Suit: Agencies fail to protect marine species from oil

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A conservation group says the U.S. government failed to protect endangered whales and other animals by underestimating the potential for an oil spill like a recent crude pipeline leak off California’s coast. The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday. The suit says Interior Department agencies and the National Marine Fisheries Service didn’t ensure offshore oil and gas production wouldn’t jeopardize endangered and threatened species in accordance with U.S. law. The lawsuit says the Service in a 2017 analysis underestimated the potential size of an oil spill off California’s coast. The Interior Department, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and National Marine Fisheries Service declined to comment on the suit.