Seadrill, Other Controversial Gulf Rig, Gets Passing Grade From Obama Administration

[mod mom]

The Department of Interior issued a report on Wednesday determining that a potentially unsafe oil rig operating in the Gulf of Mexico had in fact passed recent safety inspections.

In what was a delayed response to a request for information, the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service (MMS) released findings showing that Seadrill Limited -- the company behind a damaging oil spill off the coast of Australia last fall -- had environmental violations with their operations in the Gulf but nothing else.

"The things that were found here, none were related to safety," Walter Cruickshank, Deputy Director of the Minerals Management Service, told the Huffington Post. "The major issues were related to pollution, some drilling mud spilling. But the basic safety equipment all passed the inspections."

"We are not making any editorial comment on the findings," Cruickshank added. "It is a factual review of what is found in these inspections and you can see what was found. And the violations have to do with pollution as opposed to safety issue."

-snip

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/06/seadrill-other-controvers_n_566145.html

I FIND THIS COMMENT DISTURBING FROM THE ARTICLE:

"The recent accident of the Deepwater Horizon off the coast of Louisiana reminds us that even a highly regulated industry is not, unfortunately, immune to accidents," wrote S. Elizabeth Birnbaum, director of MMS, in her letter to Menendez.

WTF HIGHLY REGULATED? IF SEEMS LIKE INDUSTRY GOT TO PICK & CHOOSE WHETHER THEY WANTED TO COMPLY W SAFETY STANDARDS:

"The Deepwater rig lacked a remote-control shut-off switch, a back-up system that would close the well even if the rig above was destroyed.-snip The oil companies complained that the $500,000 devices were too expensive. Keep in mind the Deepwater was a $560 million rig. Countries like Norway and Brazil require these precautions to avert catastrophe, but in the US the technology is voluntary. This is thanks to a 2003 decision by the Bush administration's Minerals Management Service (MMS)"


http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/05/bp-getting-heat-gulf-disaster

WHY AREN'T OUR STANDARDS FOR INDUSTRY UP TO PAR WITH NORWAY & BRAZIL?

[Angry Dragon]

1. MMS......can they be bought??

[mod mom]

2. The Director seems like a good choice:

http://www.mms.gov/ooc/newweb/directorspage/director.htm

but her words in the article sure weren't comforting. Why does she think they are already highly regulated when Norway & Brazil require a a remote-control shut-off switch that could have prevented this disaster?

[Angry Dragon]

3. They havealready been bought