"A new set of federal rules issued for shallow-water drilling are null and void because federal regulators didn’t offer the proper notices or public comment period, a judge in New Orleans said this week.

District Judge Martin Feldman, who also overturned a ban the government placed on offshore drilling, said the government failed to follow the proper procedures for new safety requirements issued in June.

That meant a certain vindication for drilling companies, who have complained bitterly that the adjustment to those new rules issued by the government has slowed the permitting process, impacting jobs and revenue. Jim Noe, a spokesman for the Shallow Water Energy Security Coalition, a group of drilling companies, cheered the decision in a statement Wednesday."

Kathrine Schmidt reports for Houma Today October 21, 2010.
[2]
SEE ALSO:

Drilling Safety Rules Thrown Out by Federal Judge (Bloomberg) [3]

"Judge: Drilling Safety Rules Improperly Issued" (AP) [4]