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| A map shows how far the oil has spread both in the Gulf itself and to on shore areas. Map Source |
A New Direction for the Same Old AgencyOne of the first actions the federal government took to fix the MMS debacle was to rename it. On June 21, 2010 Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar began his implementation of restructuring the agency by giving it the designation Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, BOEMRE. The organization was then splintered into three separate entities - the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the Office of Natural Resource Revenue.** Each acts in a non conflicting role under the management of Michael Bromwich. The three branches each have a different area in which to focus, “a safety and environmental enforcement office dedicated to making sure that offshore operators follow applicable regulations; and an ocean energy management office responsible for planning and leasing decisions”.(1) “New Orleans, La. —Yesterday, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement Director Michael R. Bromwich delivered the keynote address at the First International Offshore Oil & Gas Law Conference in New Orleans, La.
Director Bromwich discussed lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon blowout and spill, ongoing regulatory reform efforts, and the reorganization of the former Minerals Management Service.” (2)After nearly six months of appointment, BOEMRE director had a few things to say regarding the former, but somehow not very different, MMS now called BOEMRE. In the context of what is one of the greatest manmade disasters in the US, Bromwich outlined several reforms and guidelines for ongoing government and industry efforts to better utilize their relationship. While his statement is somewhat long, several key points stand out as both deserving of a sigh of relief and of critical questioning.An initial point Bromwich makes is that MMS failed to keep abreast with current and emerging technologies in regards to oil exploration and retrieval. He noted that “even before investigations began, the need for change was immediately apparent” (3). He does not address the issue of who is responsible for the either the lack of resources regarding MMS budgetary issues, or that governmental employees that were in place were failing to follow basic work place guidelines. Rather, this issue is sidestepped for, several throughout the press release, a pat on the back for the investigating agencies. If Bromwich recognizes there were shortcomings which had been accepted and not dealt with, what does that say for a larger bureaucracy at BOEMRE? Were the issues associated with the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA and incredibly complicated oversight, be taken into consideration? Bromwich also addressed the suspension of “certain deepwater drilling” (4) as it was necessary to provide time for governmental oversight and industry to ensure safe drilling practices. The director continued with an overview of what his investigation consisted of, specifically public forums containing academic experts to environmental groups to oil industry representatives. He also took into account hundreds of “written comments from the public” (5) and documents from “BP’s own internal investigation”(6), which gave him enough information to submit a report to Salazar and recommend that the moratorium be lifted almost two months ahead of the previously accepted November 30 date.Bromwich made note of a “severe shortage of resources” (7) regarding personnel, but said that those in place are doing a great job and that the agency will be able to pull individuals from other departments in order to speed up the regulation enforcement and permit process. Where these people will come from was not addressed.He then moved into the specifics, though more of an illusionary type, of how implementation would be implemented. He began with The Drilling Safety Rule and used words such as “tough new standards”(8) and “required to obtain independent third-party inspection and certification” (9) as though this was a radically new idea. The second rule or Safety and Environmental Management Systems Rules (SEMS) is directed at keeping workplace safety standards, again using catch phrases such as “comprehensive safety”(10) and “risk reduction strategies for all phases of activity”(11). Although he did note that some companies, the number was not given, had these practices in place on their own accord.Bromwich commented on reorganization of the department, which is specified above, but expanded on what it consists of. There will be 11 Implementation Teams who “analyze various aspects of BOEMRE’s regulatory structure”(12) and aid in the implementation of the reforms. Rest assured, these teams are ‘shovel ready’ and already working on new ways to better BOEMRE, which was a nice transition to Bromwich’s next point of order detailing ‘Future Reforms’.(13) The summation of that area is that the government will continue to listen to companies, third party entities, and the Congress (which ignores the realities of continuing congressional contributions) to better handle the incredibly large oversight which has been created with BOEMRE. In short, everything will work out because BOEMRE will listen to everybody and act the benevolent and wise governmental agency MMS was meant to be.Bromwich seemed to also take a swipe at the Obama administration’s handling of the initial cleanup efforts, “It is critical to ensure that, in the event of a blowout, containment resources are immediately available, regardless of the owner or operator involved”(14), which was somewhat hampered by the refusal to allow foreign ships to enter into the area and aid in containment and cleanup.Bromwich finished by acknowledging even these goals, though seemingly incredibly far reaching, do not go far enough. He mentioned the Ocean Energy Safety Institute, proposed by Salazar, which will basically do everything already mentioned, though functioning as a think tank.The full release can be found here.The report, here.Posted by D at 11:55 AM others sites:- legalplanet.wordpress
- Maritime-executive.com
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
A New Direction for the Same Old Agency
One of the first actions the federal government took to fix the MMS debacle was to rename it. On June 21, 2010 Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar began his implementation of restructuring the agency by giving it the designation Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, BOEMRE. The organization was then splintered into three separate entities - the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the Office of Natural Resource Revenue.** Each acts in a non conflicting role under the management of Michael Bromwich. The three branches each have a different area in which to focus, “a safety and environmental enforcement office dedicated to making sure that offshore operators follow applicable regulations; and an
ocean energy management office responsible for planning and leasing decisions”.(1)
“New Orleans, La. —Yesterday, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement Director Michael R. Bromwich delivered the keynote address at the First International Offshore Oil & Gas Law Conference in New Orleans, La.
Director Bromwich discussed lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon blowout and spill, ongoing regulatory reform efforts, and the reorganization of the former Minerals Management Service.” (2)
Director Bromwich discussed lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon blowout and spill, ongoing regulatory reform efforts, and the reorganization of the former Minerals Management Service.” (2)
After nearly six months of appointment, BOEMRE director had a few things to say regarding the former, but somehow not very different, MMS now called BOEMRE. In the context of what is one of the greatest manmade disasters in the US, Bromwich outlined several reforms and guidelines for ongoing government and industry efforts to better utilize their relationship. While his statement is somewhat long, several key points stand out as both deserving of a sigh of relief and of critical questioning.
An initial point Bromwich makes is that MMS failed to keep abreast with current and emerging technologies in regards to oil exploration and retrieval. He noted that “even before investigations began, the need for change was immediately apparent” (3). He does not address the issue of who is responsible for the either the lack of resources regarding MMS budgetary issues, or that governmental employees that were in place were failing to follow basic work place guidelines. Rather, this issue is sidestepped for, several throughout the press release, a pat on the back for the investigating agencies. If Bromwich recognizes there were shortcomings which had been accepted and not dealt with, what does that say for a larger bureaucracy at BOEMRE? Were the issues associated with the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA and incredibly complicated oversight, be taken into consideration?
Bromwich also addressed the suspension of “certain deepwater drilling” (4) as it was necessary to provide time for governmental oversight and industry to ensure safe drilling practices. The director continued with an overview of what his investigation consisted of, specifically public forums containing academic experts to environmental groups to oil industry representatives. He also took into account hundreds of “written comments from the public” (5) and documents from “BP’s own internal investigation”(6), which gave him enough information to submit a report to Salazar and recommend that the moratorium be lifted almost two months ahead of the previously accepted November 30 date.
Bromwich made note of a “severe shortage of resources” (7) regarding personnel, but said that those in place are doing a great job and that the agency will be able to pull individuals from other departments in order to speed up the regulation enforcement and permit process. Where these people will come from was not addressed.
He then moved into the specifics, though more of an illusionary type, of how implementation would be implemented. He began with The Drilling Safety Rule and used words such as “tough new standards”(8) and “required to obtain independent third-party inspection and certification” (9) as though this was a radically new idea. The second rule or Safety and Environmental Management Systems Rules (SEMS) is directed at keeping workplace safety standards, again using catch phrases such as “comprehensive safety”(10) and “risk reduction strategies for all phases of activity”(11). Although he did note that some companies, the number was not given, had these practices in place on their own accord.
Bromwich commented on reorganization of the department, which is specified above, but expanded on what it consists of. There will be 11 Implementation Teams who “analyze various aspects of BOEMRE’s regulatory structure”(12) and aid in the implementation of the reforms. Rest assured, these teams are ‘shovel ready’ and already working on new ways to better BOEMRE, which was a nice transition to Bromwich’s next point of order detailing ‘Future Reforms’.(13) The summation of that area is that the government will continue to listen to companies, third party entities, and the Congress (which ignores the realities of continuing congressional contributions) to better handle the incredibly large oversight which has been created with BOEMRE. In short, everything will work out because BOEMRE will listen to everybody and act the benevolent and wise governmental agency MMS was meant to be.
Bromwich seemed to also take a swipe at the Obama administration’s handling of the initial cleanup efforts, “It is critical to ensure that, in the event of a blowout, containment resources are immediately available, regardless of the owner or operator involved”(14), which was somewhat hampered by the refusal to allow foreign ships to enter into the area and aid in containment and cleanup.
Bromwich finished by acknowledging even these goals, though seemingly incredibly far reaching, do not go far enough. He mentioned the Ocean Energy Safety Institute, proposed by Salazar, which will basically do everything already mentioned, though functioning as a think tank.
The full release can be found here.
The report, here.
Posted by D at 11:55 AM
others sites:
- legalplanet.wordpress
- Maritime-executive.com
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
