Publication Name

Los Angeles Times

Author(s)

Kim Murphy

After a series of problems plagued the debut of offshore oil drilling in the U.S. Arctic, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Tuesday ordered a high-level, expedited review of oil operations in Alaskan waters aimed at achieving “safe and responsible exploration for energy resources in the Arctic.”

The review, scheduled to be completed over the next 60 days before a new round of drilling in the summer, could prompt additional regulatory examination of Shell Alaska’s operations in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, the most promising and controversial of America’s new oil frontiers.

…

Marilyn Heiman, director of the Pew Environment Group’s U.S. Arctic program, said she hopes the Obama administration will “impose Arctic-specific safety, training and spill response standards and ensure the proper precautions are in place before approving any additional drilling.”

“Clearly we aren’t there yet,” she said.

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Read the full article, Problems Prompt Federal Review of Arctic Drilling Operations, on the Los Angeles Times website.