Viles said that the depths at which drilling is planned are worrisome and that residents of coastal communities should have more input into the decisions.

The BP-owned well that blew up in 2010 was nearly a mile below the surface, at depths that made efforts to cap it extremely difficult. Future drillers have to have arrangements in place to deal with a deep-sea spill, but the new requirements may be a case of "fighting the last war," Viles said.

"These are complicated systems. They're going to fail in complicated ways," Viles told CNN.

The spill prompted the administration to cancel plans both it and the Bush administration had to open up areas off the East Coast and western Florida for drilling. Despite the halt, U.S. crude oil production has jumped 14% from 2008 to 2011, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Natural gas production is up by about 10% over the same period.