U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) joined the rest of the Louisiana House delegation on Monday in voicing their opposition to a proposed energy-drilling well-control rule by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).
Oil and gas industry stakeholders have said the new rule imposes an impossible burden on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, requiring technology to be implemented in a few months that has not been fully developed or proven to be safe.
“As you can imagine, that result would not only carry with it other
long-term safety concerns, but would have substantial negative impacts
on Louisiana’s coastal-restoration efforts, as revenues received through
the Gulf of Mexico Security Act (GOMESA) could be jeopardized,” the lawmakers said in a letter sent to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. “Louisiana voters in 2006 overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment dedicating GOMESA funds to critical coastal restoration efforts in the state. Should this proposed rule go forward in its current prescriptive nature and result in a de facto drilling moratorium, we believe it would undermine important efforts to restore our vanishing coastline.”