"A coalition of about a dozen environmental groups is preparing to file a lawsuit as early as Tuesday seeking greater protections as Shell prepares to begin drilling exploratory wells off the North Slope of Alaska this summer, spokesmen for the groups said."

"The groups — including Earthjustice, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club, Oceana and the National Audubon Society — will challenge the Interior Department’s approval of Shell’s plans for responding to a potential spill.

This year, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which oversees offshore oil and gas drilling, approved Shell’s plans to cap a runaway well and clean up any spilled oil as it moves ahead with plans to drill in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas over the next two years. Company and senior Interior Department officials have said that Shell is putting in place systems that meet or exceed current regulations on drilling safety."

John M. Broder reports for the New York Times July 8, 2012. [2]