Category Archives: Offshore

NPR

Trump Orders Easing Safety Rules Implemented After Gulf Oil Spill New York Times A Royal Dutch Shell drilling rig Kulluk aground off a small island near Kodiak Island in 2013. The Obama administration banned offshore drilling off some portions of the Atlantic and Alaskan coasts. Credit Sara Francis/U.S. Coast Guard, via Associated ... Trump Signs Executive Order On Offshore Drilling And Marine SanctuariesNPR Trump signs executive order that could expand offshore energy developmentCNBC Trump signs executive order to expand offshore oil and gas drilling in Arctic and beyondThe Verge Fox News -Greenville News -Washington Post all 160 news articles »

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Trump Orders Easing Safety Rules Implemented After Gulf Oil Spill - New York Times

Rally to be held Saturday in opposition of efforts to re-open Atlantic coast to offshore drilling

MOREHEAD CITY | Area residents are again gathering in opposition to efforts to re-open the Atlantic Coast to offshore oil leases.

The Crystal Coast Waterkeeper and the Sierra Club-Croatan Group will host a rally and press conference Saturday on current issues with a potential negative impact on the coast.

The event coincides with the marches being held in Washington, D.C. and around the country on climate change but will focus on the issue of offshore drilling.

It is time again for the voices of the people to ring loud and clear to say that we are not going to tolerate the continued attacks on our precious waters for the sake of greed and politics. These waters do not care about our political or any other affiliations. They just want to be clean and healthy. This gathering is the first of many that will highlight our concerns and demand that our way of life be protected, said Crystal Coast Waterkeeper Larry Baldwin.

Baldwin said they will stand against plans of the Trump Administration to reopen the Atlantic coast to offshore drilling and seismic blasting by Executive Order.

Coastal counties across North Carolina, including several from Onslow and Carteret counties, stepped up last year in opposing offshore drilling off the coast.

In March 2016, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced that it removed the North Carolina coast from consideration for offshore oil drilling, citing local opposition as one of the reasons.

The rally will bring together area residents to show their continued opposition.

The 10 a.m. event will be held at the Morehead City boat ramp park at the end of 10th Street near the corner with Shepard Street.

Reporter Jannette Pippin can be reached at jannette.pippin@JDNews.com.

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Rally to be held opposing offshore drilling - Jacksonville Daily News

Donald Trump Signs Executive Order Easing Offshore-Drilling Regulations Wall Street Journal (subscription) President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday to ease regulations on offshore drilling and eventually allow more to occur, particularly in the Arctic Ocean. The order, which takes aim at last-minute Obama administration actions restricting ...

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Donald Trump Signs Executive Order Easing Offshore-Drilling Regulations - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

The prospect of allowing new oil drilling off the coast of California is placing President Trump on yet another collision course with the state.

California has been a leader in restricting offshore oil drilling since the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill. It was the worst oil spill in the nations history until 20 years later, when the Exxon Valdez dumped 11 million gallons of crude off the coast of Alaska.

The spill was a seminal moment in both California and American environmental history.

Heres a retrospective of that moment from the archives of The Times:

SHATTERING THE SEA FLOOR

Union Oil Co.'s Platform A, boring nearly a mile beneath the waves, punctured a high-pressure pocket of petroleum. Oil exploded from the breach so violently that it shattered the sea floor and gushed uncontrollably into the blue Pacific, congealing into a chocolate mousse mat a foot thick. Winds carried part of the oil southwest to San Miguel Island, and the rest was tugged by currents toward Santa Barbara.

"The thing I remember most about it was the noise of the waves breaking on the beach ended," said Robert Sollen, author of "An Ocean of Oil," a book about offshore drilling. "The water was heavy and lubricated with oil. There was total silence."

Captured live on TV, the images of dying animals and frantic cleanup crews changed the consciousness of the nation. The spill "was the most important event that led to the environmental revolution of the 1970s," U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt told The Times in 1999. "That was the event that galvanized public awareness of the environment and support for a decade of profound change."

DEVASTATING THE COAST

Oil spewed into the water at the rate of 1,000 gallons per hour for a month before workers could begin to slow it down.

Before it was over, an oil slick coated the coastal waters and stretched 35 miles from Rincon Point, on the Santa Barbara-Ventura County line, to Goleta. The oil was so thick and heavy at some beaches that breaking waves were silent.

Night after night, viewers were sickened by images of oil-drenched birds that couldn't fly, sea otters that couldn't swim, and tides that brought in the corpses of dead seals and dolphins.

Fueling public outrage even further was a comment by a top oil company executive who said: "I am amazed at the publicity for the loss of a few birds."

The spill even prompted a presidential visit to Santa Barbara, which suffered widespread damage to its sea grass and underwater flora. When newly sworn President Nixon saw the tarnished coastline, he remarked that the "incident has frankly touched the conscience of the American people."

The cleanup was painstaking and slow. Oil was soaked up by using straw and cat litter.

It took years for Santa Barbara's ecosystem to recover.

HOW THE OIL SPILL CHANGED THE COAST

After the 1969 spill, the California State Lands Commission placed a moratorium on all new offshore drilling in state waters, even on existing leases. A federal moratorium has effectively banned new offshore drilling in the federal waters off California for decades. Today, there are 23 offshore oil and gas leases in state waters, according to the commission.

New federal policies established after the disaster required offshore oil platform operators to pay unlimited amounts toward oil spill cleanup costs, along with penalties of up to $35 million.

In the aftermath of the spill, Nixon signed the National Environmental Policy Act in 1969, which requires environmental impact reports, and the California Environmental Quality Act was adopted the next year, says Peter Alagona, an associate professor of environmental studies at UC Santa Barbara.

The nations first Earth Day, spearheaded by burgeoning grassroots environmental groups, was celebrated in 1970.

Laws regulating air and water pollution soon followed, as did legislation protecting sensitive coastal areas and endangered species.

shelby.grad@latimes.com

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The environmental disaster that changed California and started the movement against offshore oil drilling - Los Angeles Times

EXECUTIVE ORDER

- - - - - - -

IMPLEMENTING AN AMERICA-FIRST OFFSHORE ENERGY STRATEGY

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq., and in order to maintain global leadership in energy innovation, exploration, and production, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Findings. America must put the energy needs of American families and businesses first and continue implementing a plan that ensures energy security and economic vitality for decades to come. The energy and minerals produced from lands and waters under Federal management are important to a vibrant economy and to our national security. Increased domestic energy production on Federal lands and waters strengthens the Nation's security and reduces reliance on imported energy. Moreover, low energy prices, driven by an increased American energy supply, will benefit American families and help reinvigorate American manufacturing and job growth. Finally, because the Department of Defense is one of the largest consumers of energy in the United States, domestic energy production also improves our Nation's military readiness.

Sec. 2. Policy. It shall be the policy of the United States to encourage energy exploration and production, including on the Outer Continental Shelf, in order to maintain the Nation's position as a global energy leader and foster energy security and resilience for the benefit of the American people, while ensuring that any such activity is safe and environmentally responsible.

Sec. 3. Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy. To carry out the policy set forth in section 2 of this order, the Secretary of the Interior shall:

(a) as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, including the procedures set forth in section 1344 of title 43, United States Code, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, give full consideration to revising the schedule of proposed oil and gas lease sales, as described in that section, so that it includes, but is not limited to, annual lease sales, to the maximum extent permitted by law, in each of the following Outer Continental Shelf Planning Areas, as designated by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) (Planning Areas): Western Gulf of Mexico, Central Gulf of Mexico, Chukchi Sea, Beaufort Sea, Cook Inlet, Mid-Atlantic, and South Atlantic;

(b) ensure that any revisions made pursuant to subsection (a) of this section do not hinder or affect ongoing lease sales currently scheduled as part of the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program, as published on November 18, 2016; and

(c) develop and implement, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce and to the maximum extent permitted by law, a streamlined permitting approach for privately funded seismic data research and collection aimed at expeditiously determining the offshore energy resource potential of the United States within the Planning Areas.

Sec. 4. Responsible Planning for Future Offshore Energy Potential. (a) The Secretary of Commerce shall, unless expressly required otherwise, refrain from designating or expanding any National Marine Sanctuary under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq., unless the sanctuary designation or expansion proposal includes a timely, full accounting from the Department of the Interior of any energy or mineral resource potential within the designated area including offshore energy from wind, oil, natural gas, methane hydrates, and any other sources that the Secretary of Commerce deems appropriate and the potential impact the proposed designation or expansion will have on the development of those resources. The Secretary of the Interior shall provide any such accounting within 60 days of receiving a notification of intent to propose any such National Marine Sanctuary designation or expansion from the Secretary of Commerce.

(b) The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall conduct a review of all designations and expansions of National Marine Sanctuaries, and of all designations and expansions of Marine National Monuments under the Antiquities Act of 1906, recently recodified at sections 320301 to 320303 of title 54, United States Code, designated or expanded within the 10-year period prior to the date of this order.

(i) The review under this subsection shall include:

(A) an analysis of the acreage affected and an analysis of the budgetary impacts of the costs of managing each National Marine Sanctuary or Marine National Monument designation or expansion;

(B) an analysis of the adequacy of any required Federal, State, and tribal consultations conducted before the designations or expansions; and

(C) the opportunity costs associated with potential energy and mineral exploration and production from the Outer Continental Shelf, in addition to any impacts on production in the adjacent region.

(ii) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Interior, shall report the results of the review under this subsection to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.

(c) To further streamline existing regulatory authorities, Executive Order 13754 of December 9, 2016 (Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience), is hereby revoked.

Sec. 5. Modification of the Withdrawal of Areas of the Outer Continental Shelf from Leasing Disposition. The body text in each of the memoranda of withdrawal from disposition by leasing of the United States Outer Continental Shelf issued on December 20, 2016, January 27, 2015, and July 14, 2008, is modified to read, in its entirety, as follows:

"Under the authority vested in me as President of the United States, including section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1341(a), I hereby withdraw from disposition by leasing, for a time period without specific expiration, those areas of the Outer Continental Shelf designated as of July 14, 2008, as Marine Sanctuaries under the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, 16 U.S.C. 1431-1434, 33 U.S.C. 1401 et seq."

Nothing in the withdrawal under this section affects any rights under existing leases in the affected areas.

Sec. 6. Reconsideration of Notice to Lessees and Financial Assurance Regulatory Review. The Secretary of the Interior shall direct the Director of BOEM to take all necessary steps consistent with law to review BOEM's Notice to Lessees No. 2016 N01 of September 12, 2016 (Notice to Lessees and Operators of Federal Oil and Gas, and Sulfur Leases, and Holders of Pipeline Right-of-Way and Right-of-Use and Easement Grants in the Outer Continental Shelf), and determine whether modifications are necessary, and if so, to what extent, to ensure operator compliance with lease terms while minimizing unnecessary regulatory burdens. The Secretary of the Interior shall also review BOEM's financial assurance regulatory policy to determine the extent to which additional regulation is necessary.

Sec. 7. Reconsideration of Well Control Rule. The Secretary of the Interior shall review the Final Rule of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) entitled "Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf-Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control," 81 Fed. Reg. 25888 (April 29, 2016), for consistency with the policy set forth in section 2 of this order, and shall publish for notice and comment a proposed rule revising that rule, if appropriate and as consistent with law. The Secretary of the Interior shall also take all appropriate action to lawfully revise any related rules and guidance for consistency with the policy set forth in section 2 of this order. Additionally, the Secretary of the Interior shall review BSEE's regulatory regime for offshore operators to determine the extent to which additional regulation is necessary.

Sec. 8. Reconsideration of Proposed Offshore Air Rule. The Secretary of the Interior shall take all steps necessary to review BOEM's Proposed Rule entitled "Air Quality Control, Reporting, and Compliance," 81 Fed. Reg. 19718 (April 5, 2016), along with any related rules and guidance, and, if appropriate, shall, as soon as practicable and consistent with law, consider whether the proposed rule, and any related rules and guidance, should be revised or withdrawn.

Sec. 9. Expedited Consideration of Incidental Harassment Authorizations, Incidental-Take, and Seismic Survey Permits. The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce shall, to the maximum extent permitted by law, expedite all stages of consideration of Incidental Take Authorization requests, including Incidental Harassment Authorizations and Letters of Authorization, and Seismic Survey permit applications under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq., and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.

Sec. 10. Review of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Technical Memorandum NMFS-OPR-55. The Secretary of Commerce shall review NOAA's Technical Memorandum NMFS-OPR-55 of July 2016 (Technical Guidance for Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on Marine Mammal Hearing) for consistency with the policy set forth in section 2 of this order and, after consultation with the appropriate Federal agencies, take all steps permitted by law to rescind or revise that guidance, if appropriate.

Sec. 11. Review of Offshore Arctic Drilling Rule. The Secretary of the Interior shall immediately take all steps necessary to review the Final Rule entitled "Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations on the Outer Continental ShelfRequirements for Exploratory Drilling on the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf," 81 Fed. Reg. 46478 (July 15, 2016), and, if appropriate, shall, as soon as practicable and consistent with law, publish for notice and comment a proposed rule suspending, revising, or rescinding this rule.

Sec. 12. Definition. As used in this order, "Outer Continental Shelf Planning Areas, as designated by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management" means those areas delineated in the diagrams on pages S-5 and S-8 of the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program, as published by the BOEM in January 2015, with the exception of any buffer zones included in such planning documents.

Sec. 13. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE, April 28, 2017.

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Presidential Executive Order Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy - The White House (blog)

WCBD News 2

Lowcountry mayors to respond to Trump's offshore drilling executive ... WCBD News 2 Lowcountry mayors will respond to President Donald Trump's expected executive order on offshore drilling locations. and more »

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Lowcountry mayors to respond to Trump's offshore drilling executive ... - WCBD News 2

Washington Post

Trump signs order authorizing offshore oil drilling Washington Post April 28, 2017 11:27 AM EDT - President Trump signed an executive order authorizing drilling off the coast of Alaska, and other offshore locations in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, on April 28 at the White House. (The Washington Post). April 28, 2017 ...

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Trump signs order authorizing offshore oil drilling - Washington Post

New York Times

Australian TV Host Draws Fire for Invoking Offshore Detention on Anzac Day New York Times The anger over the Tuesday post which referred to Australia's widely condemned offshore detention centers for asylum seekers on the Pacific islands of Manus and Nauru focused on its timing, on Anzac Day, a revered holiday that commemorates ... and more »

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Australian TV Host Draws Fire for Invoking Offshore Detention on Anzac Day - New York Times

After May 1st, Revenue has said that failure to disclose and pay tax due on foreign income and assets will be seen as an act of deliberate tax evasion

Taxpayers with offshore assets have been warned not to try to avoid disclosure to the Revenue ahead of a deadline next Monday.

The tax authorities have said they will accept voluntary disclosure of money or assets abroad on which tax should have been paid until May 1st, under a measure first announced in the budget last year by Minister for Finance Michael Noonan.

Anybody coming forward by that date will be able to avail of reduced penalties on any money owed. After that, Revenue has said that failure to disclose and pay tax due on foreign income and assets will be seen as an act of deliberate tax evasion. That could see penalties jumping from the discounted 10 per cent rate for qualifying disclosures to as much as 100 per cent.

The issue is relevant for thousands of Irish taxpayers who have returned to the State after periods living and working abroad. Many will have foreign bank accounts, property or even pensions.

New international co-operation on tax evasion means Revenue is more likely than before to discover foreign assets owned by Irish taxpayers.

Revenue no longer needs to request information from foreign jurisdictions. Automatic exchange of information provisions agreed in recent years alongside major technological improvements in areas such as data mining means Revenue will get details of financial assets belonging to Irish taxpayers in most countries worldwide.

Already, last year, details of more than 340,000 Irish tax residents were given to Revenue by tax authorities in other countries.

That will have come from the United States under the Fatca (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ) regulations and from 26 of the EUs 27 other members. The information from within the EU under the directive on administrative co-operation includes details of any pension or property owned, as well as details of insurance policies and employment income, including directors fees.

The EU cited the political priority of fighting against tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning as it introduced the rules back in 2014.

Next September, Revenue will receive extensive data on foreign bank accounts from 54 states under recently agreed OECD common reporting standards rules. These include many Caribbean states, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

A further 47 will report similar information to Irish tax authorities next year, including Australia, Canada, Middle Eastern countries and New Zealand.

That means that even taxpayers who have no current income to declare on foreign bank accounts or property by the current Revenue deadline will need to supply details of any foreign income, capital gain or even inheritance in future years.

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Revenue warns offshore assetholders not to avoid disclosure - Irish Times

Offshore wind industry eyes Sparrows Point, other port locations as it plots entry into Maryland Baltimore Business Journal It's a concern for an industry that has only just gotten its start in the U.S., and especially for developers Skipjack Offshore Wind LLC and US Wind Inc. The two companies are competing to build an offshore wind farm off the coast of Ocean City, and ... and more »

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Offshore wind industry eyes Sparrows Point, other port locations as it plots entry into Maryland - Baltimore Business Journal