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Title: U.S. exempted BP's Gulf of Mexico drilling from environmental impact study
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URL Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy ... 010050404118.html?hpid=topnews
Published: May 4, 2010
Author: Juliet Eilperin
Post Date: 2010-05-04 22:08:06 by Skip Intro
Keywords: None
Views: 806
Comments: 3
U.S. exempted BP's Gulf of Mexico drilling from environmental impact study The decision by the department's Minerals Management Service (MMS) to give BP's lease at Deepwater Horizon a "categorical exclusion" from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on April 6, 2009 -- and BP's lobbying efforts just 11 days before the explosion to expand those exemptions -- show that neither federal regulators nor the company anticipated an accident of the scale of the one unfolding in the gulf. Now, environmentalists and some key senators are calling for a reassessment of safety requirements for offshore drilling. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), who has supported offshore oil drilling in the past, said, "I suspect you're going to see an entirely different regime once people have a chance to sit back and take a look at how do we anticipate and clean up these potential environmental consequences" from drilling. BP spokesman Toby Odone said the company's appeal for NEPA waivers in the past "was based on the spill and incident-response history in the Gulf of Mexico. . . . Clearly, the Transocean rig accident was unprecedented. Once the various investigations have been completed, the causes of this incident can be applied to determine any changes in the regulatory regime that are required to protect the environment." "I'm of the opinion that boosterism breeds complacency and complacency breeds disaster," said Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) on Tuesday, after six executives from the Deepwater project told lawmakers that the oil seepage could vastly increase if the leak can't be stopped. "That, in my opinion, is what happened." Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute, said it is important to learn the cause of the accident before pursuing a major policy change. "While the conversation has shifted, the energy reality has not," Gerard said. "The American economy still relies on oil and gas." While the MMS assessed the environmental impact of drilling in the central and western Gulf of Mexico on three occasions in 2007 -- including a specific evaluation of BP's Lease 206 at Deepwater Horizon -- in each case it played down the prospect of a major blowout. In one assessment, the agency estimated that "a large oil spill" from a platform would not exceed a total of 1,500 barrels and that a "deepwater spill," occurring "offshore of the inner Continental shelf," would not reach the coast. In another assessment, it defined the most likely large spill as totaling 4,600 barrels and forecast that it would largely dissipate within 10 days and would be unlikely to make landfall. "They never did an analysis that took into account what turns out to be the very real possibility of a serious spill," said Holly Doremus, a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley who has reviewed the documents. The MMS mandates that companies drilling in some areas identify under NEPA what could reduce a project's environmental impact. But Interior Department spokesman Matt Lee-Ashley said the service grants between 250 and 400 waivers a year for Gulf of Mexico projects. He added that Interior has now established the "first ever" board to examine safety procedures for offshore drilling. It will report back within 30 days on BP's oil spill and will conduct "a broader review of safety issues," Lee-Ashley said. BP's exploration plan for Lease 206, which calls the prospect of an oil spill "unlikely," stated that "no mitigation measures other than those required by regulation and BP policy will be employed to avoid, diminish or eliminate potential impacts on environmental resources."
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#1. To: Skip Intro (#0)
Looks like Obama really screwed the pooch! Sneakypete, have you ever been married? Said things you later regretted?
I'm hearing BP's single largest political contribution was to the Obama campaign. I also know they were schedule to receive an award this week from the Administration for its 'safety record' but it was cancelled last Wednesday.
I can see NOVEMBER from my House....
BP is a foreign owned company and cannot contribute to US campaigns. You should spend more time trying to keep Starsky and Hutch in line than posting on the internet, Boof.
#67. To: war (#48) Keep hiding behind the bozo, bozo. (laughing) You've always been a world class pussy. Badeye posted on 2010-01-14 16:12:48 ET Reply Trace
April 6, 2009
#2. To: Skip Intro (#0)
#3. To: Boofer, Skip Intro (#2)
(Edited)
I'm hearing BP's single largest political contribution was to the Obama campaign.
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