"The Obama administration today eased requirements for oil companies whose deepwater drilling activities were suspended by last year's moratorium imposed in response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, BOEMRE, notified 13 companies that they may be able to resume previously-approved activities without submitting revised exploration or development plans for supplemental National Environmental Policy Act reviews.

But before drilling in deep water, the companies must comply with new policies and regulations established on December 13, 2010 by BOEMRE. "

Environment News Service had the story January 3, 2010. [2]