Buchanan introduces spill bill

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, is introducing legislation to reform the Mineral Management Service — to ramp up oversight of the agency charged with overseeing oil and gas permitting — and to remove the current $75 million liability cap.

Buchanan outlined the major provisions and the reasons for his bill at June 21 press conference on Lido Beach in Sarasota.

Calling the British Petroleum oil incident in the Gulf, “the worst disaster in the history of the country,” Buchanan says that British Petroleum missed 16 Deepwater Horizon inspections since January 2005, and that permitting waivers had been granted the oil company by the Mineral Management Service.

The legislation requires any missed inspections be rescheduled and completed within 14 days, eliminates categorical exemptions for deepwater oil rigs and requires twice yearly random drug testing of service employees. The bill also does away with the revolving door between the service and oil companies by requiring a two-year waiting period before former federal government Mineral Management Service employees may work for an oil company.

According to Sally Tibbetts, Buchanan's district director and press secretary, the hope is that the bill passes before the August recess.