How do I submit a public comment on Risk Management and Financial Assurance for OCS Lease?

The public comment window for this decision closed on May 8, 2026. The record of what was at stake stays on this page.

When is the public comment deadline for Risk Management and Financial Assurance for OCS Lease?

The comment window closed on May 8, 2026.

Do public comments actually change federal decisions?

Yes, when they are substantive. Agencies are legally required to read and respond to substantive comments before finalizing a rule, and specific personal comments about real places and real uses carry far more weight than identical form letters. Courts have overturned rules when agencies ignored substantive comments.

High threat to public lands

Oppose Risk Management and Financial Assurance for OCS Lease

Risk Management and Financial Assurance for OCS Lease and Grant Obligations

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management· Outer Continental Shelf leases and grantsFederal Register 2026-04517 ↗

Offshore Drilling Financial

Open water on the Outer Continental Shelf off Virginia (BOEM photo) · public land, held in trust for you

BOEM overhauls financial assurance requirements for offshore oil and gas operators in response to Trump Executive Order. Changes to bonding rules determine whether taxpayers or companies pay for decommissioning aging platforms. Weakened requirements shift billions in cleanup liability to the public.

In the agency’s own words

The Department of the Interior (the Department or DOI), acting through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), in response to Executive Order (E.O.) 14154 of January 20, 2025, Unleashing American Energy, as well as Secretarial Order No. 3418 of February 3, 2025, has reviewed market conditions of supply and demand in the crude oil and gas markets, and, as a result, is proposing to amend its existing risk management and financial assurance regulations. BOEM is tasked with managing the development of U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) energy, mineral, and geological resources in an environmentally and economic…

Federal Register 2026-04517 ↗

The reporting behind this

From More Than Just Parks

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