Senators At Odds Over Moratorium

By Miles Wolf Tamboli-Talk Radio News Service

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing Thursday to discuss a number of bills related to oil regulation and the Deepwater Horizon spill, which has just recently been re-capped after a pipe was allegedly damaged by a remotely-controlled robot, although oil can still be seen spewing from the pipe at an unknown rate.

However, lawmakers seem to have been distracted by debates over the 6-month moratorium on off-shore drilling exploration in the Gulf, which was lifted earlier in the week by a federal judge in New Orleans, as well as skepticism over the legitimacy of the presidential commission that recommended the drilling ban.

Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) expressed the views of many legislators, saying that it is "common sense" to stop drilling, at least on the rigs that are in development and not yet producing oil, until the disaster can be better understood.

Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (D), however, stated that she "fiercely" disagrees with the moratorium. Although the ban only applies to 33 oil rigs, Landrieu argued that an economic analysis in the state has concluded that a moratorium could threaten 46,200 jobs and lost wages could amount to $5 to $10 million dollars per month.

The Senior Senator from the state that may prove to be the most impacted by the disaster cited job creation legislation Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) is trying to pass, and stated that, "if we don't get this right we're going to eliminate every job that we're trying to create by putting people out of work in the Gulf."

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) attacked the motives behind the President's oil spill commission, calling it, "stacked with people who philosophically oppose offshore exploration."

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar contended that the ban was, "not an ideological issue."

"With all due respect, the President, in choosing the members of this commission, chose the kinds of statesmen who, I believe, will transcend partisan politics and ideology," said Salazar.

Oil CEOs Face Congress

By Robert Hune-Kalter-Talk Radio News Service

The CEOs of ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell Oil Company, and BP America, Inc., the five largest oil companies in the United States, appeared on Capitol Hill Tuesday before members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee fired up by the Gulf Coast oil spill.

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Ma.), the chairman of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee, said he expected the members of the respective oil companies to tell the committee that they believed the incident that occurred with the Deepwater Horizon was an isolated incident.

“It is this kind of blind faith, which is ironically the name of an actual rig in the Gulf, that has lead to this kind of disaster,” Markey said.

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) questioned ExxonMobil’s accident response plan because forty pages are dedicated to dealing with media coverage, while only nine represent oil removal. He complimented Rex Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil for being well rehearsed.

“I was struck Mr. Tillerson, you indicated in your testimony, based on the industries extensive experience, you state that what we do know is that when you properly design wells for the range of risk anticipated, follow the established procedures, build in layers of redundancy, properly inspect and maintain equipment, train operators, conduct tests and drills, and focus on safe operations and risk management, tragic incidents like the one we’re witnessing in the Gulf today, should not occur, and I mention that because in today’s [Washington] Post, those exact same words are there, but it’s attributed to Kenneth P. Coen, ExxonMobil’s V.P. of Public and Government Affairs,” said Stupak.

Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) called for Lamar McKay to resign as CEO of BP America based on what he deemed the poor performance of the company in response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-La.) had harsher words for McKay.

“Mr. Stearns asked Mr. McKay to resign. Well, in the Asian culture we do things differently. During the samurai days we’d just give you a knife and ask you to commit harakiri,” said Cao.

The four companies joining BP at the hearing were in agreement that they could not do any better containing the oil spill than BP. They stressed that an incident like the Deepwater Horizon accident can be prevented if certain measures are followed.

“The information we’ve been able to gather suggests that practices we would not put in place were employed here; For example, the casing design and the mechanical barriers put in place, appear to be different than what we would use,” said John Watson, CEO of Chevron.

McKay said that when the two relief wells are completed in mid-August, the flow of oil should be ceased.

House Debates Removing BP's $75 Million Liability Cap

By Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News

As the crisis in the Gulf Coast continues, lawmakers are debating either raising oil companies' $75 million dollar liability cap - some say as high as $10 billion dollars - or removing the cap altogether.

"It is clear that the liability caps must be adjusted, and in some instances lifted altogether," U.S. Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee during a hearing on the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, Wednesday.

OPA 90, as the act is commonly called, requires responsible oil companies to pay for all cleanup costs in the event of a spill. However, the law provides that entities such as BP may only be billed up to $75 million dollars to remunerate private parties for losses incurred, in addition to cleanup costs.

Some lawmakers expressed a fear that removing the liability cap could make insurance unaffordable for smaller companies; however, many advocate a tiered approach to financial liability that would base the cap rate on the risk of each company's operations, and not on the size of the company itself.

Perelli did not agree with many in Washington who believe that new legislation reducing or deleting liability caps should apply retroactively, so as to apply to BP's still gushing Deepwater Horizon leak.

OPA 90 left room for interpretation in asserting that the liability cap will not apply in the case of "gross negligence or willful misconduct," and failed to define these terms. Lawmakers, including Rep. Gene Taylor (D-MS) pushed for a clearer definition of these terms in developing new legislation.

Taylor questioned Acting Minerals Management Service Director Bob Abbey on the MMS' history of negligence in monitoring and evaluating drilling operations and granting of "categorical exemptions," presenting information that the MMS failed to conduct 16 "monthly" inspections of the Deepwater Horizon rig in the past four years.

Abbey responded to questioning by saying that he was not there "to defend past practices of the Minerals Management Service."

Despite Effects Of Spill, Deceased Workers' Wives Say Keep Drilling

By Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News

Natalie Roshto and Courtney Kemp, wives of workers killed in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion on April 20th, told a Congressional panel Monday that the U.S. should continue to allow off-shore drilling, despite the impact of the massive oil spill in the Gulf Coast.

"While we realize we are suffering from economic impacts resulting from the leaking oil, it would be even more devastating if you allow drilling in the Gulf to cease," Kemp of Jonesville, Louisiana said. "The trickle-down effect would be devastating not only to the coastal states, but eventually the entire country."

"Many men depend on offshore drilling. That is our way of life," added Roshto of Liberty, Mississippi.

The widows' remarks came during a field hearing of a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee in Chalmette, Louisiana.

The opinions of both were echoed by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), who sits on the subcommittee.

"The ban on drilling threatens to pose an economic disaster on [Louisiana]," said Scalise. "You don't hold an entire industry accountable for the failures of one [company]."

Environmental Expert Warns Of Health Threats In Gulf Region

By Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News

A House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee held a field hearing Monday on the "Local Impact of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill" in Chalmette, Louisiana. During the hearing, environmental experts offered up to date information on how the spill will affect human health in the region.

The use of dispersants and the fumes created by burning oil off the surface of the water have created "crude oil aerosols," which "have resulted in health impacts including headaches, nausea, respiratory impacts, irritation to eyes, nose, throat and lungs and asthma attacks," according to Wilma Subra, a leading environmental scientist and president of the Subra Company.

"BP ... failed to provide adequate protective gear to the fishermen [and] workers exposed to the crude oil and the workers experienced health impacts," Subra said. "The workers were afraid to speak up due to the potential to lose their jobs. Those fishermen who attempted to wear respirators while working were threatened to be fired by BP."

In addition to the health effects, Subra said that attempts to mitigate the massive oil spill have also negatively impacted the local ecology.

"The actions have had detrimental impacts to the water column, sediment, biota and wetland areas by dispersing the crude oil into the water column, sediments and wetland areas," Subra explained. "The dispersing of the crude oil also has resulted in a much larger area of impact in the Gulf of Mexico than has been covered by the surface crude oil spill."