Ezell Introduces Legislation to Modernize Marine Mammal Protection Act

Congressman Mike Ezell (MS-04), Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, introduced legislation to modernize the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972, improve regulatory certainty, and ensure federal permitting decisions are based on the best available scientific data.

The legislation would update requirements governing the incidental take of marine mammals during otherwise lawful activities, including maritime operations, infrastructure development, and other projects in coastal waters. By clarifying regulatory standards and streamlining the permitting process, the bill seeks to reduce unnecessary delays while maintaining protections for marine mammal populations.

"Along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, our maritime industry, ports, shipyards, and coastal communities depend on the ability to carry out critical projects without unnecessary federal red tape," Ezell said. "We can protect our marine resources while also ensuring that federal regulations are grounded in sound science and common sense. This legislation brings much-needed clarity and predictability to the permitting process, helping support American jobs, strengthen our maritime industry, and keep important projects moving forward."

"On behalf of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, I'm pleased to support these proposed modifications, which bring clarity and common sense reform to the Marine Mammal Protection Act without weakening its core function," General Spraggins, Director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, said. "Replacing ambiguity with more explicit and defined standards will positively impact both the resources allocated for conservation related work and the marine resources in our waters."

"The introduction of this legislation represents an important step toward ensuring that MMPA implementation is guided by clear statutory standards and the best available science," Dustin Van Liew, EnerGeo Alliance SVP Global Policy, said. "We commend Congressman Ezell for his leadership in introducing language that reflects years of energy industry engagement and policy development aimed at improving regulatory certainty while maintaining robust protections for marine mammals."

Specifically, the legislation would:

• Modernize the definition of harassment: Update the Marine Mammal Protection Act's definition of harassment to focus on actual injury or disturbance rather than the potential for those impacts.
• Establish clearer scientific standards: Define a "negligible impact" based on whether an activity is reasonably likely to significantly and adversely affect the annual survival rate of a marine mammal species or stock.
• Streamline incidental take authorizations: Remove certain statutory limitations on the duration and number of marine mammals covered by incidental take authorizations, providing greater flexibility and predictability for project planning.
• Improve mitigation and monitoring requirements: Direct federal agencies to establish appropriate, practicable, and economically feasible conditions to minimize impacts on marine mammals, along with efficient monitoring and reporting requirements.
• Prevent unnecessary project disruptions: Ensure conditions imposed through specified incidental take authorizations do not alter the basic design, location, scope, duration, or timing of an otherwise lawful activity.
• Strengthen science-based decision-making: Require federal determinations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to rely on the objective application of the best available scientific and commercial data, without precautionary assumptions that could bias those determinations.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act plays an important role in conserving marine mammal populations. However, its permitting requirements can also affect maritime construction, port improvements, offshore operations, and other activities important to coastal economies.

Ezell's legislation seeks to provide a more predictable regulatory framework that allows these activities to move forward while retaining federal oversight and requirements to minimize impacts on marine mammals.

As Chairman of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee and Vice Chairman of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries, Ezell has prioritized policies that support America's maritime capabilities, strengthen coastal economies, and promote responsible management of marine resources.

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