\ngradually ratcheted up criticism of BP over the spill of millions of gallons of
\noil into the Gulf in an unfolding ecological disaster, betraying more and more
\nfrustration over the company’s failure to stop the leak. A visibly angered
\npresident on Friday hit out at oil companies<\/a> for trying to avoid blame over a massive slick<\/a>, and vowed an all-out effort to stop the leak
\npouring into the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“I will not
\ntolerate more finger-pointing or irresponsibility. The people of the Gulf Coast
\nneed our help,” Obama said, as he also unveiled a review of the
\nenvironmental safeguards to be put in place for oil and gas exploration.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He slammed the
\nthree oil companies linked to the Deepwater Horizon rig—BP, Transocean, and
\nHalliburton—for seeking to pass the blame, denouncing what he called a
\n“ridiculous spectacle” by their top officials during congressional
\nhearings.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Senators join in<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eight senators urged Attorney General Eric Holder on <\/p>\n “We are <\/p>\n The group, led <\/p>\n They cited a <\/p>\n “In the <\/p>\n They also cited <\/p>\n The senators <\/p>\n Head of MMS to retire<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Chris Oynes, a top official overseeing offshore energy <\/p>\n “After 35 <\/p>\n Oynes was named <\/p>\n His retirement <\/p>\n After the Gulf <\/p>\n Obama ordered <\/p>\n The Washington <\/p>\n MMS separately <\/p>\n “There’s <\/p>\n Last week, one <\/p>\n An MMS official <\/p>\n “I am not <\/p>\n Interior Related Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n Obama to establish presidential commission to investigate Gulf oil spill<\/a><\/p>\n Limbaugh: ‘When do we ask the Sierra Club to pick up the tab for this leak?’<\/a><\/p>\n The real trouble from the oil spill is brewing deep under the sea<\/a><\/p>\n
\nMonday to investigate possible civil and criminal misdeeds by British energy
\ngiant BP in connection to a disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill.<\/p>\n
\nwriting to ask that you open an inquiry into whether British Petroleum made
\nfalse and misleading statements to the federal government regarding its ability
\nto respond to oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico,” the lawmakers, all
\nDemocrats, wrote to Holder<\/a> [PDF].<\/p>\n
\nby Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Barbara Boxer, urged
\nHolder to investigate whether BP misled U.S. regulators on its ability to
\nrespond to catastrophic oil spills.<\/p>\n
\nFeb. 23, 2009 document BP submitted to the federal Minerals Management
\nService expressing confidence in its ability to contain an oil spill and
\nmitigate any impact on the environment. “In the event of an unanticipated
\nblowout resulting in an oil spill, it is unlikely to have an impact based on
\nthe industry wide standards for using proven equipment and technology for such
\nresponses,” that document said.<\/p>\n
\nwake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, it does not in any way appear that
\nthere was ‘proven equipment and technology’ to respond to the spill, which
\ncould have tragic consequences for local economies and the natural resources of
\nthe Gulf of Mexico,” the lawmakers wrote.<\/p>\n
\na May 10 document in which BP said all of its potential strategies for
\ncontaining the disaster “involve significant uncertainties because they
\nhave not been tested in these conditions before.”<\/p>\n
\npressed Holder to evaluate BP’s actions “with respect to civil and
\ncriminal laws related to false statements to the federal government” as
\nwell as “any federal law or regulation that may have been violated in
\nconnection with issues surrounding the spill.”<\/p>\n
\nfor the Minerals Management Service—an agency blamed for lax inspection in the
\nGulf of Mexico oil spill—announced his retirement Monday, his agency said.<\/p>\n
\nyears of service he will be retiring from the agency,” an official at the
\nDepartment of the Interior, which includes MMS, told AFP on condition of
\nanonymity.<\/p>\n
\nin 2007 as the associate director of the Offshore Energy and Minerals
\nManagement Program in the MMS, with responsibilities including administering
\nthe Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas program.<\/p>\n
\ncomes amid scathing criticism of the agency for being too lax on enforcement of
\nsafety standards in offshore drilling. Last week, President Barack Obama himself
\nslammed it as being too “cozy” with the companies it regulates.<\/p>\n
\nof Mexico disaster at a BP-leased offshore oil rig that ruptured an undersea
\nwell which continues to spew crude into the water, the Obama administration
\nannounced a breakup of the agency’s leasing and regulatory functions into two
\nseparate entities.<\/p>\n
\n“top to bottom” reform of MMS after allegations it had allowed BP and
\nother oil companies to drill in the Gulf without first obtaining required
\npermits. “For too long, for a decade or more, there’s been a cozy
\nrelationship between the oil companies and the federal agency that permits them
\nto drill,” he said.<\/p>\n
\nPost said the retirement would come May 31 and that Oynes, who oversaw oil and
\ngas leasing in the Gulf of Mexico for 12 years before being promoted to MMS
\nassociate director, had come under fire for being too close to the industry
\nofficials he regulated.<\/p>\n
\ndrew criticism from senators Monday by failing to send an official to a hearing
\non the response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.<\/p>\n
\none set of witnesses that are not here, and I must say that’s from MMS,”
\nsaid Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who heads the committee on homeland
\nsecurity. “I regret that the MMS leadership has chosen not to appear
\nbefore our committee today because, really, they need to be asked the same
\nquestions I’m going to ask Homeland Security, Coast Guard, and BP, because MMS,
\nas I’ve mentioned, must approve or reject the oil-spill response plans for
\nwells, which is where this accident occurred before those wells can be
\ndrilled.”<\/p>\n
\nMMS official told a hearing in New Orleans that the oil and gas industry
\nlargely policed its own drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico with little
\ngovernment supervision.<\/p>\n
\nsaid the regulatory agency did not enforce compliance with its “safety
\nalerts” on underwater blowout preventers and allowed oil companies to
\ninspect their own drilling equipment.<\/p>\n
\naware of who does the self-certification,” Michael Saucier, the Minerals
\nManagement Service regional supervisor, said when asked about the inspections.<\/p>\n
\nSecretary Ken Salazar announced plans to break up the functions of the MMS to
\neliminate a conflict of interest in its role as oil industry regulator and a
\nlessor of lucrative federal oil rights.<\/p>\n
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