A D.C. federal judge allowed the American Petroleum Institute to intervene in NRDC's challenge to a national-security-based endangered species exemption for Gulf oil and gas operations.

What happened

A D.C. federal judge allowed the American Petroleum Institute to join as a defendant in Natural Resources Defense Council Inc.'s suit challenging a national-security-based Endangered Species Act exemption for oil and gas activity in the Gulf.

U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras granted API's motion to intervene as of right, finding the industry group satisfied the Rule 24 factors for joining the case. The opinion says neither NRDC nor the federal defendants opposed API's request.

The underlying suit challenges Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's March 13 finding that overriding endangered species protections for Gulf oil and gas activity was necessary for national security, along with the Endangered Species Committee's March 31 decision granting the exemption. NRDC seeks declarations that the determination and implementation were unlawful, and asks the court to vacate the exemption.

API told the court it represents roughly 600 oil and gas companies, including members that operate offshore wells and have developed offshore leases in the Gulf. Judge Contreras said the relief NRDC seeks would directly affect API's interests because vacatur would substantially change the legal framework for Gulf operations, writing, "The action therefore threatens to impair API’s protected interest."

The court also found API's motion timely because it came shortly after the operative complaint, before major motions had been resolved and with no identified prejudice to existing parties. On representation, the judge said the federal defendants did not adequately stand in for API's private interests because government parties represent the public interest, not a particular industry group's interests.

The ruling does not decide whether the exemption is lawful. The opinion says the federal defendants' motion to dismiss was not scheduled to be fully briefed until Aug. 4, 2026, leaving the merits fight over the ESA exemption for later proceedings.