The administration rightly argues that tighter post-spill standards require closer examination of permit requests.
The MPs want to see a standard pan-Arctic spill response standard, unlimited liability for firms and an Arctic environmental sanctuary.
Even though the focus is no longer limited to safety and oil spills, ambitious standards are still lacking, and it may take years before new regulations are adopted and fully implemented.
The Interior Department should work with stakeholders-including industry, government, Native organizations, scientists, and conservation groups -- to ensure that strong safety and spill-response standards apply to all companies that plan to drill in the Arctic Ocean.
"The response to what is a relatively small oil spill by historical standards has been totally inadequate to date," he said.
BY OIL-INDUSTRY standards, the spill was a tiny one, just 210 litres (55 American gallons).
The spill, modest by historical standards, is manageable for the company, which says it expects to spend $60 million on cleanup and investigation.
Despite serious shortcomings in response capability shown during the Deepwater Horizon spill, no new response standards or regulations have been adopted, let alone developed specifically for the Arctic.
A shock-resistant hard drive and spill-resistant keyboard, standard with the HP EliteBook series, help defend data against bumps, drops and spills.
"The Canadian Coast Guard's response to the Marathassa spill was exceptional by international standards, a fact corroborated by a US oil spill expert," said coast guard commissioner Jody Thomas in a press statement, neglecting to name the American expert.
The expert group had concluded that "none of the major aspects of offshore drilling safety -- not the regulatory oversight, not the industry safety standards, not the spill response practices -- kept pace with the push into deepwater," and that "our nation was entirely unprepared for an inevitable disaster".
