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Lawmakers: Interior's work with Cuba-bound driller may be illegal
Four lawmakers including House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) are bashing the Interior Department’s work with Spanish oil giant Repsol, which is planning to begin drilling soon in deep waters off Cuba’s northern coast.
Interior’s offshore energy branch has been working with Repsol to help ensure the safety of its upcoming operations, an effort that includes plans to inspect its rig before it enters Cuban waters.
From their letter:
The Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) . . . . prohibits certain transactions involving property in which Cuba or a Cuban national has any interest whatsoever, directly or indirectly. The support that the Department of Interior is providing to Repsol appears to be in contravention of TWEA, as such assistance will result in a financial windfall to the Cuban regime. It may also facilitate processes that could lead to an environmental disaster off U.S. shores and the greater Caribbean.
The letter is signed by Ros-Lehtinen and Reps. Albio Sires (D-N.J.), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), and David Rivera (R-Fla.).
It also asks Obama to ensure that the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security gets involved and conducts its "own review and inspection to ensure that no U.S. laws or regulations are being violated, including the TWEA and the Export Administration Act (EAA)."
The four lawmakers, who all have Cuban roots, are part of a broader group of lawmakers who have pressured Repsol directly to abandon its plans.
Their new letter raises other concerns and more broadly attacks the Obama administration’s approach to the Cuban drilling efforts.
“We are extremely concerned over what seems to be a lack of a coordinated effort by the Administration to prevent a State Sponsor of Terrorism, just 90 miles from our shores, from engaging in risky deep sea oil drilling projects that will harm U.S. interests as well as extend another economic lifeline to the Cuban regime,” it states.
But a senior Interior Department official defended the department’s work with Repsol on Wednesday.
Michael Bromwich, director of Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, said Interior is working with other federal agencies to prevent a spill that would affect U.S. waters and the U.S. coast.
He notes that Repsol is pledging to meet U.S. safety standards, although acknowledges that Interior does not have regulatory authority over Repsol’s activities in Cuban waters.
“In our numerous communications with Repsol, we have made clear that we expect it to adhere to industry and international environmental, health, and safety standards and to have adequate prevention, mitigation, and remediation systems in place in the event of an incident. Repsol officials have stated publicly that in carrying out its exploratory drilling plans in Cuban waters, it will adhere to U.S. regulations and the highest industry standards,” he said in Wednesday testimony submitted to a House Natural Resources Committee panel.
“Given the proximity of drilling to U.S. waters, and considering the serious consequences a major oil spill would have on our economic and environmental interests, we have welcomed the opportunity to gather information on the rig’s operation, technology, and safety equipment,” Bromwich said, adding that Repsol plans to keep U.S. officials and spill response planners appraised of its spill-response preparations.
