Salazar to Set Up ‘Safety Institute’ for Offshore Drilling

[babylonsister]

http://washingtonindependent.com/102329/salazar-to-set-up-safety-institute-for-offshore-drilling

Salazar to Set Up ‘Safety Institute’ for Offshore Drilling
By Andrew Restuccia 11/2/10 2:05 PM


Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced today that he will establish an “Ocean Energy Safety Institute” to expedite research and development of new technology and tactics to prevent future oil spills.

The move is the latest effort by the Interior Department to increase offshore drilling safety in the aftermath of the BP oil spill. Salazar has also issued a series of new drilling safety and oil spill prevention rules.

In a statement on the institute, Salazar said:

The Deepwater Horizon tragedy highlighted the importance of raising the bar on offshore drilling safety, practices and technology. The Institute would serve to coordinate and institutionalize the lessons and strategies learned from the oil spill so that the United States can stay at the forefront of drilling safety, containment and spill response.

Salazar is now looking for industry and government “partners” for the institute and hopes to get their ideas by Nov. 30.

[donco6]

1. How about just enforcing the regs that exist now?

Like the ones that say plans have to be reviewed PRIOR to construction? That's a start. Or that plans have to be signed off by - you know - actual INSPECTORS before they are approved? That's another good one.

Smoke and mirrors.

[babylonsister]

2. Maybe because bp had no clue how to stop that leak this summer?

R & T indicates to me something that is necessary in preparation for another massive spill, because we all know they won't stop drilling.

[donco6]

3. The best way to stop them is to not let them get started.

Ala, plan reviews and true inspections. That's what we do with fire codes now. They're skipping these steps in favor of capping techniques that may not work at all next time. We got lucky - and I use that term loosely, considering the fact that we still ended up dumping millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf, along with poisonous dispersant. I see this move as window dressing and avoidance of the real problems in deepwater drilling.