Secretary Salazar Testifies on Reform, Response and Recovery Efforts for Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill

09/27/2010
Last edited 09/29/2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today told the Presidential commission investigating the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that the tragedy has fueled and bolstered the Department's ongoing drive to reform and restructure the federal offshore oil and gas regulatory framework and to make the nation a world leader in safe and environmentally responsible energy development.

“It is my goal for the Department of the Interior, with the help of this Commission, to create the gold standard for worker safety and environmental protection in oil and gas production in the oceans of America,” Secretary Salazar told the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. “These standards will serve as a model for the world so that other nations too can learn from the tragedy of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.”

Secretary Salazar was joined at the meeting by Interior Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes and Michael R. Bromwich, Director of Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM).

Secretary Salazar's testimony covered the Department's immediate response efforts, ongoing reform and restructuring of offshore oil and gas regulations, continuing recovery efforts and environmental damage assessments and policy on offshore oil and gas development in the Arctic.

Secretary Salazar's testimony as prepared for delivery is online at http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=45355

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