Shell’s deepwater request
In May, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement granted a work permit to Shell Oil of Mexico to engage in the first major deepwater exploration project since last year’s BP oil disaster. This project would require the drilling of 10 wells and individual permits would be required for each of them.
Environmental groups (Defenders of Wildlife, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Natural Resources Defense Council) have now intervened, calling upon the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to cease the work on the grounds that the project violates safety standards imposed by BOEMRE.
In opposition to this request, three Gulf Coast governors –Robert Bentley of Alabama, Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana – have stepped up to combat this challenge for economic gain.
Read more:
- U.S. Approves Shell Deepwater Drilling Permit Despite Legal Challenge
- Gulf Coast Governors Defend Shell Drilling Plan
Last year, the Center for a Better South offered “Ideas for a Better Gulf,” a series of ideas to push economic and environmental recovery following the disaster.
