The rule, finalized on Tuesday, restores a number of features established under the original rule in 2016, six years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The standards restored include a requirement for third-party safety inspectors as well as stronger blowout preventers, the system of valves and pipes that failed during the Deepwater disaster.
“The Biden-Harris administration is committed to the highest standards of worker safety and environmental protections,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.
“These improvements are necessary to ensure offshore operations, especially those related to well integrity and blowout prevention, are based on the best available, sound science. As our nation transitions to a clean energy economy, we will continue strengthening and modernizing offshore energy standards and oversight.”
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
