Obama Picks New Head of Oil Regulation Agency

Updated at 5:24 p.m. ET

President Obama has selected a new leader for the troubled federal agency that oversees oil and gas development and has been accused of lax oversight and conflicts of interest.

The White House announced Tuesday that a former assistant U.S. attorney and Justice Department inspector general, Michael Bromwich, will lead a planned reorganization of the Minerals Management Service. The administration wants to break the MMS into three separate entities to eliminate conflicts of interest.

The White House said Bromwich would have a mandate to implement far-reaching changes and the resources to do it.

The news came Tuesday as Mr. Obama moved on several fronts to show control of the catastrophe in the Gulf.

The White House is getting ready to provide updated information, based on government measurements, on the volume of oil gushing from BP's well in the Gulf of Mexico, the official said. Amounts have been unclear since BP's leased Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded April 20, and estimates have been repeatedly increased.

Last month, Elizabeth Birnbaum stepped down as director of the Minerals Management Service, a job she had held since July. Her agency has been accused of lax oversight of drilling and cozy ties with industry.

Mr. Obama returned Tuesday afternoon from a two-day tour of the Gulf and planned to address the nation Tuesday evening. On Wednesday he holds his first meeting with BP executives.

[ganttbarb2]

TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
You mean to tell the world and the United States of America,
that there is no human on this planet that can stop this oil leaking into the ocean? So you and your party and your administration and the US Congress are all going to just accept ALLOWING this oil to leak millions - billions - trillions... of gallons...of barrels of toxins towards the Atlantic Current...the HVAC of the planet earth...? You mean to tell me you can get NO ONE on this planet to plug this leak?

STOP THIS OIL LEAK. Does anyone on this planet believe that this oil leak can not be stopped? So why has the leak not been stopped? How dysfunctional are the oil companies, US Congress, and the current president of the United States? As soon as these hundreds of millions of gallons and barrels of oil reach the Atlantic Current....how much dead zone will exist to the HVAC Current of our planet. STOP THIS OIL LEAK. Are we honestly going to allow BP to continue leaking millions-billions-trillions of barrels of oil into our planet's water? Are you kidding me? Somebody wake me from this nightmare of surreal stupidity. DEAD ZONE ATLANTIC OCEAN HERE WE COME....

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/06/bp-emails-show-disregard-for-nightmare-well.html
BP Emails Show Disregard for 'Nightmare Well'

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/15/science/earth/15rig.html?hpDocuments Detail
Risky Decisions Before BP Well Blowout

BP said it would be able to capture 53,000 barrels of oil per day by the end of June and 80,000 barrel by mid-July, according to Bloomberg News. Current containment efforts are capturing 15,000 barrels a day. They point out that the company posted a profit of more than $21 billion last year and generates cash flow of $3 billion each month.

Just One of the problems with BIG OIL is that crude predators think of oil as non-toxic...Black Gold. You know, so what if millions of animals die, it won't change the lifestyle of the super rich. And aren't strip malls more pristine than nature?

Also, did you notice how the first spill estimates were very low. Then when the capture process started...there is more truth coming out about enormous volumes of UNcaptured oil.

I JUST HOPE TO GOD THIS WAKES UP AND MATURES AMERICA TO A SUSTAINABLE RENEWABLE LOW-CARBON ENERGY GRID...Wind, Solar, Tidal, Nuclear...localized economies of scale. You and I are America. You and I are the future of America.

[Henri_Rochard]

Thanks for you post, ganntbarb. You hit the nail on the head.

If Bush was incompetent, Obama is double-incompetent. Obama is good at one thing: Spending money we haven't got.

[tmittelstaed]

so when Obama proposes an alternative energy program are you going to side with the RepubliCONs who vote against it, just because they hate Obama and vote against everything he proposes just out of spite?

Yeah, I thought you would.

[ganttbarb2]

TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
You mean to tell the world and the United States of America,
that there is no human on this planet that can stop this oil leaking into the ocean? So you and your party and your administration and the US Congress are all going to just accept ALLOWING this oil to leak millions - billions - trillions... of gallons...of barrels of toxins towards the Atlantic Current...the HVAC of the planet earth...? You mean to tell me you can get NO ONE on this planet to plug this leak?

STOP THIS OIL LEAK. Does anyone on this planet believe that this oil leak can not be stopped? So why has the leak not been stopped? How dysfunctional are the oil companies, US Congress, and the current president of the United States? As soon as these hundreds of millions of gallons and barrels of oil reach the Atlantic Current....how much dead zone will exist to the HVAC Current of our planet. STOP THIS OIL LEAK. Are we honestly going to allow BP to continue leaking millions-billions-trillions of barrels of oil into our planet's water? Are you kidding me? Somebody wake me from this nightmare of surreal stupidity. DEAD ZONE ATLANTIC OCEAN HERE WE COME....

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/06/bp-emails-show-disregard-for-nightmare-well.html
BP Emails Show Disregard for 'Nightmare Well'

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/15/science/earth/15rig.html?hpDocuments Detail
Risky Decisions Before BP Well Blowout

BP said it would be able to capture 53,000 barrels of oil per day by the end of June and 80,000 barrel by mid-July, according to Bloomberg News. Current containment efforts are capturing 15,000 barrels a day. They point out that the company posted a profit of more than $21 billion last year and generates cash flow of $3 billion each month.

Just One of the problems with BIG OIL is that crude predators think of oil as non-toxic...Black Gold. You know, so what if millions of animals die, it won't change the lifestyle of the super rich. And aren't strip malls more pristine than nature?

Also, did you notice how the first spill estimates were very low. Then when the capture process started...there is more truth coming out about enormous volumes of UNcaptured oil.

I JUST HOPE TO GOD THIS WAKES UP AND MATURES AMERICA TO A SUSTAINABLE RENEWABLE LOW-CARBON ENERGY GRID...Wind, Solar, Tidal, Nuclear...localized economies of scale. You and I are America. You and I are the future of America.