U.S. president Donald Trump has proposed a $204.9 million Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 budget for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). The BSEE is a department responsible for safety in the U.S. offshore energy industry.
The FY 2018 budget request is $204.9 million, a $600,000 increase above the FY 2017 CR level, and includes $112.0 million in current appropriations and $92.9 million in revenue from rental receipts, cost recoveries, and inspection fees.
“The President’s proposed FY 2018 budget fully reflects the Administration’s emphasis on ensuring the safe and responsible development and production of the Nation’s offshore energy resources,” said Acting Director Margaret N. Schneider . “The President’s request supports BSEE’s efforts to permit offshore energy operations efficiently and ensure safety of advanced technology required to explore, develop, and produce in deeper waters and challenging environments.”
“The Bureau uses a comprehensive program of appropriate regulations, compliance monitoring and enforcement, inspections, technical assessments, and incident investigations to mitigate risk and ensure safe and responsible operations,” Schneider said.
As shared by BSEE, the FY 2018 budget supports the advancement of domestic energy production “while ensuring that development of the Nation’s vast offshore energy resources is conducted in a safe and environmentally-responsible manner.”
The 2018 budget provides for the continued training and retention of expert engineers, scientists, inspectors, and oil spill planning, prevention, and response specialists and other disciplines, BSEE said..
Furthermore, BSEE’s budget request includes a $1.2 million increase for training. This increase will expand staff development efforts for BSEE’s field inspectors and engineers to ensure staff have the tools needed to streamline permitting and support BSEE’s efforts to efficiently provide for secure and reliable energy production.
Also, the budget request for BSEE includes $12.7 million for Oil Spill Research. This will help protect public lands by addressing key knowledge and technology gaps in oil spill response, focusing on deepwater and Arctic environments.