Dec. 15, 2011, 1:12 p.m. EST
By Tennille Tracy
WASHINGTON -(MarketWatch)- House Republicans are trying to sideline the role of the Environmental Protection Agency in overseeing offshore oil drilling, after Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA, RDSA.LN) complained about the amount of time it is taking the company to secure air-quality permits for drilling in the Arctic Ocean.
In an important piece of spending legislation Thursday, Republicans included a measure that strips the EPA’s authority to issue air-quality permits in the Arctic and shifts it to the Interior Department.