Salazar Says Regulatory Oversight of Industry Is Lax

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday that federal regulation of offshore drilling had been too lax but that it was premature to say watchdogs underestimated the risks when they approved such projects. The testimony, his first on Capitol Hill since a deadly Gulf of Mexico oil-rig explosion on April 20, came amid the release of a video suggesting that BP PLC's latest effort to control a leaking underwater pipe didn't meet expectations. The disclosure of the video added fuel to lawmakers' questions about whether the Minerals Management Service, a unit of the Interior Department, has delegated too much responsibility for setting safety policies to the industry it regulates. "The conclusion that this is an unregulated industry is not correct," Mr. Salazar told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "It is a very highly regulated industry. That doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement."...more