Republican seeks House hearing on shallow-water drilling permits

Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) is urging House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) to convene hearings on Interior Department permitting for shallow-water oil-and-gas drilling projects.

Pro-drilling lawmakers and oil companies are pressuring Interior to speed up approvals, which have slowed in the wake of the BP oil spill as new safety rules are implemented.

“Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, shallow water permitting resumed on May 28, 2010.  Since then, I have heard conflicting accounts from offshore drilling operators and the Obama Administration about the progress – or lack thereof – of shallow water permitting and approval,” Cassidy wrote in a letter Friday to Rahall and Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), the panel’s top Republican.

Interior critics say that shallow water permitting practices – and the temporary freeze on deepwater projects – are overly aggressive and harming the Gulf Coast economy. Lawmakers including Louisiana’s senators allege there is a “de facto” ban on shallow-water projects, which Interior disputes.

But Obama administration officials say that job losses from the deepwater ban have been less than feared, and say they’re prioritizing safety for all projects following the catastrophic spill from BP’s deepwater Macondo well.

Interior has approved seven shallow-water drilling permits since updated safety requirements were issued on June 8, while seven are “pending plan approval,” the department said Friday.

Cassidy’s letter says the committee should ensure Interior “has the resources, focus, and sense of urgency to return to an active permitting process for Gulf energy production.”