The Department of the Interior has lifted the moratorium on deepwater offshore drilling, but administration officials do not appear confident that they have done enough to prevent another spill. Interior announced Tuesday that it would end the ban seven weeks before the original Nov. 30 expiration date.

The announcement comes on the heels of two new Interior regulations meant to require stricter safety measures for rig design and operation and apply additional protections for rig workers.

But are those rules adequate to ensure the safety of offshore drilling? Environmentalists say “no.” Deepwater drilling is just as precarious as it was in April when BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig sank and created the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.

Administration officials are not exactly answering with a resounding “yes.” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told reporters, "We have made, and continue to make, significant progress in reducing the risks associated with deepwater drilling." According to The Washington Post, “Salazar acknowledged that oil and gas drilling in the gulf could lead to future spills, but he said that was a risk the government was willing to take.” Of course, that’s not a direct quote from Salazar, but assuming it’s an accurate interpretation of his remarks, it causes one to wonder whether the administration has learned its lesson from the BP spill and its aftermath.

The reality is, the administration can’t answer “yes.” Citing comments from Michael Bromwich, head of the new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, the Post reports, “[W]hile the deepwater rigs in the gulf underwent an inspection in the immediate aftermath of the [BP] spill, none of them have yet been inspected in light of the tougher regulations.” Interior is still in the process of hiring inspectors to enforce the stricter rules.

As Interior is quick to point out, lifting the ban isn’t like flipping a switch. The Department must first review applications and approve permits before drilling can resume, and it will do so with respect to the new regulations. Bromwich says his agency expects to issue permits by the end of the year.

Unfortunately, that means drilling could resume before President Obama’s oil spill commission completes its final report, which is due to Obama in January 2011. "To ensure a disaster like this never happens again, we must know what caused it in the first place,” said Peter Lehner, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “We're still waiting for that answer."