(University of Oregon School of Law, 2011) Bush, Brittan J.
The Deepwater Horizon spill exposed a variety of regulatory
failures by the federal government. After the spill, critics attacked
regulators for an inadequate environmental review process under the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Policymakers also
attacked the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) numerous
conflicts of interest with the oil industry. This Comment, however,
focuses on the federal government’s failure to implement a regulatory
regime mandating adequate safety and cleanup technology in
deepwater oil exploration. Ultimately, this Comment seeks to remedy this failure by proposing a regulatory regime that implements a Best
Available Technology (BAT) standard for deepwater oil exploration
safety and cleanup technology.
