To ensure the safety of offshore oil and gas operations, a presidentially appointed 2010 Gulf oil- spill commission has called for a new oversight and enforcement agency at the Dept. of the Interior and offered a long list of other recommendations for government and industry. Agencies and the private sector could adopt some of the changes on their own. Other steps would require new federal legislation.
In a comprehensive, 398-page report released on Jan. 11, the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling issued 15 recommendations. Leading the list is the call for the new agency, which would be completely separate from an Interior division that would oversee U.S. government leasing of offshore tracts.