I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., introduced legislation today that would reform drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf. The legislation, S. 3516, is in response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that continues to pour oil into the Gulf.
“The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has spotlighted several areas of the law that must be changed to ensure nothing like this ever happens again,” Bingaman said in a statement. “This bill contains a number of important steps to improve the safety of drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf.”
The bill would give the Interior Department broader powers to make sure that environmental and safety regulations are met before drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf. It would also strengthen the safety rules and increase civil and criminal penalties for those who break the law.
Perhaps the most popular portion of the law is the provision that companies would have a greater financial responsibility to fund clean up efforts.
In addition, Bingaman’s office says in a press release that the bill would require that the Department of the Interior “reform the Minerals Management Service to prevent conflicts of interests between its revenue-raising missions and its planning, permitting and regulatory missions.”
The bill also directs the Secretary of the Interior to regularly review royalties to those drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf.
The legislation is cosponsored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, D-Alaska, the ranking member on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Bingaman is the chairman of the committee.
With oil companies extremely unpopular, especially BP, it is a politically expedient time for politicians to pass legislation strengthening these laws.
The Outer Continental Shelf is the part of the ocean that is part of the United States, but not under the power of any individual state.
