Opening Statement of Ranking Member James P. Moran
Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)
"Welcome Director Beaudreau and Director Watson.
"Next month, on April 20th, we will mark the second anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster. For nearly three months in 2010, the public's attention was glued on the Gulf of Mexico as this tragedy unfolded. Lives were lost, the environment was severely damaged, and people and businesses far beyond the oil and gas industry were adversely affected.
"We learned a terrible lesson from that tragedy about the over reliance on technology, the complacency of operations, and the laxity of regulation.
"I commend Secretary Salazar and the President for recognizing and acting on the severe and systemic shortcomings in the government's regulation of what is a high risk enterprise. The fact that Director Beaudreau and Director Watson are sitting before us today as the heads of two new agencies is emblematic of the changes that have been made and continue to be made by the Interior Department to protect the public and the environment.
"That is more than can be said about Congress. Except for the good work this subcommittee has done to approve the reorganization of the Interior Department's OCS leasing and safety operations, and providing additional funds for inspectors, engineers, and other personnel, there is little to show on Congress's part.
"I can't help but be concerned that once the Macondo well was capped and the spotlight turned off, the public urgency to correct the glaring problems the disaster exposed waned.
"In January 2011, the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill issued its report and recommendations. It was a ringing indictment of the oil and gas industry and the regulators that oversaw it. As the Commission reported:
...while industry had devoted billions of dollars to the technologies required for deepwater drilling, it had devoted essentially nothing to creating alternative capabilities to deal with the foreseeable consequences of a disaster.
"This was however just one part of a systemic failure that required a whole new safety and environmental protection culture to be developed if new drilling operations were going to proceed.
"Yet, month after month last year I watched as former BOEMRE Director Michael Bromwich was raked over the coals in certain quarters for not quickly approving new drilling permits. To some you would think that Deepwater Horizon never happened. As the BP Spill Commission forcefully stated:
To be allowed to drill on the Outer Continental Shelf is a privilege to be earned, not a private right to be exercised.
"So, Director Beaudreau, from my perspective I don't want you to approve a lease or a plan until the operator has completely met all the enhanced safety, environmental, and operational requirements and Director Watson, I support you taking all necessary steps to see that safety and protection of the environment are the highest priorities in drilling operations.
"Thank you Mr. Chairman."
Source: U.S. Department of HCA
