2021 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 200
BY SENATOR FRED MILLS
A RESOLUTION
To commend Scott Angelle as the United States' longest serving director of the Bureau of
Safety and Environmental Enforcement, United States Department of Interior, for his
efforts regarding offshore worker safety, environmental sustainability of offshore
energy, increasing economic activity, and improving conservation of offshore
resources.
WHEREAS, Scott A. Angelle of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, was appointed director
of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), United States Department
of the Interior, effective May 24, 2017; and
WHEREAS, Director Angelle, previous to his appointment, enjoyed a long and
distinguished career in local and state government within Louisiana, including serving on
the St. Martin Parish Police Jury, as the secretary of the Department of Natural Resources,
a member of the Public Service Commission, and lieutenant governor, with much of his
service dedicated to fighting for environmental sustainability and for the safety and jobs of
the men and women of the American energy industry; and
WHEREAS, Director Angelle continued to focus on environmental sustainability and
the safety and jobs of the men and women of the American energy industry, and ultimately
became the longest serving director of the United States Bureau of Safety and Environmental
Enforcement in our nation's history; and
WHEREAS, prior to his appointment, the United States Government Accountability
Office (GAO) added the restructuring of offshore oil and gas oversight segment to the
management of federal oil and gas resources to its biennial high-risk list in its February 15,
2017, report titled, High-Risk Series: Progress on Many High-Risk Areas, While Substantial
Efforts Needed on Others, GAO-17-317, Washington, D.C.; and
Page 1 of 3 SR NO. 200 ENROLLED
WHEREAS, the GAO's high-risk list is a list of programs and operations that are
"high-risk" due to their vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, or that
need transformation, and this list has served to identify and help resolve serious weaknesses
in areas that involve substantial resources and provide critical services to the public; and
WHEREAS, in the GAO's March 21, 2017, report titled, Oil and Gas Management:
Stronger Leadership Commitment Needed at Interior to Improve Offshore Oversight and
Internal Management, GAO-17-293, Washington, D.C., the GAO reported that the
Department of the Interior's BSEE also struggled to implement key initiatives to improve
offshore oversight and internal management; and
WHEREAS, after the substantial improvements made by Director Angelle, the GAO
in its March 2, 2021, report titled, High-Risk Series Report: a Report to Congressional
Committees, cited Director Angelle's addressing BSEE's past long-standing deficiencies in
its investigative, environmental compliance, and enforcement capabilities, and
implementation of strategic initiatives to improve offshore oversight and internal
management; and
WHEREAS, this March 2, 2021, report specifically cited that BSEE met all criteria
for leadership commitment to restructure offshore oil and gas oversight and removes
restructuring of offshore oil and gas segment from the high-risk list; and
WHEREAS, BSEE Director Angelle led a change management initiative program
that encompassed more than one hundred eighty actions to implement reforms throughout
the bureau and included efforts such as an internal assessment of its environmental
compliance program and addressed the GAO's outstanding recommendations regarding the
bureau's restructuring and related strategic initiatives; and
WHEREAS, the United States offshore energy industry is a vital segment of the
nation's economy, providing two hundred seventy-seven individual jobs with an economic
impact of fifty-nine billion dollars and nineteen billion dollars in payroll alone and
generating substantial revenue to fund coastal restoration and hurricane protection through
the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA), our national parks through the Great
American Outdoors Act, and wildlife conservation through the Land and Water
Conservation Fund Act.
Page 2 of 3 SR NO. 200 ENROLLED
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby express its deep appreciation and commend Louisiana native Scott Angelle for
his efforts as the nation's longest serving director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental
Enforcement, United States Department of Interior, to improve offshore worker safety,
environmental sustainability of offshore energy, increase economic activity, and improve
conservation of offshore resources as recognized by the Government Accountability Office.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Scott A. Angelle.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
Page 3 of 3