Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- The Department of the Interior today unveiled a proposal, to be posted to the Federal Register next week, that would roll back offshore drilling safety rules. The blowout preventer rule was put in place by the Obama administration in response to the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, which killed 11 people and spilled millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico which continues to affect the coast and coastal tourism today.
The administration has also proposed a massive expansion of drilling off America’s coasts, including in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans as well as the Gulf of Mexico.
In response, Athan Manuel, Director of the Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program, issued the following statement:
“Leave it to Ryan Zinke to mark the anniversary of the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history by rolling back the safety standards designed to prevent similar disasters. Nothing could be more reckless than seeking to expose more of our coasts to the risks of drilling while simultaneously increasing those risks. This is yet another example of this administration’s shameless attempts to please corporate polluters, no matter the cost to workers’ safety, our health, or the environment.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.