Interior finalizes rollback of Deepwater Horizon oil rig safety measures

Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion, which devastated the Gulf Coast and killed 11 oil rig workers, the Obama administration put additional safety standards in place for offshore drilling to help prevent another deadly disaster. Now the Trump administration has formally loosened some of those protections, a move that has been in the works for nearly a year. Among the safety requirements that the U.S. Department of the Interior has deemed unimportant: certification by an independent third-party of safety equipment’s ability to withstand a range of conditions (including extreme conditions, like ice, strong winds or high pressure); and certification by professional engineers of certain documents. The message from the administration continues to be clear—shortcuts for Big Oil. Worker safety? Public health? The environment? Sorry, oil industry profits come first.