Closing the Ocean Fracking Gap: EPA Leadership Is Needed to Regulate Aging Rigs and Evolving Risks Offshore

This Note explores how fracking has slipped through the cracks in a closely regulated industry. Examining the root of the problem, this Note outlines how we might design an administrative apparatus to address emerging environmental harms in the context of aging oil and gas infrastructure. Part I sets the scene in the marine ecosystems of Southern California and the oil and gas industry operating there. Part II provides an overview of the regulatory status quo under BSEE and the EPA. Part III characterizes the inaction by regulators due to jurisdictional overlap and describes why additional National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review is not a complete solution to bridge the regulatory gap. Part IV details the strengths of the EPA to fill this gap with a dynamic regulatory program and provides recommendations for how the EPA can lead in this regulatory space while working closely with BSEE to leverage its complementary expertise