Trump’s Interior Department Is Ill-Prepared to Deal with the Next Big Spill

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2018/01/04/444121/trumps-interior-department-ill-prepared-deal-next-big-spill/
"Today, the Trump administration unveiled its vision to radically expand where it allows offshore oil and gas drilling. If implemented as outlined, this move would ensure that spilled oil washes ashore on more American beaches on both coasts. In addition to expanding drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, the administration’s draft plan disregards sound science and broad public opposition by proposing to allow oil and gas leasing in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans from Washington to Florida, as well as in dangerous environments in the Arctic Ocean. Importantly, this plan comes while the administration aggressively works to overturn existing safety standards and environmental protections that guard against oil spills and other impacts of energy development. These safety rollbacks come at a time when regulators are finding many offshore drillers unprepared to address disasters. If the Trump administration is successful, offshore drilling will be much riskier—and there will be more of it. Today’s announcement—and the accompanying regulatory rollback effort—demonstrates a willful disregard for the hard-earned lessons that led the government to implement existing environmental and safety standards in the first place."