The Government Accountability Office (GAO) urged federal regulators to continue working to update regulations to ensure the integrity of about 8,600 miles of active offshore oil and gas pipelines. The U.S. government watchdog also handed down recommendations for addressing the environmental and safety risks associated with decommissioning.

The GAO said the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) does not generally conduct or require any subsea inspections of active pipelines. Instead, it relies on monthly surface observations and pressure sensors to detect leaks, which aren’t always reliable for detecting ruptures.

The findings were part of GAO’s review of the BSEE’s management of offshore oil and gas pipelines, which were...