Deep-Water Drilling Moratorium Lifted: Neither Side is Happy. By Mark Guarino, CSMonitor, 10/12/10. “The Obama administration lifted its moratorium on deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday (10/12/10), replacing it with what Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is calling a “gold standard” of safety standards for operators looking to drill in water depths greater than 500 feet. Following the announcement, environmental groups said that it was ‘premature’ to lift the moratorium, while oil-industry operators worried that federal regulators are not finished creating new drilling standards.
“Among the new safety measures: 1) Operators must have their blowout preventer inspected and its design reviewed by an independent third party. 2) They must present a report showing how they would prevent or reduce a blowout at the wellhead. 3) They must get all their casing designs and cementing procedures certified by a professional engineer... The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which issues new permits for deep-water drilling in the Gulf, is ‘working to develop additional rules and guidelines’ past what is being established this week, said director Michael Bromwich. In the meantime, he added, ‘We will not approve permits or make decisions before the appropriate safeguards are in place.’”
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