Earth Protect Blog

The effects of Deepwater Horizon disaster are still being felt in the Gulf Coast region. However, there have been steps made to keep this from happening again, and not just in the Gulf. These types of disasters will be much less likely to happen off of U.S. waters everywhere, thanks to new enforcement announced by the government that it will regulate not only offshore rigs, but also the contractors who own and work on them. The Bureau of Safety Environmental Enforcement’s interim director Michael Bromwich announced these new regulations at an oil conference last week. 

 This new oversight is not only necessary for the industry in order to avoid fines and other violations that can result in long legal battles and ultimately lost life and profit, but also for the people of the gulf coast. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) was the agency overseeing regulation up until the time of the explosion, but was dismantled shortly after. The MMS was only in charge of overseeing and monitoring drilling operators, not the contractors. However, once the Deepwater Horizon explosion happened and the MMS was dismantled, significant restructuring occurred, and this required new agencies to be formed. There is no logical reason why contractors should not be regulated under the same rules as the rigs; after all they are in charge of drilling operations and overall performance.

 The residents of the gulf coast region have been devastated by the spill, but at least they can breath a little easier knowing that there will be appropriate oversight to prevent this from happening again.