Big Oil's "Cozy Relationship" with Inspectors

(CBS)  The Deepwater Horizon exploded five weeks ago. It was one of about 3,500 oil and gas platforms in the Gulf regulated by the Minerals Management Service. President Obama has complained about the agency's "cozy relationship" with the oil industry, and a new report issued Tuesday reveals just how cozy.

Government inspectors at the dysfunctional Minerals Management Service - MMS - were often little more than consorts of the industry they regulated, according to the Inspector General.

CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports inspectors even went so far as to let oil companies literally fill out their own inspection reports using pencils. MMS inspectors would write on top of the pencil in ink and turn in the completed form.

Read the Inspector General Report

MMS is also supposed to investigate accidents and "make recommendations to prevent their recurrence." But we dug thru reports involving BP or Transocean dating back to 2006. In every case but one, MMS made no recommendations at all.

"Too cozy of a relationship," said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. "In many cases, criminal activity by getting too close and taking favors from the industry."

The cozy ties included workers who moved between industry and government jobs "with ease" -- friends who've "often known each other since childhood."

Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf

MMS staffers accepted gifts from their oil industry friends -- trips to the Peach Bowl, invitations to skeet shooting, crawfish boils and hunting and fishing vacations. One employee inspected a company four times while negotiating a job there. Another may have been on crystal meth while he was conducting an inspection. Others had inappropriate humor and porn on their government computers.

With possibly months to go before the gusher is plugged, there's more wrangling over liability. On Capitol Hill, outrage was directed at the rig's owner, Transocean. It plans to pay out a billion dollars in dividends to shareholders.

"They want to give a billion dollars back to their shareholders at a time when I think there might be very substantial liability questions," said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.

"For a company that said it did nothing wrong, this company is working pretty hard to insulate itself from being held responsible," said Rep. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

Assistant Attorney General Pirelli reminded Congress that BP has promised to pay all the bills.

"You may be the last person in America who trust or believe what BP says," responded Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

The Obama administration has already announced plans to fix MMS. The misconduct happened before 2009. But now the Inspector General will look into conduct since 2009.

[heyjustathought]

Ok, I've read through a majority of these comments and it's crazy.

First, if you want to blame Bush/Chaney for deregulations of the oil industry, that's fine, but Obama voted in favor of those deregulations. So you can't claim one is guilty without the other... well you can but that is simply intellectually dishonest and overtly politically biased.

Second, how can you blame this disaster on the deregulations? If BP knew it had a faulty safety valve and didn't replace it right away, as is being reported, how is that a deregulation fault? Are you saying that in the deregulations it actually gives these oil rigs permission to use faulty equipment? The deregulaions might have fast tracked permits for oil rigs in the gulf but it did not give them permission to use faulty or broken equipment, and if it did, what does that say about Obama who went out of his way to vote for it. I mean he must have really supported it since his customary vote at the time was "present".

Thirdly, watching people try to blame Bush/Chaney for the lax oversite that led to the explosion is borderline insanity since they have not been in control of oversite for over a year. How can you claim that Bush/Chaney are responsible for lax oversite and cronism with a straight face when Obama and his team are the one's who have been on point for oversite for that time. If this were true and Bush/Chaney were responsible of the lax oversite that lead to this tragity only one of two things are possible. 1) Obama is in on it; or 2) Obama and his administration is so inept that in the multiple inspections they did of this very rig they did not uncover that BP was using a faulty valve... take your pick... 1) in on it or 2) inept

Hey, I'm not going to say it's Obama's fault either... and the real point is this is not the time for finger pointing, the gulf is getting distroyed! Let's stop blaming people and try and fix this, there'll be plenty of time later to investigate, blame, name call, and whatever, but this petty stuff does nothing to get the oil to stop flowing!

[Perish1]

My statement still holds true. The democrats have held the office of president for 9 1/2 of the last 18 years. They have held the senate for the past 5 1/2 years. Have they even offered any legislation to try to enforce drilling laws or regulations? I know that Obama didn't either as a senator or president. What does this tell you?

[tmittelstaed]

"...Democrats have controlled the house and senate both for at least 68 of the last 80 years....I hate to keep having to say this to all of the blame the republican crowd...."

MMS is under the executive branch not the legislative branch. Apparently you have never heard of division of powers. Please go back to school and study the Constitution before spewing.

In any case, the Senate filibuster effectively makes it so that neither party has control of the legislative branch even if they have a majority. For one party to control the legislative branch the only way is to have 60 or more members in the Senate and a majority in the House. And even then, there are enough defectors in both parties that you need more than 60 members in the Senate and a solid majority in the House to have control over that branch of government. Look at the damange to the health care bill that a few idiots - Leiberman for example - accomplished, even though they were voting with Democrats.

And even if one party has control of the Legislative branch, the Executive branch still has the power of the veto. Bush vetoed many things that Congress sent to him.

It is a very common political trick in government to pass a law then either not allocate money to enforce it, or put people in charge of enforcing it who are opposed to it. For example if you put me in charge of the War on Drugs you would see all money and effort moved to interdiction of narcotics like crack and coke and meth, and you would never see another marijuana bust again. But I would still claim that we were going after pot smokers "because it's illegal to smoke pot" when challenged.

This is exactly what Bush and Cheney did. They make sure to stack the DoJ with people who were opposed to the Sherman Anti-Trust act. They make sure to stack the Interior department with people who were opposed to governmental regulation of mining and drilling companies. And those people made it clear to their underlings that they didn't expect enforcement action out of them, and if the underlings attempted to engage in any, they would be punished.

You have to ask if the abuses the Inspector General found were so obvious and easy to find, why didn't Inspector Generals under the Bush administration find them and why didn't Bush and Cheney fix them? It's because they didn't want them found because they didn't want the laws exercised.

The only good thing about all of this is that normally it is almost impossible to get a bureaucrat fired from a government job. But the outrageousness of the abuses are so overwhelming that it will be a lot easier for Obama to replace heads of these bureaucracies and for those heads to purge ranks of the anti-regulation people.

[Perish1]

Please learn to read and comprehend what you are reading.

There is absolutely no aspect of U.S. law or regulation that the democratic party hasn't had the opportunity to act upon or change. The only way anywhere possible that any thing at all goes on is with the acceptance or apathy of the democratic party and it's elected leaders

[Perish1]

Every part of my statement holds true. Vetos can be over-ridden. The democratic party has had the power to not accept or change any laws the republicans have ever made up to the present day. especially the present day.

[bobnjersey]

["Too cozy of a relationship," said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. "In many cases, criminal activity by getting too close and taking favors from the industry."

The cozy ties included workers who moved between industry and government jobs "with ease" -- friends who've "often known each other since childhood." ]

this sounds a lot like congress. if it isn't ok for oil exploration regulators ... it shouldn't be ok for key congressional reps either.

[Perish1]

Democrats have controlled the house and senate both for at least 68 of the last 80 years. But for a few years they controlled at least one of the two houses. They have had the presidency for 44 of those years. They have often controlled all 3 branches of government and have had the most opportunity to name appointments to the supreme court. They presently control the legislative and executive branch exclusively. There has never been a decade when democrats weren't in control of committees in congress overseeing every aspect of U.S. law and regulation. Including the past 5 1/2 years. There is absolutely no aspect of U.S. law or regulation that the democratic party hasn't had the opportunity to act upon or change. The only way anywhere possible that any thing at all goes on is with the acceptance or apathy of the democratic party and it's elected leaders

I hate to keep having to say this to all of the blame the republican crowd.

[bobnjersey]

[I hate to keep having to say this to all of the blame the republican crowd. ]

so ... you've convinced yourself with this argument that it was the democrats that have allowed for the lax conditions where this event has been allowed to occur ... and it's republican's that are beyond reproach?

[Perish1]

The democrats always had the power at one time or another to change anything that they didn't like. They have not done so. What does that tell you? No Excuses.

[alphaa10000]

A GUSHER OF GOP MENDACITY

For perhaps 150 years, the GOP as a matter of policy canonized the importance of relaxed rules-- or no rules, at all-- for industry. This policy helped launch not only a Gilded Age of industrial "robber barons", but the GOP holy writ called "DEregulation", with high priests at the Cato Foundation (ostensibly Libertarian) and avid barkers for the policy within reach of every GOP candidate.


GOP Doctrine of DERegulation--

This GOP policy (also called "lessez faire"-- figuratively, "let alone"), helps secure massive corporate donations to the GOP year after year, because some industry does not like being reminded of the public interest and safety-- much less being required to contribute to it.

The rousing GOP chorus of "freedom from intrusive governmental regulation" is guaranteed to produce massive corporate donations to the GOP for every election campaign-- and bring a cheer from certain players who prefer running things their way, like BP. Months before the Deepwater Horizon made news, BP let it be known it does not like "intrusive and proactive" regulation.

But from the 2009 crash of a Colgan/Continental Air commuter plane in Buffalo, NY, to the Deepwater Horizon disaster off Louisiana one year later, it is clear nothing should operate without responsible adult supervision. The marketplace safe for consumers and the general public is a market which thrives-- whereas a den of thieves becomes a crime-ridden slum. "Caveat emptor" belongs to DEregulated Wall Street thieves and the depressed national economy they left behind.


Government Regulation--

Almost every major legislative response to industry disaster-- from Exxon Valdez to an American river so polluted it actually caught fire, was driven by an outraged American public. Far from governmental "intrusiveness", this was essential damage control and protection demanded by voters after industry abuses. BP and its mile-deep gusher is no exception.

What do we know about Deepwater Horizon regulation, at this point? Eight of the nine years of Department of Interior / MMS inspections involved the Bush administration, from 2001 to 2008. There were citations, of course. At least twice in 2002, Deepwater Horizon management had major mistakes with safety procedures and equipment. In 2003, there was a discharge of pollution, and another equipment problem in 2007. In 2008, the Deepwater Horizon was evacuated when it began to sink after an accident with stabilizing this computer-positioned platform. Over the entire Deepwater Horizon operational life 2001-2010, "numerous" other events and problems brought 18 citations for Deepwater Horizon spills and fires as an acknowledged pollution source

Yet, there are large gaps and discrepancies in MMS data over almost the entire term. And some evidence suggesting fraudulent inspection reports, as well. Some reports suggest MMS inspectors actually allowed BP officials to pencil-in responses, which the MMS inspectors simply inked over.

All this detail did not surface since the day Deepwater Horizon exploded, but was gathered over the past year during on-going reform effort at Interior. The regulatory failures documented involve not only the Bush term of eight years, but the year under Salazar. The evidence of regulatory failure amply justifies the Salazar plan to divide MMS into separate operations for safety inspection and minerals royalty assessment.

Clearly, the past nine years is not a model case of regulation-- but is a model case of DEregulation, and all its unfortunate consequences. The story of regulatory failures began not with Obama in 2009, but began at the launch and regulation of the Deepwater Horizon rig back in 2001.

By no small concidence, 2001 was also the year GOP DEregulation became the watchword of the new Bush administration. The same DEregulation that spawned the massive derivatives fraud and collapse of Wall Street, 2008.

To hear anguished GOP cries for better regulation is wonderful confirmation even the party of DEregulation can realize its own, shameful history and mendacious rhetoric.

[Perish1]

I haven't heard GOP cries for regulation but for enforcement of current regulation by the party in power of the executive and both houses of the legislative. Quit being a brain washed drone.

[alphaa10000]

To Perish1, who said, "I haven't heard GOP cries for regulation but for enforcement of current regulation..."
---

Speaking of "brain washed drones", you should hose down your own text with at least a brief review, before posting.

Because, in this case, there is no difference between "enforcement of current regulation", and a call for proper regulation. Current regulation remains, however you prefer to phrase it, regulation.

[apuan777]

OIL SPILL 1.0

IT IS ALL ON OBAMA. HE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WORST OIL SPILL IN HISTORY.

Obama chose Secretary Salazar as the United States Secretary of the Interior...

Under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Minerals Management Service is required to get permits to allow drilling where it might harm endangered species or marine mammals.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, is partly responsible for protecting endangered species and marine mammals. It has said on repeated occasions that drilling in the gulf affects these animals, but the minerals agency since January 2009 has approved at least three huge lease sales, 103 seismic blasting projects and 346 drilling plans. Agency records also show that permission for those projects and plans was granted without getting the permits required under federal law...

Aside from allowing BP and other companies to drill in the gulf without getting the required permits from NOAA, the minerals agency has also given BP and other drilling companies in the gulf blanket exemptions from having to provide environmental impact statements.

This Administration permitted this well using a special exclusion to environmental analysis; an exclusion created in the 2005 Energy Policy Act that senator Obama actually voted for - and that Senator McCain voted against.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/05/politics/washingtonpost/main6462513.shtml?tag=mncol;lst;2

and more specifically, Section 390 Categorical Exclusions as described in the 2005 Energy Policy Act; -thank you kaylag

This is all on the Obamanation! Undeniable!

Another oops!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/31/AR2010033100024.html

[alphaa10000]

You clearly did not read the Inspector General's report. In its cover letter, OIG Kendall said there is a history of regulatory improprieties, most of them before 2007.

The MMS NEPA categorical exclusion was issued some TWO months after Obama entered office, and it is entirely understandable not all elements of his reorganization after Bush would come together immediately.

Further, as surely you will be disappointed to discover, a new president is not authorized to fire all employees of the previous administration. In fact, there are still Bush "hold-overs" in place, some of them still doing their best to block Obama reforms. Some of them, surely, work at MMS.

In any case, it wasn't so long ago you applauded McCain and Palin as they chanted, "Drill, baby, drill!" BP had your enthusiastic endorsement, and this oil company has given far more to the GOP than to Democrats. See Palin's claim fall apart here-- http://mediamatters.org/research/201005240069?lid=1117258&rid=47069350

However, it is gratifying to see you GOP bozos finally admit strict environmental regulation is a necessity.

[bobnjersey]

[This is all on the Obamanation! Undeniable!]

go look up the meaning of the word rationality ... then seek out professional help.

[francescopa]

They should all be in jail,Starting with the union workers,Lazy bastards.They get paid more than "GOD".Allways on coffee brake.AND BP (British Petroleum)Drill in your own back yard.

[SueZeeeQue]

Bush, Cheney, and a Republican Congress deregulated the oil industry and set the stage for this disaster.

[Perish1]

SueZeeQue

Come on? The reports clearly state that regulations were not being enforced. How could that be if Bush got rid of them all? Quit being a party drone.

[bobnjersey]

[Come on? The reports clearly state that regulations were not being enforced. How could that be if Bush got rid of them all? Quit being a party drone. ]

and what are you being by using this nonsense argument to absolve the gwb admin?

[wyodutch]

And once again... the corrupt federal government will waltz away unscathed... while BP is left hanging.
.
My Lord... What did We, The People ever do to deserve such a rotton government?

[bobnjersey]

[And once again... the corrupt federal government will waltz away unscathed... while BP is left hanging. ]

bp is as much a part of the corruption as the government is. they knew what the safety standard was ... and it's not ok to subvert it just because you have regulators in your pocket.