Former senator Salazar to return to Colorado
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar (Photo: DOI)U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will resign his position at the end of March, the agency announced on 16 January 2013.
As secretary Salazar used his position to champion conservation and renewable energy efforts. However, Salazar will be remembered in the oil and gas industry for presiding over the highly controversial 2010 deepwater drilling moratorium.
Sparked by BP’s Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent oil spill, the six-month moratorium led to a reduction in Gulf oil and gas production and cost hundreds of jobs.
Reflecting on Salazar’s tenure, National Ocean Industries Association President Randall Luthi praised Salazar for his leadership, but faulted him for missed opportunities.
“The secretary leaves a legacy that reflects strong leadership in the promotion of offshore wind resources and bolstering of certain safety protocols, but a missed opportunity to promote access in new offshore areas,” Luthi said in a press statement. “[Salazar] had a difficult role during the Macondo well incident as he balanced being a tough regulator with the need to let the industry stop the flow of oil in the Gulf of Mexico and establish safeguards to avoid a similar accident in the future.”
Salazar also presided over the restructuring of the US Mineral Management Service, which was eventually separated into three organizations: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue.
“We have undertaken the most aggressive oil and gas safety and reform agenda in U.S. history, raising the bar on offshore drilling safety, practices and technology and ensuring that energy development is done in the right way and in the right places,” Salazar said of his time at the Interior department. “Drilling activity in the Gulf is surpassing levels seen before the spill, and our nation is on a promising path to energy independence.”
After accepting Salazar’s resignation, President Barack Obama congratulated him on his legacy at the Interior department.
“In his work to promote renewable energy projects on our public lands and increase the development of oil and gas production, Ken has ensured that the Department’s decisions are driven by the best science and promote the highest safety standards,” Obama said.
Salazar said he looks forward to returning home to Colorado after eight years in Washington.
His departure follows the exit of EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson, which was announced last month. It is widely speculated that Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu will announce his resignation in the coming weeks.
Subscribe
