Seven months after attempting to woo Republican support for climate change legislation by unilaterally announcing plans to allow drilling off the Atlantic coast, the Obama administration is reversing course.
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is rescinding its decision to expand offshore oil exploration into the eastern Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic coast because of weaknesses in federal regulation revealed by the BP oil spill, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced on Wednesday.
Mr. Salazar said that drilling would remain under a moratorium for those areas for at least seven years, until stronger safety and environmental standards were in place.
Drilling will continue in the central and western Gulf of Mexico, although under a set of new safeguards put in place after the deadly BP explosion and oil spill in April. Future gulf leases will be subject to further environmental and safety studies, he said.
Despite the good faith preemptive concession, no Republicans were willing to support climate change legislation. Lindsey Graham blamed his refusal to cooperate on immigration reform legislation that never materialized. Then came the BP blowout, leaving the administration at a loss to explain why it had expanded drilling without getting anything in return. And now, with the reinstatement of the moratorium, we're pretty much back to square one.
In addition to continued drilling in the central and western Gulf, new drilling will continue in Alaska. Politico reports:
Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) said Salazar called him this morning and noted that the announcement clears the way for Shell to obtain its final permits to explore in the Beaufort Sea next summer.
"This decision to clear the way for responsible oil and gas in Alaska’s resource-rich offshore waters is great news for our state and the nation,” Begich said in a statement. “It’s unfortunate the development was sidelined by this spring’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but I’m pleased the Obama administration took a hard look and made the right decision.”
So with everything back to where things were before the BP disaster and the ill-fated preemptive concession on drilling, the big challenge remains: doing something about the looming energy and climate crises before its too late.