Political appointees at the Department of the Interior overruled staff objections to a rule that eased offshore drilling regulations, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. The report has already spurred a congressional request asking the agency to turn over its rulemaking documents. Scott Angelle, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), reportedly told engineers working on the policy to delete language from memos that showed their opposition. The rule changed safety regulations for offshore drilling, including how often safety equipment must be tested. Documents reviewed by the Journal show career employees wanted “no change to the testing frequency” of safety equipment and that staff “does not agree with industry” that well pressure could be sufficiently monitored with just those working on the rig, casting away an Obama-era rule […]