Re: [Paddlewise] BP & oil rig

It's not just BP skimping on safety.  We've had (too many?) years of
hands-off government oversight of the oil industry and overly-cozy
relationships between industry and government.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/05/AR2010050504837.html

snips from above:

"A rule change two years ago by the federal agency that regulates
offshore oil rigs allowed BP to avoid filing a plan specifically for
handling a major spill from an uncontrolled blowout at its Deepwater
Horizon project"

MMS (Minerals Management Service) is the agency that regulates
offshore oil rigs.

"In 2008, the Interior Department took disciplinary action against
eight MMS employees who accepted lavish gifts, partied and - in some
cases - had sex with employees from the energy companies they
regulated. An investigation cited a "culture of substance abuse and
promiscuity" involving employees in the agency's Denver office."

Any coincidence?

  - Mark

On Sun, May 9, 2010 at 10:24 AM, Rich Kulawiec <rsk_at_rockandwater.net> wrote:
> Worth reading in re the cause of this:
>
>        http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/5/8/864829/-BPs-3-strikesjail-time-now
>
> This article goes into some detail about the 2005 Texas explosion at
> that killed 15, and the 2006 pipeline spill in Alaska -- as well as
> the trifling fines levied against BP for both, and the unfortunate
> lack of serious regulation.
>
> It has a link to this *excellent* article in the Miami Herald:
>
>        http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/08/1620292/gulf-oil-spill-bp-has-a-long-record.html
>
> It's abundantly clear that the root causes of all these sit on the
> desk of BP executives, who have a decades-long record of skimping
> on safety whenever possible in order to line their own pockets.
>
> ---Rsk
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