Feds Let BP Avoid Filing Blowout Plan for Gulf Rig

[kpete]

Source: Associated Press

Published on Thursday, May 6, 2010 by the Associated Press
Feds Let BP Avoid Filing Blowout Plan for Gulf Rig

by Michael Kunzelman and Richard T. Pienciak

NEW ORLEANS - Petrochemical giant BP didn't file a plan to specifically handle a major oil spill from an uncontrolled blowout at its Deepwater Horizon project because the federal agency that regulates offshore rigs changed its rules two years ago to exempt certain projects in the central Gulf region, according to an Associated Press review of official records.

The Minerals Management Service, an arm of the Interior Department known for its cozy relationship with major oil companies, says it issued the rule relief because some of the industrywide mandates weren't practical for all of the exploratory and production projects operating in the Gulf region.

The blowout rule, the fact that it was lifted in April 2008 for rigs that didn't fit at least one of five conditions, and confusion about whether the BP Deepwater Horizon project was covered by the regulation, caught the attention of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

Following a tour of a boom operation in Gulf Shores, Ala., Salazar said Wednesday that he understood BP was required to file plans for coping with a blowout at the well that failed.

Read more: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/05/06

[SpiralHawk]

1. "Two years ago! Smirk." - xCommander AWOL (R - Oil Crony)

[SpiralHawk]

2. "Sneer." - xVP Dickie 'Five-Military-Deferments' Cheney (R - Oil Profiteer)

[Xipe Totec]

6. Miss me yet?

[Supersedeas]

12. the legacy continues -- meanwhile Pickles has a book to sale

[No Elephants]

3. Thanks again to the American plutonomy.....

"The Deepwater Horizon disaster is not the first time MMS has been criticized as being too close to the oil industry.

In 2008, the Interior Department took disciplinary action against eight MMS employees who accepted lavish gifts, partied and - in some cases - had sex with employees from the energy companies they regulated. An investigation cited a "culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" involving employees in the agency's Denver office.

MMS workers were given upgraded ethics training."

[WhiteTara]

4. fire Salazar

the oil toady. I was so disappointed that Obama appointed him. I hope he cuts him loose. There must be a penalty for not doing your job.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. Huh?

Not that I am any fan of this man but he wasn't confirmed until Jan. 20, 2009, Obama's inauguration day, so he's only been in the job just over a year. Are you confusing the messes of 2008 (before the election) with 2009, when the dept. heads just starting coming in?

[hugo_from_TN]

13. 15 months isn't sufficient time to review and adjust regulations?

Ridiculous. Perhaps a review of current regs should have been completed before President Obama approved opening up new areas to off shore drilling. Would that have been too much to expect?

[BumRushDaShow]

14. No, it's not.

The entire U.S. Gov't is STILL infested with Rove appointees (and those appointees' appointees who served as their assistants - including down to Regional Director levels, etc), and when new top-level folks *finally* get in, they have to figure out who is who, try to get rid of the detritus that hadn't been converted to civil service positions (as so many had right before the new administration came in), and then get their own team in place around the embedded booby-traps. There were a number of mid-level Office Director/Division Director civil service positions that Rove had converted to be appointee (Schedule C, etc) and many of the agency heads are still trying to convert these positions back to civil service and then competitively fill the positions, and that takes time.

There was NO AGENCY left untouched by Rovian evil.

I don't think people realize how much Rove and crew learned from the past in terms of hitting the ground running when Shrub was installed and he left many many calling cards behind.

[Bette Noir]

5. One would think, if safety precautions were not "practical,"

That'd be an indication that the whole project was a bad idea.

Funny that the pros don't see the things that are obvious to a layman.

[defendandprotect]

7. k

[Turbineguy]

9. The Bush Wrecking Crew

There's more stuff out there ready to blow up.

[BobbyBoring]

10. OH!

You got that right! Bush appointed over 500 Regent University grads in key positions from the FDA to the HSC. A bunch of mental midgets in high places. What else could go wrong?? Plenty, and the rethugs are still holding up over 100 Obama appointments

[MidwestTransplant]

11. 500, seriously that many? That's a lot of very average (to put it mildly) people running our Gov.

They love to celebrate mediocrity and failure.