WASHINGTON -- Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, is about to lose two of his favorite sparring partners on Capitol Hill, now that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced he'll join EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in leaving the Obama administration. Scalise and other oil industry supporters on Capitol Hill regularly criticized the two officials for, in their view, imposing overly stringent regulations....
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, is about to lose two of his favorite sparring partners on Capitol Hill, now that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced he'll join EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in leaving the Obama administration. Scalise and other oil industry supporters on Capitol Hill regularly criticized the two officials for, in their view, imposing overly stringent regulations.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, left, and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Tommy Beaudreau speak at a media availability during the Central Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease sale in New Orleans last June. Salazar announced Wednesday that he'll be leaving his job in late March. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
It was Salazar who implemented a controversial moratorium on deepwater drilling after the massive 2010 BP oil spill.
"While I thank Secretary Salazar for his service, Americans have endured four years of a failed domestic energy policy that has cost us thousands of jobs in southeast Louisiana and left us more vulnerable to Middle Eastern countries for our energy," Scalise said Wednesday. "Secretary Salazar's successor must display a real commitment to American energy security and work with both parties in Congress to undo the damage of the last four years."
Under Salazar's watch, the Interior Department overhauled its oversight of the oil and gas industry, including new ethics requirements for all employees to avoid what some had called a cozy relationship between regulators and the oil and gas companies. He also broke the old Minerals Management Service into three independent agencies with specific responsibilities to oversee offshore energy management and revenue collection.
"We have undertaken the most aggressive oil and gas safety and reform agenda in U.S. history, raising the bar on offshore drilling safety, practices and technology and ensuring that energy development is done in the right way and in the right places," said Salazar as he announced that he'll leave his job at the end of March. "Today, drilling activity in the Gulf is surpassing levels seen before the spill, and our nation is on a promising path to energy independence."
Environmentalists praised Salazar while oil industry advocates said that the administration is still not approving enough drilling activity.
"Secretary Salazar has worked to strike a balance between responsible use and vital protection of the natural resources we share," said Natural Resources Defense Council President Frances Beinecke. "He's laid a sound foundation for solar power on federal lands, while protecting special areas where development doesn't make sense. He moved quickly to improve public oversight of offshore drilling in the wake of the BP oil disaster."
American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard told reporters Wednesday that the industry and Interior Department lately have been communicating better.
"As you know, the secretary and I have had different views on some issues for some times," Gerard said. "However, while I disagreed on the policy, we haven't been disagreeable on a personal level."