WASHINGTON, DC – The House Natural Resources Committee today approved Rep. George Miller’s amendment to bar new offshore oil and gas drilling permits to British Petroleum or any other company with a significant history of violating worker safety or environmental law.

“Actions have consequences,” said Miller (D-CA). “Companies with a history of being dangerous to workers or to the environment should not have the privilege of drilling off America’s coastline for our natural resources. It is a privilege to be able to drill for the valuable resources that belong to the American people. And the American people have a right to insist that only the companies of the highest caliber and with the best records be permitted to drill off our shores for oil and gas.”

Miller’s amendment comes in response to the worst oil spill in American history caused by the blowout of BP’s Deepwater Horizon exploratory well in the Gulf of Mexico. Miller said government regulators that review and approve requests for drilling licenses should have taken into consideration BP’s flagrant history of worker fatalities, OSHA violations (Statistics from OSHA), and environmental fines at its various U.S. operations before approving its request last year to drill again in the Gulf Coast. But current federal law does not require federal regulators to consider the specifics a company’s prior record. Miller’s amendment would change that.

Miller, the former chair of the House Natural Resources committee, offered his amendment to a sweeping offshore oil and gas reform measure authored by Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV). The committee is holding a day-long mark-up of Rahall’s bill.

Miller noted that in addition to the Deepwater Horizon blowup, BP has a disastrous safety record, and numerous investigations since the blowout have highlighted BP’s culture of taking risks to boost profits.

The Miller amendment would bar a company from drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf if its record indicated five times the industry average for willful or repeat worker safety violations at their oil and gas facilities, if more than 10 fatalities occurred at any of its facilities, or if it incurred fines of $10 million or more under Clean Air or Water Act within the preceding 7 years. A summary and copy of the legislation is available here.

Miller also introduced additional amendments aimed at strengthening worker safety and whistleblower protections for workers on the Outer Continental Shelf.

A summary of the bill is here.

A copy of the bill is here.

Miller’s full statement is below:

Under U.S. law, the federal can only do business with responsible companies.

That’s why federal agencies have rules on debarment, and it’s why Congress set up a contractor responsibility database in the Defense Authorization Act last year.

It is a privilege to be able to drill for the valuable resources that belong to the American people. And the American people have a right to insist that only the companies of the highest caliber and with the best records be permitted to drill off our shores for oil and gas.

My amendment builds on the Chairman’s Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to set clear standards for companies that seek leases from the US government to extract oil and gas from our Outer Continental Shelf.

I raised this concern at this committee’s hearing last month. The Wall Street Journal has documented BP’s history of dangerous operations, and New York Times reported on the same topic again this week, raising new concerns.

Even before the Deepwater Horizon disaster, BP’s environmental and safety track record was egregious.

· Two months before the tragic explosion at BP’s Texas City refinery, a consulting firm reported that “We have never seen a site where the notion ‘I could die today’ was so real.”

· After the 2005 Texas City explosion that killed 15 and injured 180, OSHA found 300 safety violations at the refinery, and BP agreed to pay a record fine of more than $21 million.

· In 2006, BP’s pipeline maintenance failures led to a spill of more than 200,000 gallons of crude oil on Alaska’s North Slope, the worst in the area’s history, leading to a guilty plea under the Clean Water Act and another $12 million fine.

· In 2009, OSHA inspected the Texas City refinery again and found another 700 violations that BP promised but failed to fix after the 2005 explosion. OSHA has proposed a new record fine of $87.4 million.

· Earlier this year, OSHA found another 62 violations at BP’s refinery near Toledo, Ohio.

My amendment would ensure that no companies with an irresponsible and dangerous record could do business with the federal government on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Under my amendment:
· A company cannot do business on the OCS if it has more than five times the industry average for willful or repeat violations of OSHA at oil and gas facilities over the preceding 7 years.
· A company cannot do business on the OCS if it was convicted of a criminal violation for causing the death or serious bodily injury of a worker at an oil and gas facility over the preceding 7 years.
· A company cannot do business on the OCS if it had more than 10 fatalities caused by violations of state or federal health, safety, or environmental laws at oil and gas facilities over the preceding 7 years.
· A company cannot do business on the OCS if it was required to pay more than $10,000,000 for violations of the Clean Air Act or Clean Water Act at oil and gas facilities over the preceding 7 years.
· At the time the bid is submitted, the company would be required to affirm that neither it nor its related companies are in violation of these provisions; false statements would be considered a violation.
· To prevent corporate reorganization designed to avoid these requirements, the company would be responsible for the health and safety records of any company related by ownership or control, including subsidiaries, successors, contractors, or subcontractors on oil and gas projects.

Mr. Chairman, many companies are proud of their safety and environment records, and demonstrate a commitment to good behavior. They are the model for what my Amendment seeks to achieve. It is regrettable that BP is a company with extensive violations and no history of working to mend its ways.

Unable to change on its own, my amendment would require BP, and any other company like it, to become a responsible actor or lose access to the valuable offshore assets that below to the American people.

I urge the committee to adopt this amendment.