Wednesday
May262010
Salazar Details Inner-Workings Of Interior Department Amid Oil Spill
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 4:42PM
By Miles Wolf Tamboli-Talk Radio News Service
In Wednesday's hearing before the House Committee on Natural Resources, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar extrapolated on his plan, released last week, to split the controversial Minerals Management Service into three distinct entities with the ultimate goal of increasing transparency, accountability, and effectiveness through specialization. Salazar announced that he hopes to "strengthen oversight of offshore energy operations, improve the structure for revenue and royalty collections on behalf of the American people, and help our country build the clean energy future we need," by establishing the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue.
Much of the impetus behind the restructuring is the result of recently released information about relationships between the MMS and the private oil industry. In a recent report released by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Inspector General Mary Kendall affirmed that members of the MMS accepted gifts, meals, and sports game tickets from oil executives. During the hearing, Salazar admitted that, in the past, accepting gifts from oil executives had become a "part of the culture," not just in the Obama administration, but among previous ones as well.
Another highly debated issue raised in the hearing was the particular drilling operation in question being granted a special exemption from the usual safety requirements demanded by the MMS. Salazar said Wednesday that this exemption was due to government legislation requiring the agency to complete the review of a drilling project in 30 days or less, limiting the MMS' ability to thoroughly investigate the situation. Termed the "use-it or lose-it" tax at the hearing, the legislation was originally intended to uphold efficiency in the energy resources industry, and government officials today implied that the bypassing of safety measures was an unintended side effect of the law.
House Natural Resources Committee member George Miller (D-Calif.) grilled Salazar on the MMS' lack of safety regulations, citing the fact that the oil industry's drilling technology has far outpaced the ability to prevent or clean up after accidents. Exclaiming that the MMS, "went to hell in a hand-basket," Miller expressed his discontent that, in his eyes, the MMS is irresponsible for allowing the oil industry to drill when their capacity to avoid a disaster such as this lags so far behind.
In Wednesday's hearing before the House Committee on Natural Resources, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar extrapolated on his plan, released last week, to split the controversial Minerals Management Service into three distinct entities with the ultimate goal of increasing transparency, accountability, and effectiveness through specialization. Salazar announced that he hopes to "strengthen oversight of offshore energy operations, improve the structure for revenue and royalty collections on behalf of the American people, and help our country build the clean energy future we need," by establishing the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue.
Much of the impetus behind the restructuring is the result of recently released information about relationships between the MMS and the private oil industry. In a recent report released by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Inspector General Mary Kendall affirmed that members of the MMS accepted gifts, meals, and sports game tickets from oil executives. During the hearing, Salazar admitted that, in the past, accepting gifts from oil executives had become a "part of the culture," not just in the Obama administration, but among previous ones as well.
Another highly debated issue raised in the hearing was the particular drilling operation in question being granted a special exemption from the usual safety requirements demanded by the MMS. Salazar said Wednesday that this exemption was due to government legislation requiring the agency to complete the review of a drilling project in 30 days or less, limiting the MMS' ability to thoroughly investigate the situation. Termed the "use-it or lose-it" tax at the hearing, the legislation was originally intended to uphold efficiency in the energy resources industry, and government officials today implied that the bypassing of safety measures was an unintended side effect of the law.
House Natural Resources Committee member George Miller (D-Calif.) grilled Salazar on the MMS' lack of safety regulations, citing the fact that the oil industry's drilling technology has far outpaced the ability to prevent or clean up after accidents. Exclaiming that the MMS, "went to hell in a hand-basket," Miller expressed his discontent that, in his eyes, the MMS is irresponsible for allowing the oil industry to drill when their capacity to avoid a disaster such as this lags so far behind.
Senators At Odds Over Moratorium
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.