Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE)

From the State of the Union address:

The Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they’re in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them when they’re in saltwater. I hear it gets even more complicated once they’re smoked. President Obama

While this comment drew laughs from the audience, the regulation of salmon is rather straightforward compared to the extraordinarily complex regulatory regime for offshore facilities and pipelines. The first and most important recommendation in my testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last May was as follows:

Streamline the OCS regulatory regime to minimize the potential for gaps, overlap, and confusion.  Because of the complexity of the OCS regime, regulatory and industry personnel spend too much time resolving and coordinating administrative and procedural matters.  This time would be better spent focusing on mission critical safety issues.   A single agency should be responsible and accountable for safety and pollution prevention at offshore facilities, and should draw on the expertise of other agencies and organizations as necessary to achieve performance objectives.

If we are to achieve our safety, pollution prevention, efficiency, and energy production objectives, the OCS regulatory regime must be consolidated and simplified.