagged it
This is a Congressional Review Act (CRA) disapproval resolution targeting an environmental/cultural protection rule. It uses the CRA's expedited procedure to nullify a regulation without substantive debate, effectively deregulating marine archaeology protections to benefit offshore energy development.
What the text implies
- Disapproving the rule may set a precedent for challenging other BOEM environmental and cultural protections via CRA, potentially opening the door to similar disapprovals of marine mammal, habitat, or historical site protections.
- The rule's disapproval removes baseline archaeological survey and avoidance requirements, potentially accelerating offshore wind and oil/gas projects that might otherwise have been delayed for cultural resource assessment.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
offshore oil and gas operators; offshore wind developers; energy development contractors