U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, this week joined nine other members of Congress in a letter outlining improvements needed for the decommissioning process for California’s offshore oil and gas infrastructure.
Those signing the letter, which went to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, included eight congressional representatives from California and U.S. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, D-Ariz., who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee.
The two bureaus are the agencies primarily responsible for managing and overseeing offshore energy activities, including enforcement of environmental protection.
Lawmakers pointed out that retired offshore oil and gas infrastructure “poses a significant risk to the environment, other offshore infrastructure, and frontline communities.” They also said the decommissioning processes are currently inadequate.
Last year, a report by the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan watchdog, highlighted several major shortcomings in the decommissioning of offshore pipelines in particular.
The letter also highlights issues with BSEE’s “Rigs-to-Reef” program, which facilitates the transition of decommissioned oil and gas infrastructure into artificial reef habitats.
In addition to U.S. Reps. Carbajal and Grijalva, the letter was signed by Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Ventura, and several other California members of the House: Reps. Alan Lowenthal Nanette Diaz Barragán, Jared Huffman, Mike Levin, Ted W. Lieu, Doris Matsui, Katie Porter and Mike Thompson.
The full letter is available here: carbajal.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2022.12.08_grijalva_et_al_letter_to_bsee_boem_decommissioning_draft_peis.pdf.
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