"As the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill raises questions about the safety of offshore drilling, the Interior Department has indefinitely suspended plans for an oil and gas lease sale off the Virginia coastline.
The department postponed the comment period on the plan indefinitely and canceled a series of public meetings that had been scheduled for this month on the proposed lease sale. The move comes as the department seeks answers from investigations into the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig and the ongoing leak of hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil every day into the Gulf.
Safety problems or other concerns raised in the reviews should be taken into account before moving forward with a new outer continental shelf (OCS) lease sale, the department said."
Noelle Straub reports for Greenwire May 6, 2010.
See Also:
"Interior Secretary Halts Offshore Drilling Leases" (NPR)
"Interior Secretary Extends Drill Freeze To Arctic" (Los Angeles Times)
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