Oil industry slams Interior over expanded environmental reviews for offshore drilling

The Hill reports:

The oil industry’s most powerful trade group quickly attacked the Interior Department’s new decision to greatly restrict waivers from detailed environmental review for offshore oil-and-gas projects, alleging the new requirements will delay drilling.

“We’re concerned the change could add significantly to the department’s workload, stretching the timeline for approval of important energy development projects with no clear return in environmental protection,” said Erik Milito, upstream director of the American Petroleum Institute, in a statement Monday.