2 The Secretariat takes the view that although the provisions governing the SEM process are set forth in Chapter 24 of the USMCA, certain related procedures are also established under the Agreement on Environmental Cooperation among the Governments of the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada (ECA), namely: the Secretariat’s role in the implementation of the Submissions o. [...] The United States describes the NEPA process for the Proposed Risk Reduction Rule to amend the Take Reduction Plan for NARWs.34 The United States recounts the work of the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team (ALWTRT) to create a regional framework and target of risk reduction for the NARW “based on the goals laid out in section 118 of the MMPA.”35 The Party concludes, “NOAA has fully satisfied. [...] The Secretariat will then clarify the extent to which the matters in the submission may be the subject of pending judicial proceedings.53 To the extent that the following cases involve the same matter in the submission and have the potential to resolve the matter, the Secretariat will proceed no further to avoid the potential for duplication or interference. [...] Because of the potential for the lawsuit to resolve the matter raised in the submission and the strong potential for duplication of efforts,67 the Secretariat will proceed no further on whether the Vessel Speed Rule must be updated in order to uphold the protections and prohibitions in the MMPA and ESA. [...] If plaintiffs prevail and the court grants the relief they request, the court would “[d]eclare that the Defendants, in issuing the 2021 BiOp, including the Conservation Framework, and the TRP Rule, violated the ESA and APA by substantially overestimating the effects of the American Lobster Fishery, including the Maine lobster fishery, on the NARW and by imposing unnecessary and inappropriate conse.
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