The National Oil Spill Commission has come up with a sound proposal for Congress: Enact legislation for safer operation of offshore oil drilling operations.
The commission has completed a comprehensive study of the Deepwater Horizon accident, and the massive spill that followed. The 380-page report begins with a minute-by-minute review of the events leading up to the blowout, and describes the consequences of what President Obama called the worst environmental disaster we have yet faced.
Oil washed up along more than 650 miles of coastal land, and the environmental damage ashore and at sea is still being tallied. An accounting of the economic damage, particularly to tourism and commercial fishing, is also still underway.
But the extent of the damage makes a compelling case for new safety standards and better regulation of the industry. The commission recommends, for instance, the creation of an independent safety agency within the Department of the Interior. Such independence would insulate regulatory officers from the pressure from industry and government to raise production.
Related proposals call for more funding and additional time for regulatory review, and legislative changes that allow for a more thorough approach to environmental assessments. The commission also urged a change in a liability cap, which limits a company’s damages to $75 million in the event of a disaster.
Better oil spill planning was urged as well, and the commission called for a comprehensive restoration effort that should be undertaken in Gulf Coast areas.
The new Republican chairmen of several House committees have already signaled that new regulation of the oil and gas industry will not be their top priority. We hope the comprehensive accounting of the failures behind the Gulf oil spill will help overcome such resistance.
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