This Santa Barbara Independent article discusses the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on Pacific OCS Decommissioning. A quote from the article regarding BSEE’s support for complete removal of all infrastructure follows:
“It’s great that the federal government finally has a loose game plan for getting oil companies to clean up their rusty messes,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans program director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
Apparently the Center for Biological Diversity supports complete removal, the decommissioning alternative that would destroy “the most productive marine habitats per unit area in the world.” How’s that for irony?
Complete removal may be the most politically expedient alternative in California, but it is by far the most environmentally damaging and poses the greatest safety risks. Old disputes about offshore oil and gas production should not be driving decommissioning policy.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 