Agency that oversees offshore drilling to be split by Obama administration

[maddezmom]

Source: McClatchy

WASHINGTON — The troubled federal agency that oversees all aspects of offshore leasing will split in two in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil rig explosion, an Interior official confirmed Tuesday.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is expected to announce this afternoon that the Minerals Management Service will divide its regulatory and revenue collection functions.

The split addresses one of the main criticisms of the agency in the days following an oil explosion that killed 11 and continues to spew oil from the sea floor into the Gulf of Mexico: that the agency is too cozy with the industry it regulates. Splitting its functions will address that conflict — currently MMS is responsible for regulating offshore drilling, but also for leasing tracts on the outer continental shelf and collecting royalties on the oil and gas they produce.


An Interior official said their move won't require congressional approval, although such a proposal had been advanced on Capitol Hill and is expected to be discussed today as two Senate committees begin oversight hearings.



Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/05/11/1425895/agency-that-oversees-offshore.html#ixzz0nd938wkE


Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/05/11/1425895/agency-that-oversees-offshore.html

[janx]

1. When are the hearings due to start?

?

[maddezmom]

2. they are on now

http://cspan.org/Watch/Media/2010/05/11/HP/R/32775/Oil+leak+Under+CONGRESSIONAL+Investigation.aspx

[janx]

3. Thanks! n/t

[maddezmom]

4. You're welcome

:hi:

[IScreamSundays]

5. Proposal to Split Agency That Monitors Oil Drilling

Source: NY Times

WASHINGTON — President Obama is proposing to split the agency that oversees offshore oil drilling into two parts, one to inspect oil rigs and enforce safety and the other to oversee leases for drilling and collect royalties, the White House said Tuesday.
Related

The shift would be the first major structural change in government regulation of oil and gas operations since the destructive Gulf Coast oil spill that began on April 20. The formal announcement is expected to be made by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar at 1 p.m. Eastern time, officials said.

Mr. Salazar will propose breaking up the Minerals Management Service, which has been caught up in scandals repeatedly in recent years and has been accused of being too cozy with the industry it is supposed to regulate. Its current mission includes collecting royalties and negotiating leases while at the same time acting as a policeman, overseeing safety and environmental protection rules.

The minerals service supervises one of the federal government’s largest sources of revenue after personal and corporate income taxes. It collects an average of $13 billion a year in royalties and fees from oil and gas on public and Indian lands and offshore.

snip>

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/us/12interior.html

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[SpartanDem]

7. A spilt is good

but giving oversight to an actual regulator like EPA would be better

[Jennicut]

8. The MMS has been a mess since Bush made it a piece of dreck.

It needs help, badly. Good first step.

[dipsydoodle]

9. BBC News link

The Obama administration is to break up a federal oil industry watchdog - amid conflict of interest fears - following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar unveiled the plans to split up the Minerals Management Service, which both inspects rigs and collects oil royalties.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8674073.stm

[intheflow]

10. I'd rather see a moratorium on off-shore drilling altogether

until we see the extent of damage this gusher has caused and will continue to cause. Seriously, this bureaucratic bullshit has got to end. These policy changes are easily changed back or eliminated altogether by Republican leadership when they again gain power. (Which, sadly, is inevitable in our broken two-party system.)