The Obama administration today moved ahead with opening up more of the U.S. coast, specifically the Gulf and Alaska, to new oil drilling, according to USA Today.
The plan would include allowing 15 lease sales, three off Alaska and 12 in the Gulf of Mexico, over the next five years and would not include any drilling on the east or west coasts. With this major oil drilling proposal by the Obama Administration, here are some facts about oil drilling events and how oil drilling policies have changed over the past two years:
* According to Reuters, on April 20, 2010, BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in the Gulf Coast, killing 11 workers.
* The leaking oil well was finally capped and sealed on July 15, but by that time about 4.9 million barrels of oil had already leaked into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, reported the Washington Post.
* This final number was notably higher than BP and the federal government's initial estimates.
* On May 30, 2010, Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued a six-month deepwater oil drilling moratorium in response to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to the DOI.
* CNN noted the moratorium was lifted by Secretary Salazar on Oct. 12 after heavy criticism from Republican leaders and Gulf state officials who said the ban would only hurt workers even more after many lost their jobs because of the disaster.
* In October 2010, Shell Oil submitted its plans for oil drilling exploration off the coast of Alaska in the Beaufort Sea.
* Shell's plans for offshore drilling in Alaska has been met with numerous criticism, especially over safety concerns created by the recent BP oil spill, reported the New York Times.
* Yahoo! News reported that despite numerous legal obstacles, Shell was finally able to obtain its air pollution permits last month from the Environmental Protection Agency and could begin drilling as soon as next year.
* Additionally, last month BP was also allowed to return to deepwater drilling in the Gulf when the oil company received its first permit to drill a new well since the 2010 oil spill, according to another Reuters article.
* In its decision to allow 15 new lease sales over the five next years, the Obama administration has also received criticism from House and Senate Republicans, as well as business groups, for continuing to block drilling from occurring along the east and west coasts, especially areas with large oil reserves.
Rachel Krech provides an in-depth look at current environmental issues and local Chicago news stories. As a college student from the Chicago suburbs pursuing two science degrees, she applies her knowledge and passion to both topics to garner further public awareness.
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