How do I submit a public comment on Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations on the Outer?

The public comment window for this decision closed on October 5, 2026. The record of what was at stake stays on this page.

When is the public comment deadline for Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations on the Outer?

The comment window closed on October 5, 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.

PLAN's read: high threat

Oppose Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations on the

Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf-Revisions to the Requirements for Exploratory Drilling on the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement· Arctic Outer Continental ShelfFederal Register 2026-15953 ↗

Drilling Climate Clean water Wildlife Offshore Energy

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

This proposed rule from the Interior Department's BSEE and BOEM would roll back parts of a 2016 regulation that set safety and environmental standards for oil and gas exploratory drilling on the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf. It'd loosen blowout preventer monitoring requirements and revise exploration and development planning rules, with the stated goal of reducing industry burdens. The rule affects oil and gas operators, federal regulators, and the ecosystems and communities connected to Arctic offshore waters.

In the agency’s own words

The Department of the Interior (DOI or Department), acting through BSEE and BOEM (collectively, "the Bureaus"), is proposing to revise its existing regulations for exploratory drilling and related operations on the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), to reduce unnecessary burdens on stakeholders while ensuring that energy exploration on the Arctic OCS is safe and environmentally responsible.\1\ This proposed rule would revise certain requirements promulgated through the rule entitled, Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf--Requirements for Exploratory Drilling on the Arctic Outer Cont…

Federal Register 2026-15953 ↗

The reporting behind this

From More Than Just Parks

US Forest Service to Clearcut One of the Last Great Groves in the TongassSep 4, 2026

It’s referred to as Unit 346 in the Twin Mountain II Timber Sale. On the ground, it’s some of the most spectacular old growth we’ve ever witnessed, and it’s marked for clearcutting.

We’re Headed to the TongassAug 22, 2026

To document and do our part to save America’s greatest old growth forest

More actions that need you

Demand the Army Corps stop the first Ambler Road mine23 days left Demand full review of Roca Honda's 366-acre, 21-year mine plan4 days left Stop weakened drilling rules across the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska30 days left

Go deeper, free

Scorecard

See how your members of Congress vote on public lands

Every representative, graded on the votes that decide the fate of parks, forests, and refuges.

Open ↗The map

See the places under active threat

A live map of the parks, monuments, and wild country in the crosshairs right now.

Open ↗

A wrong fact, a dead link, a form that wouldn’t take your letter: one tap and it comes to the people who build PLAN, with this fight attached.

Know an open comment period we are missing, or spotted a wrong deadline? .