Outrageous! New offshore drilling permits granted AFTER disaster
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The Federal Minerals Management Service is the agency responsible for granting the permits allowing offshore drilling. Permits like what was given to the DeepWater Horizon site, now estimated to be leaking oil at a rate of 70,000 barrels per day.
But under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Minerals Management Service is required to get permits from separate agencies when there is a possibility that drilling might harm endangered species or marine mammals.
One of the agencies that the FMMS must allow to assess potential harm is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, partially responsible for protecting endangered species and marine mammals.
NOAA has stated on repeated occasions that drilling in the gulf affects these animals, but the minerals agency since January 2009 has approved at least three huge lease sales, 103 seismic blasting projects and 346 drilling plans.
Records show that FMMS granted permission for those projects and plans WITHOUT getting the permits required under federal law despite strong warnings from the NOAA about the impact the drilling was likely to have on the gulf.
“M.M.S. has given up any pretense of regulating the offshore oil industry,” said Kierán Suckling, director of the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental advocacy group in Tucson, which filed notice of intent to sue the agency over its noncompliance with federal law concerning endangered species. “The agency seems to think its mission is to help the oil industry evade environmental laws.”
Kendra Barkoff, a spokeswoman for the Minerals Management Service, said her agency had full consultations with NOAA about endangered species in the gulf. But she declined to respond to additional questions about whether her agency had obtained the relevant permits.
Immediately after the disaster, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar stated that he would delay granting any new oil drilling permits.
But the minerals agency has issued at least five final approval permits to new drilling projects in the gulf since last week, public records show.
Public records obtained from Federal Mineral Management Services showing permit approvals.
Is there any oversight at all on this offshore drilling process? How much environmental destruction will it take to change?
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I’m laughing deeply!
I, it appears, must also appologise at least in part.You’re obviously not a “simplistic moron”, though I’m totally confused as to why you would still actually think that President Obama or even for that matter, the boob before him, could ever have actually done any more to prevent what happened.
The M.M.S. administration, apointed in full faith and trust by those in power under the indirect direction of President (crap. I’m drawing a blank here)to do what they were charged with and supposed to do to prevent such disasters from happening, completly disregarded not only the directorates of their position, but the laws them selves.
Plain and simple.
Perhaps there is some blame to be laid on those in higher positions but that would be purly due to their lack of adequate supervision (and or enforcement) of M.M.S. wrong doings.
Jail time is warented for those that broke the law and resignation of those that were charged to supersee them.
That should go no further than M.M.S. and perhaps the department of envirenmental concern that formed them.
As for
“The war-chests of Congressional political campaigns were amply supplied by the oil lobbyists”,
Yes. As stated, we agree on that.
As for
“Perhaps it could be stated that the blame also rests with us. We are a large part of that addiction cycle, always demanding artificially low gas prices.”
I couldn’t disagree more.
We, and by that I assume that you mean the American, voting public, want pricing in line with our ability to pay. No more, no less.
Wea also, take it for granted, that our representetives, wise as they may seem to be, are honest and actually looking out for our, the general publics, interest.
We elect and re-elect not people who we know are lieing and cheating us, we elect people who we trust.
When they screw up, often very little is done about it and generally what is is far too lenient.
As for:
“Do I ever think that Obama could stop the oil leak? NO. But I DO think that he could make sure that logistics and man power are supplied when needed.”
Seems to me he did just that.
Trouble is, he assumed that these people, based of course on what his advisors told him, were doing a fine job at what they were doing.
Where’s the “wrong” there?
Do we start doing masive all inclusive department checkups and purges every time the administration changes?
How is he to know if his advisors are corrupt?
All he can do with events of this nature is “react”.
as for:
He is the General. Generals don’t make the decisions to drive the tank, but they certainly make sure that the tank has gas when it needs it, etc. I know there is a chain of command but the Buck does stop with him.”
Assumeing that the entire chain is corrupt including the man that he chose to hear from then yes. He shares in the blame.
Once he selects the platoon commander, his enforcement and ability to take actions stops there.
As for:
“Post-Event resolution:
This is where Obama can really take the lead. Criminal investigations, liability, and compensation. He does have some powers in this area with the FBI and the Justice Dept.”
Absolutly!
He is the first line of “policing actions” and the directors of both those departments not only report directly to him, they are his charge, He can fire them is he so decides.
Below them, the directors must dicipline.
As for:
“Personally I don’t think that it will be stopped until September or maybe even October. e.t.c.”
That’s taking the focus off the immediete problem and it’s solutions.
By redirecting attention to the poor birds and taking the focus off the villians that created this mess, we commit a sin similar to the sin that was commited when George W. Bush, made the incredibly selfish decision to commit this country to war with East Asia, that has nearly (and may still) toppled our entire economy.
Where is the justice for that?
Where is the justice for Dick Chainey’s involvement in not only several illicit businesses directly linked to the Enron gas and energy price spikes?
Was he ever charged/cleared?
How bout Bush’s direct connections with the Saudi Oil Empire? or his felonious reasons for invading Iraq?
Where are the infamous, “weapons of mass destruction”?
Why was Investigator Wolf, actually fired?
And dozens of other questions about the trueth that were conveniently swept under the carpet by this administration for the apparent sake of embarassment?
“I don’t think that Mother Earth is going to take it without some major payback. Balanced systems tend to come apart in a exponentially explosive fashion.”
Dude. Anyone with a far reaching view ability, can see that this event is going to play a major factor in our survival, not just who gets rain and who doesn’t.
When you upset the balance of natural procedure beyound its ability to recover, it collapses.
Kill all the phytoplankton in the ocean and all the fish that feed and rely on them to create oxygen will die.
Oh. And so will we as an after thought being as half the worlds oxygen is supplied by those little creatures and the like.
If you asign the blame, then act on the blame swiftly and viciously, this type of event will never occure again.
If you sweep it under the rug as a “mistake”, it will continue to happen, by the same people.
Obama must have his heart in the right place, but he was politically “green” and I recall many being concerned about this should he win the primary (never mind the presidency.) I supported him over Hillary as there was still too much Clinton-hate out there for her to be electable, NOT because I felt he was more qualified.
He is being played. The entire country needs to “clean house” and revolt. If the people can’t get behind an idea they are “for”, we can take a cue from the teabaggers and at least unite “against” corporate greed, lobbyists, the buying and selling of politicians, the lack of oversight.
Both major parties are full of corporate shit, so tenuous link or sleeping with the ostensible enemy, nothing surprises me.
By the way, what is this “oversight” you speak of? That’s only for little people.
Gee, what a surprise. A government official that lies.
Strictly speaking, one could say that Ken Salazar did not really lie. He just said that he would delay granting any new drilling permits. It is our fault that we didn’t understand that he was talking about delaying one day.
I don’t like Salazar and didn’t like it when he was appointed. This was actually my first Obama disappointment. I was puzzled as to why he would appoint someone with such a spotty environmental record of his own.
So much for “spill baby spill” apparently it doesn’t mean a thing. I thought the days of Big Oil running the White House were over. I get so sick of being wrong.
I have read Krell’s post four times. Where is the WH connection?
Who is running the ship Mike?
Does the Obama administration have any control over who “regulates” the industry?
If a car was out of control, going full speed towards disaster, the first thing to do would be to shut the car down and get it stopped until you figure out what is wrong. That is not happening at all here. Business as usual.
Ultimately Truman’s “the buck stops here” applies, but as a former supervisor of lots of people I can tell you that a lot of things happened that I wasn’t made aware of until much, much later. It is inevitable. We know that the president weighs every piece of information before he pulls the trigger on anything. He said he wanted to wait until all the evidence was in before deciding whether or not to proceed with drilling. That sounds like a rational approach to me. I don’t want a president who shoots from the hip or is driven to emotional decision making. Again, I cannot believe the president is informed every time a regulatory agency issues a permit. No doubt he knows now and we have no idea his reaction. Someone could already have been fired. Why don’t we withhold judgment until we know a little more. You have a FB message btw.
There was a time I would have said “unbelievable” in response to this news. Now it is more like “that figures.” I want heads to roll over this. Literally.
Mike, personally I feel like a chump in the way I sided with Obama. Everyday it is getting harder and harder to distinguish between him and the previous.
Never thought I would say that…
I disagree Krell. We really can’t blame everything that happens on the president, regardless of who he is. I seriously doubt that the president knew that new permits had been issued. As to not being able to tell one from the other I suspect you may have forgotten the nightmare that was George Bush. While I do not agree with the president on everything, and I don’t, I still respect him and will not desert him, unless, perhaps he buys into killing whales.
With the enormous disaster in the gulf, one would think that the first thing a Leader would say is “Okay, put on the brakes of any future drilling until we can resolve the crisis at hand.”
He is the leader and hasn’t he said the buck stops here. (maybe that was someone else?)
I still think that he was the obvious choice of the election, but the gap between what I thought he was and his actions is growing wider and wider.
There is no doubt that the longer he is in office the more decisions he is going to make. Some we will like and some we won’t. Let’s not lose sight of the many accomplishments to date. You remember the story of Bobby the Bridge Builder do you not? You know: I built all these beautiful bridges and everyone called me a great bridge builder. However I…..etc.etc.
Krell:
You’re a simplistic moron.
It’s a good thing people like you don’t run the government.
The reason we have beurocrocies & Departments, is because the human brain cannot handle the decision process of making the BILLIONS OF DECISIONS that get made every day.
One man, (President Obama or others) cannot even remotly, handle all that information let alone make decisions on them.
Therefore, blaming Obama, is like blaming you for making the descision to have a child whos daughters, best friends, son ran a stop sign and killed someone.
Not only is it moronic, it’s physicly impossible.
The blame for these events lies squarely and precisly, on the heads of the people that run these departments and make or approve, the desisions that lead to them.
You want to blame someone?
Start with Keddra Barkoff, spokeswoman for the Interior Department of the Minerals Management Service that granted the permits that made the drilling possible.
From that point, you’ll get to the megamillion dollar earners who run the MMS and should be in jail for those decisions.
Blaming even BP is a waste of time.
They don’t care much beyound public concern. They’re concerns lie in the profit they generate while accepting hte minimal percentage risks involved in drilling off shore.
Perhaps your cries might even do some good if you blamed the State congressional leaders that voted “yes” to off shore drilling when it was raised for vote many years ago?
Where ever you raise your cries, do it some place where the person involved could actually do somthing about it huh?
It would require a U.S. Congressional vote before President Obama could affect anything remotly resembling permits to drill and then he’d have to create another department to investigate and act on that process.
Ironicly, that’s exactly why the MMS was created in the first place to make these decisions, and the organization that polices them which incidently, they are SUPPOSED TO GET PERMISSION FROM to issue these permits, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (who’s objections were incidently, unheaded) was set in place.
Mike Spangler writes “You’re a simplistic moron, Krell”
You think that is the first time someone has called me that? Get in line buddy! Although I do take offense at the simplistic part. Usually it is “Pompous Ass Moron”.
I wasn’t going to come back to this subject again ever. BUT you see, I have my own personal reasons. My profession, what I do to pay the bills, is design instrumentation.In a nutshell,I design equipment for process measurement.
Stuff that I have designed has gone in everything from Oil Refineries, Nuclear Power cooling towers, Aircraft refueling, and yes…even city water treatment plants.
Why am I bringing that up? Well, it allows me to get feedback from guys out there in the field, jobbers, people that are “in the trenches” so to speak.
Yesterday, I had a conversation with someone for almost a hour, telling me of the experiences that He/She had gone through. It was basically the same experiences that someone else had talked to me about, a couple of weeks ago, same job site.
So, I am going to apologize for something that I had wrote a while back. I lumped Transocean and Cameron as a group with BP, spewing my written venom at all three. That was not fair to Transocean or Cameron for reasons that I am not going to write about here. (not that anything I write has any effect what so ever…I am not that delusional.)
As for BP….your time is coming. And it is going to be a sonofabitch!
Anyway, Mike S. You make some valid points and believe it or not, I actually agree with 90 percent of it.
To me, there are 3 parts to this spill.
Pre-Event prevention:
You mention the blame should be put on MMS, Congress, and others. I couldn’t agree more. The departments were stuffed with industry lackeys and whores. The war-chests of Congressional political campaigns were amply supplied by the oil lobbyists. Plenty of blame to go there. Perhaps it could be stated that the blame also rests with us. We are a large part of that addiction cycle, always demanding artificially low gas prices.
During the Crisis Event damage control:
Do I ever think that Obama could stop the oil leak? NO. But I DO think that he could make sure that logistics and man power are supplied when needed. He is the General. Generals don’t make the decisions to drive the tank, but they certainly make sure that the tank has gas when it needs it, etc. I know there is a chain of command but the Buck does stop with him.
But he could certainly apply more pressure than was perceived by the public. Of course, this post was a couple of weeks ago or so. I see Obama treating this as priority one now. Perhaps it always was…who knows. Does that make me a simplistic moron? Maybe so, but I would have some pretty intelligent “talking heads” in my group as well.
Post-Event resolution:
This is where Obama can really take the lead. Criminal investigations, liability, and compensation. He does have some powers in this area with the FBI and the Justice Dept.
I am at the point now where the whole focus should be getting that damn leak stopped. From the research that I have done and talking to a couple of petroleum engineer types, the summer of 2010 is going to be the summer of oil.
Personally I don’t think that it will be stopped until September or maybe even October. And that’s if the Relief wells go to plan. It is the worst case scenario happening right before our eyes to the only planet we have got. I don’t think that Mother Earth is going to take it without some major payback. Balanced systems tend to come apart in a exponentially explosive fashion.