[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 608 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 608

 Expressing the sense of the Senate that the Secretary of the Interior 
  should take immediate action to expedite the review and appropriate 
approval of applications for shallow water drilling permits in the Gulf 
           of Mexico, the Beaufort Sea, and the Chukchi Sea.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 5, 2010

Mrs. Hutchison (for herself, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Cochran, Mr. 
 Vitter, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Begich, Ms. Murkowski, and Mr. 
 Shelby) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
               Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate that the Secretary of the Interior 
  should take immediate action to expedite the review and appropriate 
approval of applications for shallow water drilling permits in the Gulf 
           of Mexico, the Beaufort Sea, and the Chukchi Sea.

Whereas, on May 6, 2010, in response to the oil spill from the mobile offshore 
        drilling unit Deepwater Horizon, and without prior public review or 
        notice, the Secretary of the Interior announced an immediate moratorium 
        on the approval of all offshore oil and gas drilling permits until an 
        offshore safety review was completed;
Whereas, on May 28, 2010, following a Department of the Interior safety review, 
        and with the support of many members of the Senate, the President lifted 
        the offshore moratorium for shallow water drilling operations for those 
        drilling rigs or platforms equipped with blowout prevention equipment 
        located above the water surface;
Whereas, on June 2, 2010, the Secretary of the Interior confirmed in a press 
        release that the shallow water drilling moratorium was lifted, but that 
        such drilling operations must ``satisfy new safety and environmental 
        requirements'';
Whereas, on June 3, 2010, the President publicly stated that ``the [offshore 
        drilling] moratorium has not extended to the shallow waters'';
Whereas, on June 8 and June 18, 2010, the Secretary of the Interior issued 
        documents entitled ``Notice to Lessees 05 and 06'' (referred to in this 
        preamble as ``NTL-05'' and ``NTL-06'', respectively) imposing new safety 
        and environmental requirements applicable to the filings for new 
        drilling permits, exploration plans, or development plans;
Whereas, as of July 14, 2010, the Secretary of the Interior has not provided 
        adequate guidance and information for the shallow water drilling 
        industry to comply with new drilling application requirements imposed by 
        NTL-06;
Whereas approximately 35 percent of the available shallow water drilling rigs in 
        the Gulf of Mexico are now without work and idle, putting thousands of 
        jobs at risk and affecting the orderly production of domestic natural 
        gas resources in the Gulf Coast;
Whereas more than 25,000 jobs are at risk if the Secretary of the Interior does 
        not continue to issue any new shallow water permits and existing permits 
        expire;
Whereas every Gulf of Mexico shallow water operation provides approximately 500 
        direct and indirect jobs;
Whereas the failure to approve the final Application for Permit to Drill for 3 
        exploration wells in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas in 2010 represents a 
        loss of 600 jobs and harms oil and natural gas exploration critical to 
        the national energy infrastructure; and
Whereas the lack of guidance from the Secretary of the Interior regarding new 
        safety regulations has resulted in only 1 new shallow water permit being 
        granted since May 6, 2010: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) national energy security and the regional Gulf Coast 
        economy depend upon the full and immediate restoration of 
        shallow water drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico;
            (2) the long-term economic health of the State of Alaska 
        depends upon the responsible development of the oil and natural 
        gas reserves of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas; and
            (3) the Secretary of the Interior should--
                    (A) provide written guidance and clarification to 
                applicants regarding new safety requirements; and
                    (B) take immediate and effective action to expedite 
                the review and appropriate approval of applications for 
                shallow water drilling permits in the outer Continental 
                Shelf.
                                 <all>