Landrieu keeps up pressure for offshore permits

Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) is using a powerful senatorial weapon to hasten an actual end to the offshore drilling moratorium put in place after the Deepwater Horizon incident.

On September 23 Senator Landry placed a hold on the nomination of Jacob “Jack” Lew to head the Office of Management and Budget. She did so to pressure the Obama administration to lift or modify the drilling ban, describing the move as a “last resort.”

But although Salazar lifted the moratorium in October, to many in the offshore industry it doesn’t feel like its over. And Senator Landrieu “has refused to budge from her stance and now is demanding more concessions from the White House,” reports Government Executive.

“There is nothing new to report at this time,” Landrieu spokesman Aaron Saunders told Government Executive. “The senator’s hold on Mr. Lew remains in place.”

After Secretary Salazar said that he had lifted the moratorium, Senator Landrieu asked the administration to “accelerate the granting of permits in shallow and deep water, and provide greater certainty about the rules and regulations industry must meet.”

She said she would use the congressional recess to evaluate if the “lifting of the moratorium is actually putting people back to work.”

“The senator has not yet drawn any conclusions,” Mr. Saunders told Government Executive, saying that the senator continues to be concerned “over the issuance of shallow and deep water drilling permits.”