The Trump administration has advanced a partial rewriting of Endangered Species Act rules that could significantly shorten the reach of the landmark environmental law.
Ending several months of regulatory silence, the Fish and Wildlife Service sent to White House reviewers Monday a proposal that would redefine a key word, “harm.” The agency didn’t elaborate on the proposed redefinition and didn’t offer comment Wednesday, but the potential change alarms environmentalists.
“Weakening the definition of harm would cut the heart out of the Endangered Species Act and be a death sentence for plants and animals on the brink of extinction,” Noah Greenwald, co-director of endangered species at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.
The proposed redefinition was submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which is part of the powerful Office of Management and Budget. OIRA, as it is known, is the gatekeeper that screens every proposed rule and regulation before a formal Federal Register posting launches a public comment period that would lead, ultimately, to a final rule.
