Since joining the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement as Director on March 28, Kevin M. Sligh Sr., has made it a priority to personally meet and consult with BSEE employees in bureau offices across the United States and engage with federal and state partners, offshore energy operators, and non-governmental stakeholders with an interest in BSEE’s mission and priorities, including how BSEE is expanding its mission to include overseeing offshore renewable energy production and carbon storage potential.
“It’s an honor to be a part of the BSEE team as we fulfill a critical role on behalf of all Americans by ensuring offshore energy operations are safe and environmentally sustainable,” said Director Sligh. “I’m particularly proud to lead BSEE at this critical juncture, as our role in federal offshore renewable energy projects grows. And after meeting with BSEE employees across the country, I’m confident that our team is fully prepared to meet these challenges.”
In addition to supporting the development of a safe, robust, and environmentally responsible offshore wind industry in the United States, thus advancing the Administration’s goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030, Director Sligh also considers these to be key priorities for BSEE:
- Building a regulatory framework to facilitate safe and environmentally sustainable offshore carbon sequestration.
- Continuing to improve safe and environmentally responsible offshore oil and gas energy development.
- Enhancing oil spill research through advance technologies, remote sensing tools, and integrating remote sensing data to support operational decision making.
- Decommissioning orphaned wells and pipelines and removing infrastructure from the seabed to decrease the risk of pollution, restore ecosystems, and create well-paying jobs for communities across the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific coasts.
- Reinforcing equity and diversity at BSEE through Interior’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility initiative, which calls for program reviews to identify gaps, challenges, and best practices.
In his first three months in office, Director Sligh travelled to BSEE offices in Anchorage, Alaska; Camarillo, California; Houston, Texas; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Sterling, Virginia, where he toured facilities, travelled offshore, addressed employees, and met one-on-one with BSEE’s dedicated career staff. During remarks at these locations, Director Sligh discussed his vision and priorities for BSEE, and introduced employees to what he calls his four C’s – coordination, communication, collaboration, and commitment – in the fulfillment of the BSEE mission.
Recognizing the critical role of partnerships and of sharing lessons learned, Director Sligh met with federal partners from the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and with state and other partners in Alaska, California, and Louisiana. They discussed shared roles and objectives such as improving offshore safety, environmental protection, and the regulation of our nation’s resources. In addition, Director Sligh also met and consulted with oil spill response consortiums and offshore well containment organizations.
During meetings with offshore operators, trade groups and environmental stakeholders, Director Sligh shared his vision for BSEE’s continued role in promoting safety, protecting the environment, and conserving offshore energy resources. He was a guest speaker at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Gulf Research Program in Corpus Christi, Texas, and API’s Safe Lifting Conference in Houston, where he discussed topics like BSEE’s safe-lifting initiative, pending rule changes, and the expansion of the renewable energy program, and reiterated BSEE’s commitment to building a meaningful safety culture that permeates all offshore energy activities.
Director Sligh intends to meet with additional offshore wind companies and non-governmental organizations to further awareness of BSEE’s programs to advance the Administration’s Justice40 Initiatives.
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