House Hearing To Drill Down On Offshore Safety Enforcement. According to Politico, “Interior Department officials will head to the Hill on Wednesday to defend their enforcement of offshore drilling rig safety rules to Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee. The hearing comes after committee Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), chairman of the subcommittee on energy and minerals, last week demanded BSEE give them more than four years’ worth of unredacted drilling applications by March 11. Their letter was prompted by a POLITICO report that the agency had granted nearly 1,700 waivers in 20 months to offshore drilling safety rules that the Obama administration enacted after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Doug Morris, the head of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s Offshore Regulatory Programs, is scheduled to appear at the hearing of the Energy and Minerals panel. He’ll be joined by Walter Cruickshank, acting director of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which is developing a new offshore drilling lease plan. BSEE has struggled to explain the details around its approval of more than 1,600 waivers to offshore oil rig safety rules. The dozens of rules affected were those the Obama administration put place in reaction to the Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 people and spewed more than 200 million gallons of oil into the water.” [Politico, 3/5/19 (=)]

 

Florida Bill Would Ban Plastic Straw Bans. According to The Guardian, “In the growing war against the environmental impact of plastic, Florida seems to be taking a giant step backwards by pushing legislation that would stop local authorities from banning plastic straws, a move that has, not surprisingly, angered many environmentalists. The bill, under consideration by lawmakers, would place a five-year suspension on municipalities’ banning of plastic straws, pending a study from the Florida department of environmental protection. Calling the banning of plastic straws ‘government overreach’, the Florida state senator Travis Hutson also amended the bill to create a $25,000 fine for local governments that regulate the material and another ban on municipal regulation of sunscreens that harm coral reefs, the Miami Herald reported. The move goes against previous efforts by the state to mitigate the damage caused by straws. The state department of environmental protection encourages Florida residents to ‘skip the straw’ and reduce their plastic use. In a statement to the Guardian, the agency declared: ‘Plastic straws are one of the many single-use plastics that litter beaches, pollute oceans, and harm wildlife.’ Holly Parker-Curry of the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental not-for-profit organization that prioritizes clean oceans and beaches, said: ‘If anything, Florida should be leading the country in environmental policy … The legislature has really tied the hands of local governments and given them no way to protect their local environment from the hazards of single-use plastic.’” [The Guardian, 3/6/19 (=)]

 

Coastal States Mount Bipartisan Resistance As Trump Forges Ahead With Offshore Drilling Plans. According to Think Progress, “The Trump administration is pushing forward with its plans to dramatically expand offshore drilling and testing, even as coastal Republicans and Democrats alike work swiftly to block such efforts. Southern states like Florida and South Carolina are among those rejecting President Donald Trump’s plans to open virtually all U.S. waters to oil and gas drilling. Coastal communities say those projects would imperil tourism and hurt their economies, to say nothing of the environment. Both Trump and Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt have largely ignored the outrage, even from states with conservative leadership. Last week, 27 Florida lawmakers — the state’s entire House delegation — sent a letter to Bernhardt, imploring him to make good on former secretary Ryan Zinke’s pledge to exempt Florida from offshore drilling plans. The lawmakers span the political spectrum, and include Reps. Kathy Castor (D), who is heading the House’s select committee on climate change, Francis Rooney, a Republican who has pushed for climate action, and Matt Gaetz (R), who once introduced legislation to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ‘As you know, last year, former Interior Secretary Zinke announced that Florida would be exempt from any offshore drilling plans. However, we remain concerned that no formal action has been taken to prohibit drilling off Florida’s coasts,’ wrote the lawmakers.” [Think Progress, 3/4/19 (+)]

 

'We Cannot Swim, We Cannot Eat': Solomon Islands Struggle With Nation's Worst Oil Spill. According to The Guardian, “On a normal weekend, the waters of Kangava Bay would be busy with children playing or collecting clam shells and villagers heading out to catch reef fish to eat. But last Sunday the bay was quiet. Locals can no longer cool off in the neon blue waters of Rennell Island, a tiny dot in the vast South Pacific that lies at the southern tip of the Solomon Islands. They can no longer spot parrotfish swimming in the shallows, picnic on the sand or fetch fresh water from streams and springs near the sea. The reason lies just yards offshore. It is hard to miss. Four weeks ago the huge Hong Kong-flagged bulk carrier MV Solomons Trader, carrying 700 tonnes of oil, ran aground on Kongobainiu reef after becoming loosed from its mooring. Now dead fish float in the bay. The tide is black. A thick oily blanket of tar covers the surface of the water and coats beaches, rockpools, logs and leaves. The coastal villages of Matanga, Vangu, Lavangu and Kangava have been the hardest hit by the oil spill. Paul Neil, who lives in Lavungu village, told the Guardian that children had been told not to swim in the sea and that fishing had been banned for the foreseeable future. With no way to find their own food, the villagers were now depending on deliveries from the capital Honiara, 150 miles away. Neil said the slick had changed the local way of life.” [The Guardian, 3/5/19 (=)]

 

Governor Ignores Climate, Drilling Ban In Key Address. According to Inside EPA, “Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis yesterday reiterated his desire to clean up the state’s environment and boost water quality. What he didn’t mention during the annual State of the State address: climate change or banning offshore drilling or hydraulic fracturing. ‘I’m proud to have taken swift and bold action to protect our natural resources and improve Florida’s water quality,’ he told lawmakers. DeSantis’ message fell in line with previous pro-environmental actions, a sharp contrast from his predecessor, Republican Rick Scott, and President Trump, who both endorsed him. He’s also touted his own track record on fracking and pushing to ban drilling off the Gulf Coast in the past. But environmental advocates yesterday said the governor — and his speech — didn’t go far enough, calling the remarks a missed opportunity to address energy issues and climate change. ‘This would have been a great place for him to double down on a fracking ban in Florida, but he didn’t do it,’ said Frank Jackalone, director of the Sierra Club’s Florida chapter. Florida made news a year ago when then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke tweeted that he was taking the state ‘off the table’ from the department’s proposed offshore drilling plan after meeting with then-Gov. Scott. Florida’s fate still hangs in the balance as the Interior Department has yet to release its proposed five-year plan to sell oil and gas leases off the nation’s coasts. Despite Scott’s meeting with Zinke, he was widely criticized as governor for not doing enough to preserve Florida’s Everglades and pristine beaches.” [Inside EPA, 3/5/19 (=)]

 

 

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