First Deepwater Drilling Plan Approved for Gulf of Mexico;

Interior Secretary Salazar today announced the approval of the first deepwater drilling exploration plan since the moratorium was lifted. The approval is for Shell Offshore to drill three exploration wells in water 2,950 feet deep, 130 miles offshore Louisiana. Prior to approving the plan, the Department of the Interior prepared an environmental assessment and found that there was no possibility of significant environmental effects.

“By approving a new exploration plan in deep water, Secretary of the Interior Salazar has essentially determined that deepwater drilling in the Gulf has no significant environmental effects — a position that seems untenable in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity…

Source: Miyoko Sakashita, Center for Biological Diversity