Law360 Quotes Mike Mills on Options for Federal Government to Respond to Calif. Oil Spill

Environmental partner Michael N. Mills was quoted in Law360 in an article titled “Calif. Oil Spill Will Ramp Up Regulatory Heat On Feds,” published Oct. 4, 2021. (Subscription required.) The article discusses ways in which the Biden administration may respond to pressure on it to act in the wake of the underwater pipeline leak off the coast of Southern California in early October.

The October spill will only intensify earlier demands from government watchdogs and environmentalists for the Biden administration to put into place stronger safety and decommissioning regulations for aging offshore oil and gas infrastructure — especially common in the Pacific Ocean. Some environmentalists and local lawmakers, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, are pushing to permanently ban offshore

“I think all of those things are on the table in light of this,” Mills said. “There will be a harsher look at what’s happening and what’s being required, and changes will be made. I have no doubt.”