Congressman A. Donald McEachin (D-VA-04) participated in a Natural Resources full committee markup where he helped advance his legislation, the Offshore Accountability Act, to update reporting standards and increase transparency of critical system and equipment failures on offshore drilling facilities.
“Today’s committee markup and passage of the Offshore Accountability Act is an important step toward greater transparency and accountability of the offshore oil and gas industry,” McEachin said. “As we have seen from prior tragedies, like the Santa Barbara and Deepwater Horizon oil spill, offshore drilling accidents can be dangerous, expensive, and life-altering for coastal communities and critical ecosystems. All Americans, especially those in coastal communities, deserve transparency from industries operating in our oceans.”
“My legislation makes commonsense updates to existing reporting standards to ensure appropriate accountability and oversight of offshore drilling facilities,” McEachin said. “I thank my colleagues on committee for helping advance this important legislation, and I look forward to its passage in the House.”
H.R. 570, the Offshore Accountability Act, requires offshore drilling facilities to report critical safety system failures directly to the Secretary of the Interior, who would then be mandated to publicly disclose these incident reports.
Watch the Natural Resources full committee markup here. Read the Offshore Accountability Act bill text here.
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