Drilling safety rules’ return sought

Offshore standards put in after Deepwater Horizon but later changed under Trump

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced tougher safety regulations for offshore drilling Monday, reversing action taken under former President Donald Trump.

Under the proposed rule, oil and gas companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Alaska would face a restoration of standards put in place after the deadly Deepwater Horizon explosion, which dumped 4 million barrels of crude into the Gulf in 2010.

“This proposed rule-making will help ensure that offshore energy development utilizes the latest science and technology to keep people safe,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement. “As our nation transitions to a clean energy economy, we must commit to strengthening and modernizing offshore energy standards and oversight.”

The proposal includes tougher standards for blowout preventers, the equipment that failed in the Deepwater Horizon spill, and a requirement that oil companies submit data on well failures directly to the Department of the Interior, not third-party companies.

The oil industry had lobbied heavily to loosen some of those rules, arguing that they were too restrictive and in some cases made drilling more dangerous.

“The 2019 revisions to the Well Control Rule addressed technical problems and cleared up ambiguity with the original rule-making,” Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, a trade group, said in a statement. “We will review and work with industry and regulators to ensure that the proposed regulatory changes increase safety and decrease risk.”

Former President Barack

Customers can add funds via another debit card, a bank, at H-E-B stores or direct deposit. They can get paid from paychecks, income tax returns and government programs up to two days faster, the company said.

Customers can apply for the card online at hebdebit.com.

H-E-B is not the only grocery retailer offering a cash-back debit card.

Customers using Kroger’s card can earn 2 percent cash back on the company’s brands in the form of a payment benefit, which is applied during their next purchase, according to Kroger’s website. They can also amass “fuel points” for gasoline purchases.

H-E-B’s savings account option could help bring down the historically high rate of Texans who don’t maintain bank accounts.

According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Texas’ share of households without a bank account was 7.7 percent in 2019, while the national share was 5.4 percent.

Though still topping the national share, the number of “unbanked” households in Texas has fallen from a peak of 12.8 percent in 2011, the FDIC and Texas Comptroller’s Office reported.