Interior Proposes Weakening Arctic Ocean Drilling Safety Standards
Proposed rule would loosen blowout prevention, containment, and oil spill response requirements on the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of the Interior proposed weakening the 2016 Arctic Exploratory Drilling Rule, loosening safety, containment, and spill-response standards for oil and gas exploration on the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf. The proposal targets real-time safety monitoring, source control and containment equipment, and oil spill response plan reviews necessary to protecting the sensitive arctic environment.
Following is a statement from Taryn Kiekow Heimer, director of ocean energy at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):
“It is outrageous that this administration would invite more drilling in the Arctic Ocean—one of the planet’s most fragile and irreplaceable marine ecosystems—while gutting the very safety protections meant to prevent disaster. The Arctic’s remote location, lack of infrastructure, and extreme weather make drilling exceptionally dangerous. If oil spills into icy waters, cleanup would be impossible, and the damage could last for generations. The Arctic needs more stringent regulations, not another reckless giveaway to the oil industry, this time disguised as a rule change. Rolling back safety requirements–especially those enacted in the wake of the devastating Deepwater Horizon disaster–ignores the extreme conditions in the Arctic and is an invitation for disaster.”
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NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).