Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- In a notice set to appear in the Federal Register tomorrow, Ryan Zinke’s Department of the Interior will roll back offshore drilling safeguards issued under 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.
The announcement comes days after Interior gave notice of a lease sale that will seek to auction off 78 million acres of the Gulf of Mexico in March. 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:
“Nothing could be more reckless than seeking to expose more of our coasts to the risks of drilling while simultaneously increasing those risks by rolling back commonsense safety standards designed to protect workers and the environment from disasters like Deepwater Horizon. 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.