Sheesh . .. can't these guys ever get it straight?
When asked recently about why BP's Deep Horizon drilling rig got a free pass from the Obama Administration, the President himself explained:
[T]here is a thorough environmental review as to whether a certain portion of the Gulf should be leased or not. . . . .Under current law, the Interior Department has only 30 days to review an exploration plan submitted by an oil company. That leaves no time for the appropriate environmental review. The result is, they're continually waived. And this is just one example of a law that was tailored by the industry to serve their needs instead of the public's
.
Too bad it ain't true.
As Glenn Greenwald reports, citing the WaPo:
Ever since BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, Obama administration officials have argued that their ability to subject potential drilling operations to extensive environmental reviews has been limited by a federally established deadline. That deadline, they say, requires them to decide on oil companies' exploration proposals within 30 days. But a 2008 court ruling suggests they have far more discretion to extend it:
The opinion of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals gives lie to the oft-repeated excuse:
There is flexibility built into the regulatory scheme so that the agency can perform its full duties [under the National Environmental Policy Act]. The thirty-day clock begins to run only when an exploration plan is deemed complete. . . If the agency is able to identify gaps before that point, then it can request that information be added before the proposal is finalized. . . . Additionally, at the end of the thirty-day review period, the agency may opt to require modifications to an [exploration plan] if there are concerns that it does not comport with environmental standards. These options give the agency additional time to consider a plan and compile an environmental impact statement, if necessary, . . . To say simply that the agency only has thirty days to complete a full [environmental impact statement] is misleading.
Now, the question may be, did Obama know about this ruling . . . but even if he didn't . . . isn't what his staff is supposed to do is ENSURE the president does not provide misleading information to the public?
The fact is, MMS did NOT do their job, and the White House apparently tried to sweep it under the rug by giving a misleading response when questioned about it publicly. And given the encroaching oil slick, the last thing this Administration needs is to be perceived as oily.