the plaintiffs have called attention to the fact that each IHA
was considered and approved individually, while the impact
will be cumulative. Clearly, the combined effects of seismic
blasting by five separate entities in the same geographic
area for not 108, 308, 70, 208, or 155 days, but 849 days and
nights over a one-year period will have a more significant
impact on whales, dolphins, sea turtles and the ecosystems
that supports them.
Another step in the federal approval process for seismic
testing involves an applicant’s submission of a request for
a “consistency review” to determine whether the proposed
activities are consistent with the applicable enforceable
policies of an affected state’s Coastal Zone Management
Program. In South Carolina, the Department of Health and
Environmental Control (DHEC) performs the evaluation.
In March of 2019, WesternGeco, one of the five entities
that received an IHA from the National Marine Fisheries
Service, submitted a Consistency Certification request to
DHEC. As part of its review, DHEC published a 30-day
public comment period. Over 1,700 individual public
comments were received. On July 8, 2019, WesternGeco’s
request for a Consistency Certificate was denied. In 2015,
DHEC had issued a Conditional Coastal Zone Consistency
for essentially the same seismic airgun testing requested by
three of the other entities who have received IHAs. 13 However,
water transportation of personnel and supplies to rigs.” 9
The expedited permitting process for seismic testing is
raising multiple alarms. On November 30, 2018, the National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued five incidental
harassment authorizations (“IHAs”), a critical step in granting
testing permits to the five geological survey companies.
This authorization process is intended to assure compliance
with federal law protecting marine mammals, endangered
species, and the ecosystems upon which they depend.
Federal law does allow for some harassment or “taking”
(meaning “to injure, harm, or kill”) of species under limited
circumstances. But to be authorized, the harassment must
have no more than a “negligible impact” on a species, only
impact small numbers, and be based on the best scientific
evidence available. 10 Federal law further instructs that actions
authorized by the NMFS should not jeopardize the continued
existence of protected species or result in the destruction or
adverse modification of designated critical habitat. 11
Sixteen coastal municipalities (including Kiawah), the SC
Small Business Chamber of Commerce, and South Carolina’s
Attorney General are seeking an injunction to stop the five
seismic surveys. 12 In addition to stressing that the impact
on endangered whales, sea turtles and their ecosystems
will be more than “negligible” and that the impact on
recreational and commercial fishing will be considerable,
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