Ten AG-Coalition and California AG Submitted Comments to BSEE Objecting to Proposed Rollback of Offshore Drilling Safety Requirements

AUGUST 3, 2018

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh led a coalition of ten attorneys general submitted comments to the Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) urging the bureau to abandon its proposed rollback of critical components of the Blowout Preventer and Well Control Rule. The AGs argued that BSEE’s plan would weaken safety standards and increase the likelihood of another spill like the Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra also submitted separate comments arguing against BSEE’s proposed rollback in comments filed separately. AG Becerra’s comments strongly aligned with the comments submitted by the other attorneys general, and raised specific concerns regarding BSEE’s rule-making methodology and failure to provide an environmental impact statement as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).