[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15321]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 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

  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:

                              S. Res. 608

       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.

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