Feds Send BP $69M Bill as Obama Plans Gulf Trip
The federal government sent BP a bill for $69 million on Thursday to cover initial costs of responding to the nation's largest oil spill. President Barack Obama planned his second visit in a week to the battered Gulf Coast.
A White House official provided CBS News with this breakdown on the government's bill to BP:
The $69 million bill accounts for 75% of the obligations to date. Actual expenditures will likely vary from these projections but future invoices will recoup the full costs based on actual expenses incurred. BP was given until July 1 to pay the full $69 million. Costs included in the $69 million are:
• $29 million - For Federal agencies to support operation of ships, aircraft and boats, to support environmental assessment/monitoring, to support deployed personnel, and other expenses
• $4 million - For Department of Defense support of salvage and removal efforts, to support operation of ships and aircraft.
• $29 million - For National Guard Bureau to support activation and deployment of National Guard from LA, MS, AL and FL, to support deployed personnel, and other expenses
• $7 million - For states to support removal operations, to support environmental assessment/monitoring, and other expenses.
Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf
Facing questions over his administration's handling of the disaster, the White House said Obama will return to Louisiana on Friday to assess the latest efforts to contain the massive leak and clean up the damage.
Meanwhile, the Minerals Management Service stopped issuing permits for new oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, even as an administration official denied a formal freeze on drilling in shallow water.
"There is no moratorium on shallow water drilling," said Kendra Barkoff, a spokeswoman for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. "Shallow-water drilling may continue as long as oil and gas operations satisfy the environmental and safety requirements Secretary Salazar outlined in his report to the president and have exploration plans that meet those requirements."
Barkoff's comments appeared to contradict an e-mail sent out earlier in the day by a top official in the Gulf Coast office of the Minerals Management Service, the federal agency that oversees offshore drilling.
Michael J. Saucier, regional supervisor of field operations for the MMS Gulf of Mexico region, told a company seeking a permit that "until further notice" no new drilling is being allowed in the Gulf, no matter the water depth. A copy of the e-mail was obtained by The Associated Press.
The e-mail came a day after the minerals agency granted a new drilling permit sought by Bandon Oil and Gas for a site about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast and 115 feet below the ocean surface. Environmental groups accused the administration of misleading the public by allowing work to resume in waters up to 500 feet deep while maintaining a moratorium on deepwater drilling
Obama announced the moratorium last week as part of the administration's response to the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which triggered the massive oil spill that is gushing millions of gallons in the Gulf.
The contradictory messages frustrated drilling critics and supporters alike.
"Every single MMS reform and moratorium announcement since the explosion has gone through this same process of announcement, confusion, seeming violations, reinterpretation and reconfiguration," said Kieran Suckling, executive director of Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity and an outspoken drilling opponent. "I've never seen such a confused, uncertain response to crisis."
A group of Louisiana lawmakers said the drilling bans could further devastate the state's economy, which is struggling with job losses and business shutdowns tied to the oil spill.
"Katrina hurt us temporarily, but this will wipe us out altogether," said state Rep. Nita Hutter, a Republican who represents a district that was wrecked by Hurricane Katrina.
Republican Rep. Gordon Dove said it was unfair to penalize Exxon, Chevron and other oil companies "if BP did something that was careless." He said the shutdown of offshore drilling could force thousands of people out of work.
While details of the president's trip were still being worked out, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama will likely meet with governors of the affected states, local business leaders and Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, who is overseeing the government's response. Obama traveled to the Gulf twice last month, including a visit on May 28.
With the administration warning that the spill could continue through the summer, Gibbs said Obama plans to travel to the region "as often as the situation dictates."
Gibbs deflected criticism that Obama hasn't expressed enough anger or frustration over the failed attempts to stop the leak, insisting that the president would ultimately be judged on the effectiveness of the response, not his emotions.
"Pounding on a podium isn't going to fix a hole in the ocean," Gibbs said.
Confusion over shallow-water drilling appeared to stem from new restrictions on offshore drilling announced Wednesday night.
Bob Abbey, the acting director of the Minerals Management Service, said operators will be required to submit additional information about potential risks and safety considerations before being allowed to drill. The rule applies even to those plans that have already been approved or received a waiver exempting them from detailed environmental scrutiny, Abbey said.
The new information must be submitted before any drilling of new wells begins, Abbey said, adding that the rule should tighten safety standards and improve consideration of risks in drilling plans.
Jim Noe, senior vice president at Hercules Offshore Inc., a leading Gulf Coast oil rig company, said it's unclear what the Interior Department wants before allowing shallow-water drilling to continue - or how long the approval process will take.
"What we do know is that we've been told that additional safety information will be required in order for us to commence drilling," Noe said. "We're hoping it's something that can be done quickly."
CBS/ AP A White House official provided CBS News with this breakdown on the government's bill to BP:
The $69 million bill accounts for 75% of the obligations to date. Actual expenditures will likely vary from these projections but future invoices will recoup the full costs based on actual expenses incurred. BP was given until July 1 to pay the full $69 million. Costs included in the $69 million are:
• $29 million - For Federal agencies to support operation of ships, aircraft and boats, to support environmental assessment/monitoring, to support deployed personnel, and other expenses
• $4 million - For Department of Defense support of salvage and removal efforts, to support operation of ships and aircraft.
• $29 million - For National Guard Bureau to support activation and deployment of National Guard from LA, MS, AL and FL, to support deployed personnel, and other expenses
• $7 million - For states to support removal operations, to support environmental assessment/monitoring, and other expenses.
Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf
Facing questions over his administration's handling of the disaster, the White House said Obama will return to Louisiana on Friday to assess the latest efforts to contain the massive leak and clean up the damage.
Meanwhile, the Minerals Management Service stopped issuing permits for new oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, even as an administration official denied a formal freeze on drilling in shallow water.
"There is no moratorium on shallow water drilling," said Kendra Barkoff, a spokeswoman for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. "Shallow-water drilling may continue as long as oil and gas operations satisfy the environmental and safety requirements Secretary Salazar outlined in his report to the president and have exploration plans that meet those requirements."
Barkoff's comments appeared to contradict an e-mail sent out earlier in the day by a top official in the Gulf Coast office of the Minerals Management Service, the federal agency that oversees offshore drilling.
Michael J. Saucier, regional supervisor of field operations for the MMS Gulf of Mexico region, told a company seeking a permit that "until further notice" no new drilling is being allowed in the Gulf, no matter the water depth. A copy of the e-mail was obtained by The Associated Press.
The e-mail came a day after the minerals agency granted a new drilling permit sought by Bandon Oil and Gas for a site about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast and 115 feet below the ocean surface. Environmental groups accused the administration of misleading the public by allowing work to resume in waters up to 500 feet deep while maintaining a moratorium on deepwater drilling
Obama announced the moratorium last week as part of the administration's response to the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which triggered the massive oil spill that is gushing millions of gallons in the Gulf.
The contradictory messages frustrated drilling critics and supporters alike.
"Every single MMS reform and moratorium announcement since the explosion has gone through this same process of announcement, confusion, seeming violations, reinterpretation and reconfiguration," said Kieran Suckling, executive director of Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity and an outspoken drilling opponent. "I've never seen such a confused, uncertain response to crisis."
A group of Louisiana lawmakers said the drilling bans could further devastate the state's economy, which is struggling with job losses and business shutdowns tied to the oil spill.
"Katrina hurt us temporarily, but this will wipe us out altogether," said state Rep. Nita Hutter, a Republican who represents a district that was wrecked by Hurricane Katrina.
Republican Rep. Gordon Dove said it was unfair to penalize Exxon, Chevron and other oil companies "if BP did something that was careless." He said the shutdown of offshore drilling could force thousands of people out of work.
While details of the president's trip were still being worked out, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama will likely meet with governors of the affected states, local business leaders and Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, who is overseeing the government's response. Obama traveled to the Gulf twice last month, including a visit on May 28.
With the administration warning that the spill could continue through the summer, Gibbs said Obama plans to travel to the region "as often as the situation dictates."
Gibbs deflected criticism that Obama hasn't expressed enough anger or frustration over the failed attempts to stop the leak, insisting that the president would ultimately be judged on the effectiveness of the response, not his emotions.
"Pounding on a podium isn't going to fix a hole in the ocean," Gibbs said.
Confusion over shallow-water drilling appeared to stem from new restrictions on offshore drilling announced Wednesday night.
Bob Abbey, the acting director of the Minerals Management Service, said operators will be required to submit additional information about potential risks and safety considerations before being allowed to drill. The rule applies even to those plans that have already been approved or received a waiver exempting them from detailed environmental scrutiny, Abbey said.
The new information must be submitted before any drilling of new wells begins, Abbey said, adding that the rule should tighten safety standards and improve consideration of risks in drilling plans.
Jim Noe, senior vice president at Hercules Offshore Inc., a leading Gulf Coast oil rig company, said it's unclear what the Interior Department wants before allowing shallow-water drilling to continue - or how long the approval process will take.
"What we do know is that we've been told that additional safety information will be required in order for us to commence drilling," Noe said. "We're hoping it's something that can be done quickly."
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Watch the environmentalists...they attack certain businesses, while giving a pass on other problems.....
Take the trashed desert and mountains by illegal aliens, they say nothing!
Problems happen and it was part to blame with America try to get there own oil happening to close out buying oil from canada and the middle east.
But as ussally America is all over BP for the money grab and this has creat work for you which Obama can't do for your country.
Disaters lets look at the killing and bombing the American did to cambodia killing thousands of innocent people with no cost to America.
THE BIG AMERICAN WATCH DOG SCREWED YOU ON WALL STREET but never did nothing to the corrupt group including themselfs
After years of such "credit card"-style unsupported spending, coupled with irresponsible tax breaks to 5.5 percent of American taxpayers, the irony is we must go deeper into debt to support demand while the economy stutters back to life. We may have averted a depression, but the recession economy still needs stimulus.
At many points in our history, cooperation was driven by common recognition the nation comes first-- World War II is one dominant example, but there are many others. We must recover that spirit and community, because-- like it or not-- we are in this crisis together. We must resolve it, together.
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Aside from picking it apart over perhaps justifiable concerns. The absolute vile assault on the concept of national healthcare makes me beg question why suddenly we are all affected by this crisis and must come together as friends around BRITISH petroleum's oily campfire and sing Kumbaya.
This is going to be another taxpayer bailout of private interests that privatize their profits and become cozy american citizens all needing to come together and lend a hand when their bottom line may be on the line.
Propagandists and devoid of any decency. The players are mortals. May there be a hell for them to flop around in eternally like that oily bird.
However, resolving the problem-- to borrow Gibbs' comment-- is not podium-pounding but straight-forward, expeditious policy. We note that after donating a year to a "teachable moment in bipartisanship" that did not materialize, Obama and congressional allies made short work of wrapping up the bill after they made their decision to go ahead.
My principal lament with the Obama strategy is that so many concessions were made along the way-- most in the name of bipartisanship and consensus, and currying favor from Nelson, Snowe and others. It was as if the majority of the senate was left behind, to pursue a few elusive votes. There were, at one point, at least 45 senate votes for public option, and Reid could have pulled it off much earlier with much better results for the country.
Polls in early 2009 showed most Americans behind public option, and Obama should have regarded that fact as paramount. What you refer to as a wave of "propaganda" steadily distorted the on-going effort at open, public negotiation of differences between the GOP and Democrats, much as a few tea partiers disrupted public meetings simply for the sake of disruption.
Back to BP-- puzzling to more than a few of us is the "who's on first?" miscoordination of press relations from MMS and Interior. It seems Salazar may have overruled MMS on the shallow well, but the full context will surface, later.
For what consolation it offers, no administration ever has been free of miscued statements to the press. Often, the "miscue" starts with an anonymous, off-the-record comment. In this case, MMS and Interior apparently have a problem making policy clear, although it is equally possible there is no clear policy, yet, pending developments with the BP recovery.
It is also worth noting the media attention focused is a huge increase over the similar, 1979 blowout elsewhere in the gulf, and that intense focus is bound to show a few more warts in recovery and coordination. All to the good, in the long run.
Your parody is amusing, but as long as people are constitutionally entitled to their beliefs, however ignorant and irresponsible, we must be prepared to defend their right.
Even the right to "wrong" beliefs guarantees our own freedom to believe differently. But it is more than freedom in a vacuum-- the right to differ politically fosters truly open discussion and creation of genuinely democratic (small "d") government.
Ultimately, a guide to coexistence and political cooperation is the time-honored maxim of Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D, NY), "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."
The observation holds true, especially when advocates focus on one set of principles, to the exclusion of another. Analyzing a problem takes energy and effort, a willingness to admit error, and even more difficult, to admit we do not have a clear answer.
Typically, our national policy is not the clearest, most comprehensive embrace of our interests and future. We have an awkward balance of securing national energy needs for the next year, despite growing dependency on foreign oil, and of protection of the environment and development of a substantial base of alternative energy.
Faced with doubt and ambiguity, an increasing number of us simply give up and become "couch potatoes" watching only a single political channel, and content with only beliefs that make us comfortable. People have grown accustomed to talking past each other on a daily basis, and nothing good comes of it for our country.
Most of us are tired of hearing about the need for "bipartisanship". But the Obama prescription is not the belief all beliefs are created equal, but that all people at the table should and must participate in dealing with the facts.
This, alone, accounts for the entire year Obama spent talking to the GOP to open a dialogue about reaching a third way, sometimes called the "truth". Unfortunately, people could not wait to return to bickering, a time-honored and much more familiar activity.
Likewise, Obama gets scant credit for recognizing-- at considerable personal and political cost-- that few issues break into neat sound bites and dramatic clashes between Good and Evil. Obama recognizes there are good men and women of conscience in both parties, struggling to remain faithful to the facts and serve the national interest. Given courage and opportunity, they will do the right thing for our country.
But Obama's message remains insistent and clear-- the American people must grow up politically. We must recognize that political differences always will burden us, but we must work past them. Not occasionally, but routinely.
At many points in our history, cooperation was driven by common recognition the nation comes first-- World War II is one dominant example, but there are many others. We must recover that spirit and community, because-- like it or not-- we are in this crisis together. We must resolve it, together.
This is not to deny Bush his time off, but to show your comment distorts fact about Obama. Why not pursue the truth more carefully-- you might be surprised.
$69 million is the cost of 75 percent of initial federal response, with additional accounting later. But if your point is the final cost will be much greater, you are probably right.
BP made 2009 a "very good year", according to CEO Tony Hayward, who noted a substantial increase in reserves since the merger with AMOCO. BP fourth-quarter, 2009, profits of $4.3 billion jumped 70 percent over Q4, 2008, but were down from Q3 2009 profits of $5.3 billion because of declining market prices.
?2009 has been one of the best years for BP and its shareholders since the merger with Amoco," said Hayward. "But we are not resting on our laurels. There?s a lot more to be done.?
Now BP said the will cover all the legitimate claims. What are they going to do when the oil starts hitting the beaches along the East Cost? My money is the company will be moved into bankruptcy court and once again the American tax payer will have to pay. When are we as voter going to learn?.