When President Barack Obama’s own oil spill commission first met in July, they said that the President’s decision to ban oil drilling in the Gulf fell outside their mandate. But after a number of highly charged field hearing in the Gulf, the commission did a 180-degree reversal and promised to press the Obama administration about the ban.

The commission sent a letter to Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement Michael Bromwich demanding to a detailed justification for the ban by August 23.

Bromwich did respond. And his message to the gulf: the ban stays. The AP reports:

The top federal offshore oil drilling regulator is telling the presidential oil spill commission that the temporary halt to deepwater drilling will remain in place for a few more months.

The nation’s top drilling regulator, Michael Bromwich, says he will propose a replacement for the moratorium by Halloween and leans against exceptions.

This comes just days after Bloomberg reported that Bromwich himself estimated that President Obama’s oil ban would cost the region 23,247 jobs.