Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released a final rule to update the federal oil and gas program. These reforms will ensure that oil and gas companies, not taxpayers, pay decommissioning costs for oil and gas wells and infrastructure in publicly owned federal waters. In response, Nicole Gentile, senior director for Conservation at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
Today, the Biden administration ends a sweetheart deal for oil and gas companies that are drilling in publicly owned waters off our coasts. The final rule will protect taxpayers from cleanup costs that are the responsibility of polluters. Together with other long-overdue reforms to royalty rates, rental rates, and onshore bonding requirements, this rule will bring the outdated federal oil and gas program into the 21st century.
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected].