The Interior Department on Monday proposed regulations to ensure proper maintenance and testing of blowout preventers, the failed devices at the center of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill five years ago.
The new rules come exactly one week before the five-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster that resulted in the death of nearly a dozen workers and a catastrophic oil spill.
“Both industry and government have taken important strides to better protect human lives and the environment from oil spills, and these proposed measures are designed to further build on critical lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon tragedy and to ensure that offshore operations are safe,” said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.
The proposed regulations would govern the safe use of devices called blowout preventers, which are essentially large valves that sit at the bottom of the ocean that are supposed to shut off the flow of oil in the event of catastrophic failure. The new rules seek to enact safeguards that would ensure that proper maintenance and testing are conducted so the devices work when needed.
The regulations were proposed after an investigation into the April 2010 rig explosion showed that most of the oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico could have been prevented if the rig’s blowout device had been properly maintained.
The five-year anniversary of the spill falls April 20.
Environmentalists have criticized the administration for slow-walking the regulations.
The top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, Raul M. Grijalva of Arizona, a fervent environmental advocate, said the “overdue” regulation brings the oil industry in the “modern era.” He said he would “work for a strong final rule, and I encourage everyone who supports our economy and our environment to do the same.”
The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the oil industry, said it is reviewing the regulation. “We are reviewing the proposed rules and hope they will complement industry’s own efforts to enhance safety,” said Erik Milito, the industry group’s upstream director who overseas offshore drilling.
He noted that “improved standards for blowout preventers are one of the many ways industry has led the charge to make offshore operations even safer” after the 2010 Gulf spill.
