Environmental advocacy groups are set to petition the Biden administration to create a new set of guidelines to ensure that offshore drilling infrastructure is properly managed and secured after the site has outlived its intended purpose, The Hill reported.
The move comes on the heels of a January report from the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office, which found that more than 2,700 idle oil wells and 500 platforms in the Gulf of Mexico have not been properly decommissioned.
The report begins by stating that the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) "does not effectively ensure that industry operators meet decommissioning deadlines for offshore wells and platforms at the end of their useful lives."
Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director for the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups behind the petition, said, "We are essentially asking for the agency who is charged with oversight of offshore oil and gas to get its act together. They're currently not requiring well-plugging; they're not requiring removal of platforms."
The coalition is also requesting that the BSEE be mandated to take legal action to enforce cleanup rules and that there be standards to ensure that any company that is granted an offshore drilling permit is able to clean up afterward.
"This damage can lead to pollution and potentially catastrophic events such as severe oil spills, which not only harm marine wildlife but can also significantly impact coastal
communities," the petition reads. "Additionally, unplugged wells are a particular concern as they are prone to leaking oil and other pollution into the marine environment."
The group has advised the federal government that if they do not receive a response to their proposal, they may take legal action.
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