Heckuva Job, Kenny! Anatomy of an Oil Disaster

[Karmadillo]

http://www.counterpunch.org/kozloff05062010.html

Heckuva Job, Kenny!
Anatomy of an Oil Disaster
By NIKOLAS KOZLOFF

Who is responsible for the great environmental disaster arising from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? As the country reels from the sheer magnitude of the accident, the media has rightly pointed the finger at BP. Yet, not nearly enough attention has been paid to the role of Ken Salazar and his derelict Department of Interior, a government entity which, in theory, regulates offshore oil drilling.

With a budget of almost $16 billion, Interior is a hugely important department overseeing more than 500 million acres of federal land including the national parks --- nearly a fifth of all land in the U.S. The department’s programs range from protecting endangered species to providing oil and gas leases.

As recently as late 2009 the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned Interior that it was vastly underestimating the frequency of offshore oil spills and was dangerously understating the threat and impact a major spill could have on coastal people. Adding to the furor, the Washington Post reports that Interior exempted BP’s Gulf of Mexico drilling operation from a detailed environmental impact analysis last year.

Could these stories merely represent the tip of the iceberg? In light of Salazar’s lackluster stewardship of Interior, I think it’s more than likely. Whatever the case, we shall get more insight during upcoming hearings on Capitol Hill. Next week, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will address the spill, adding to an already crowded calendar of oil hearings. Though witnesses have not been announced, it is expected that Salazar will testify. The secretary is already in damage control mode and recently announced that his department would establish a board to review offshore drilling safety and technology issues as well as tighten oversight of industry equipment testing.

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Sounds all fine and good, but look beneath the surface and there was more than enough to give one pause. A politician with ties to old time western extractive industries like ranching and mining, Salazar joined with Republicans in actually threatening to sue the federal government if the black-tailed prairie dog was declared endangered.

Even more ominously, he also sided with Republicans in proposing an energy policy which included relaxing restrictions on offshore oil drilling. Indeed, in 2006 Salazar voted yes on the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, which ended protections for Florida’s Gulf Coast and opened up 8 million acres off the coasts of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana for oil and gas drilling.

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