Requiring full environmental reviews — at least for the time beingof new deepwater oil and gas drilling is a move in the right direction as the country recalibrates its regulation of deep sea energy exploration.
It’s unfortunate that it took a tragedy like the BP oil well disaster to spur the Obama administration to limit the use of categorical exclusions — a type of waiver of environmental studies. But we hope the administration will continue to look carefully at what went wrong with BP’s Macondo well before coming up with a long-term plan to ensure the safety of deepwater drilling.
Even though we opposed the broad moratorium on Gulf drilling, the administration seems to be on the right track in conducting a broader assessment of deepwater drilling environmental issues.
The Interior Department is undertaking a comprehensive examination of the review process it uses under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), and the use of categorical exclusion waivers.
“In light of the increasing levels of complexity and risk — and the consequent potential environmental impacts — associated with deepwater drilling, we are taking a fresh look at the NEPA process and the types of environmental reviews that should be required for offshore activity,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said.
The permits for BP’s Macondo well were based on categorical exclusions written in 1981 and 1986. That is a lifetime ago in the world of oil and gas drilling technology.
The well blew on April 20, triggering a disaster that caused the deaths of 11 workers and eventually spewed an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf before it was stanched on July 15.
As the examination of the environmental review process continues, the moratorium on much of the deep water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico will continue. The guidelines, released last week, allow regulators to proceed with new permits for drilling in shallow water. Such activity had been effectively halted as a result of confusion over what drilling activity was covered by the moratorium.
We hope the administration sees its way clear to lifting the moratorium sooner rather than later. The safety of deepwater drilling is important, but so too is the economy of the Gulf Coast, which relies heavily on drilling and ancillary businesses.
Published reports say the administration is considering lifting the ban before it is set to expire on Nov. 30. Salazar has said that before new deepwater drilling begins, companies need to demonstrate they are capable of handling a disaster on the scale of the Macondo blowout.
Gulf oil production, which accounts for about 30 percent of the total domestic oil produced, is an important part of the country’s energy supply.
As the administration moves forward with regulatory reform, we hope its decisions stay rooted in science and target actual problems revealed and avoid moves that are merely politically expedient.
