Tag Archives: bp oil spill

Oil Spill Disaster – June 28- Politics

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The rumor around town is that the Republican Governors of the Gulf States have been told not to request a Presidential Disaster Declaration under the Stafford Act to deal with the oil spill.  Now a series of news articles suggest that some Governors are not using the resources they have to cope with the consequences of the spill. See: CBS News, June 28, Gulf Coast Governors Leaving National Guard Idle.

All along the Gulf coast, local officials have been demanding more help from the federal government to fight the spill, yet the Gulf states have deployed just a fraction of the National Guard troops the Pentagon has made available,

Are political considerations getting in the way of helping seriously impacted citizens?  What are your views on this?

Oil Spill Disaster — Update on June 22

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In the interest of giving all sides of the issue some air time, see Heritage Foundation report titled Stopping the Slick, Saving the Environment: A Framework for Response, Recovery and Resiliency; June 15.  Some good points in here.  But I see only an indirect reference to the possible use of a Presidential Disaster Declaration under the Stafford Act, and no listing of the Ixtoc Oil Spill in their list list of the 10 worst spills to date.

From the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Group, formed in 1989 after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, suggestions re useful resources for researchers and community groups. This is a useful, practical source of information.

One more call for Presidential action, in the style of Post 9//11:
Clean the Gulf, Clean House, Clean Their Clock, NYT 9/20, by Frank Rich

In this 9/11, it’s not just the future of the gulf coast, energy policy or his presidency that’s in jeopardy. What’s also being tarred daily by the gushing oil is the very notion that government can accomplish anything. The current crisis in that faith predates this disaster.

Rich also cites “…a scathing account of Obama’s own Interior Department by Tim Dickinson in Rolling Stone.” See The Spill, the Scandal, and the President (June 24, 2010). This is a detailed account of problems at MMS and Interior under both the Bush and Obama Administrations.

Oil Spill Update – June 18

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Latest news this am:

Obama’s spill recovery chief will be part-time.  Yesterday, I noted his lack of experience with long-term recovery from disaster and today we learn he will keep his existing, demanding job. This appointment does not make good sense, in my opinion.

President Barack Obama’s point man charting a new future for the oil-poisoned Gulf Coast  will do the job part-time. Some environmentalists said the job demands someone’s full attention.

His job is no less than rebuilding a region that was still suffering from Hurricane Katrina and beset by decades of environmental problems even before the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

Why Living Wills Fail. NYT June 17.  In my view, this articles points out one more reason not to use template plans for emergency response.

At the Tuesday hearing of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment,  the committee posted  the Gulf of Mexico spill-response plans of five companies (BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Shell) “… that demonstrated striking, peculiar and disconcerting similarities.

… it turns out that all the plans were written by the same subcontractor. All contain some goofy details — including how to protect walruses, sea lions and seals, which don’t actually live in the Gulf. More worrying, given the apparent and complete failure of the BP response at Deepwater Horizon, it appears that none of the major oil companies are more (or less) prepared for such events. [The firm was identified as The Response Group.]

President Obama is now experiencing a form of backlash against years of regulatory capture — and against the pathetic nature of “living wills” for failed deepwater oil wells. If he is able to draw any more general lessons — and this remains far from clear — the president would be well advised to reflect on other activities that are simply so dangerous that our obvious and repeated regulatory weaknesses mean we would be better off simply prohibiting those activities (e.g., some kinds of drilling, or having big banks).

BP oil spill: MMS shortcomings include ‘dearth of regulations’. According to the Christian Science Monitor, June 17,  a new report got to the core of problems at the Minerals Management Agency.

The federal agency charged with overseeing the offshore oil and gas industry was ill-prepared to do its job because of a severe shortage of inspectors, a “dearth of regulations,” and a “completely backwards” approach to investigating spills and accidents.
Mary Kendall, acting inspector general for the Interior Department, shown in this May 26 photo, testifying about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico at the House Natural Resources Committee hearing.

Oil Spill – June 17- new people and systems for consequence mgmt.

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Yesterday, I noted the two new personnel changes (see below) that were announced by the President in his major address to the nation. Although both are experienced leaders/managers,  they do not have experience with oil spill disaster recovery.  I think that  Mr. Mabus will have to create procedures and systems for the consequences of the oil spill, since the oil spill event is being managed under the National Contingency Plan. In my opinion there is no specific guidance under the NCP  nor is there a precedent for dealing with the aftermath of such a large spill.  The pertinent section of the NCP is titled: Criteria for State, Local and Regional Oil Removal Contingency Plans Overview. I would like to hear from readers on this topic.

Obama chooses Navy secretary to lead Gulf recovery; CNN June 16.

Mabus was selected by President Obama on Tuesday to help draw up the government’s plan for recovery efforts in conjunction with officials in the Gulf Coast states.

President Obama taps Michael Bromwich as watchdog for offshore oil drilling, Wash Post 6/16

The man appointed Tuesday by President Obama to oversee offshore oil drilling has no experience with oil and gas issues, but he has a reputation for cleaning up embattled organizations.

Bromwich’s assignment… “is to build an organization that acts as the oil industry’s watchdog — not its partner.”

Oil Spill Update – June 14

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Looks like the President is thinking ahead to how the history books will view the BP Spill event: Obama: Gulf spill ‘echoes 9/11’, Politico, June 13.

President Barack Obama told POLITICO columnist Roger Simon that the Gulf disaster “echoes 9/11” because it will change the nation’s psyche for years to come.

Another excellent article on risk and some of the global ramifications of the faulty risk assessment done by BP; Wash Post, June 13.

How BP Flunked its Risk Tests, Wash Post, June 13. Some key quotes:

…whether it’s BP or financial firms, you get the best and the brightest, the smartest and the most highly compensated people in these positions in the private sector. The folks left to do the regulation and the oversight are poorly paid, not as up-to-speed, and the most talented can’t be kept there. And they often get run circles around, despite the fact that they are the guys who are supposed to understand externalities and look after the public weal.

I think for the United States, the BP spill is a really big deal. For Europe, except for BP in London, the much bigger deal is the realistic potential failure of the most important, and heretofore successful, experiment of the free market system ever. If you’re China, if you’re Russia, you’re looking at that.

Oil Spill – June 12 – anxiety about effects of spilled oil

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BP told to step up containment, WSJ, June 12.

The U.S. has given BP PLC two days to devise a more aggressive plan for containing oil leaking from its damaged deepwater well into the Gulf of Mexico, as tension surrounding the spill grows.

It appears that the Administration and the On Scene Coordinator are applying some pressure to BP to do more and do it faster to deal with effects of the oil spill.

Oil Spill – risk considerations June 11

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Additional concerns about the environmental and ecological outcomes.  See Spill May Harbor Unique Hazards , Wall St. Journal, June 11.

“This is a three-dimensional spill,” said Columbia University oceanographer…”The physics, the chemistry and the biology action are very different when you have oil released from below.”

In the NYTimes today: BP’s Mess, and Wall Street’s

The Gulf of Mexico spill, like the financial implosion, was largely the product of people taking risks and knowing they wouldn’t be held accountable if things went wrong.