An increasing number of oil spills and offshore injuries have occurred in the nation’s coastal waters since the Trump administration began rolling back vital safety regulations meant to prevent a repeat of the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion that tragically killed 11 offshore workers and injured 17 others in the Gulf of Mexico nearly 10 years ago.
BSEE Director Opposed Stronger Offshore Regulation
The Trump administration signaled its willingness to loosen oversight in 2017, when the President tapped Scott Angelle, a former Louisiana secretary of natural resources, to head up the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) – the agency created to oversee offshore drilling operations in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
According to the Center for American Progress, Angelle has deep ties to oil and gas drillers and lobbied on their behalf during the Obama administration. In fact, he even helped lead industry opposition to reforms proposed in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy.
How the Trump Administration Has Weakened Offshore Oversight
Angelle frequently claims that offshore inspections have increased during his tenure. Yet the Center for American Progress found that BSEE inspectors actually made 13% fewer visits to rigs, platforms, pipelines, and other offshore facilities during the first three years of the Trump administration compared to the last three years of the Obama administration. They also issued 38% fewer enforcement actions against offshore oil and gas operators.
Meanwhile, Angelle’s agency approved more than 1,700 waivers allowing offshore drillers to avoid complying with stronger standards for blowout preventers, the critical piece of safety equipment that failed on the Deepwater Horizon rig.
As the BSEE eased up on oversight, the Trump administration also moved to significantly weaken the Well Control Rule, a set of regulations designed to head off similar disasters in the future. In addition to establishing the stronger blowout preventer standards, the Well Control Rule set requirements for real-time monitoring of offshore operations and independent third-party equipment inspections.
Offshore Injuries Up 21% in 2018 and 2019
According to the Center for American Progress, a recent uptick in offshore oil spills and accidents has coincided with the Trump administration’s war on regulations.
In fact, the amount of oil spilled per barrel produced on the Outer Continental Shelf increased six-fold in 2018 and 2019 compared with the previous two years. At the same time, the number of offshore injuries per hours worked rose by 21%.
The Trump administration and the Interior Department have yet to acknowledge this disturbing trend. In fact, Angelle recently argued that “BSEE is driving safety performance and environmental stewardship improvements beyond regulations through innovation and collaboration,” despite an abundance of real-world evidence – including his Bureau’s own data – that directly contradicts those claims.
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