WASHINGTON, July 12 (UPI) -- U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Monday issued new suspensions of deep water drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf.
In a statement, Salazar said he directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement to issue the new suspensions "to ensure that oil and gas companies first implement adequate safety measures to reduce the risks associated with deep water drilling operations and are prepared for blowouts and oil spills."
The suspensions will last until Nov. 30, the statement said, or until such time as Salazar determines deep water drilling can proceed safely. He conceded the new suspensions are similar to those struck down earlier by a federal judge, but said they were driven by new evidence. A federal appeals court last week refused to lift the judge's order, and said it would hear the case next month.
"More than 80 days into the BP oil spill (in the Gulf of Mexico), a pause on deep water drilling is essential and appropriate to protect communities, coasts, and wildlife from the risks that deep water drilling currently pose," Salazar said. "I am basing my decision on evidence that grows every day of the industry's inability in the deep water to contain a catastrophic blowout, respond to an oil spill and to operate safely."
Shallow water drilling activities use different technologies and do not present the same type of risk as deep water drilling operations, Salazar said, and can continue if operators are in compliance with safety and environmental requirements.
