"Less than four months after President Barack Obama took office, his new administration received a forceful warning about the dangers of offshore oil drilling.
The alarm was rung by a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., which found that the government was unprepared for a major spill at sea, relying on an "irrational" environmental analysis of the risks of offshore drilling.
The April 2009 ruling stunned both the administration and the oil industry, and threatened to delay or cancel dozens of offshore projects in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.
Despite its pro-environment pledges, the Obama administration urged the court to revisit the decision. Politically, it needed to push ahead with conventional oil production while it expanded support for renewable energy.
Another reason: money. In its arguments to the court, the government said that the loss of royalties on the oil, estimated at almost $10 billion, "may have significant financial consequences for the federal government."
The U.S. Court of Appeals reversed its decision and allowed drilling in the Gulf to proceed—including on BP PLC's now-infamous Macondo well, 50 miles off the Louisiana coast.
The Obama administration's actions in the court case exemplify the dilemma the White House faced in developing its energy policy. In his presidential campaign, President Obama criticized the Bush administration for being too soft on the oil industry and vowed to support greener energy forms.
But, once in office, President Obama ended up backing offshore drilling, bowing to political and fiscal realties, even as his administration's own scientists and Democratic lawmakers warned about its risks.
After the Macondo well blew out, sinking the Deepwater Horizon rig and causing a catastrophic spill, Mr. Obama said his administration should have been more vigilant in handling the oil industry. "More needed to be done, and more needs to be done" to tighten oversight, he told reporters recently." More>>>>
If you are a PNM customer, look for a very recently mailed document, "To PNM Customers." According to The New Mexico Independent, June 9th, "The utility, which serves nearly 500,000 New Mexicans, has raised electric rates on some customers by 24 percent over three years, and filed a request last week for PRC approval of another 21.2 percent hike that would take effect in April 2011." Yet, according to the PNM mailer, it appears as if some of the proposed rate hikes on certain entities, such as "Large Service for Mining Customers" and "Mines," were "Cancelled."
The document is "required by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC)." The commission will hear the case (No. 10-00086-UT). If you wish to participate in the case, send written comments to:
New Mexico Public Regulation Commission
ATTN: Records Division
PERA Building
1120 Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Case No. 10-00086-UT (refer to the case number)
To become a party, send an original letter and five (5) copies of a "Motion for Leave to Intervene in conformity with 1.2.2.23.A NMAC on or before August 6, 2010."
Also, according to the PNM website, there are public meetings:
Schedule of Kickoff Meetings
Alamogordo | Las Vegas |
Albuquerque | Rio Rancho |
Clayton | Ruidoso |
Deming | Santa Fe |
Los Lunas | Silver City |
"The San Miguel County Commission this week decided to change the composition of its oil gas task force after some contended that it was heavily weighted toward the industry.
County officials said they wanted to change the makeup of the 10-member task force after they received disclosure forms from applicants.
In April, the commission formed the task force to make recommendations for an ordinance that would deal specifically with oil and gas drilling. No requests for drilling are pending, but there are some in neighboring counties." More>>>>
"San Miguel County Commission Chairman David Salazar promised that the county’s oil and gas task force’s meetings would be open to the public.
He also criticized the Optic for not making that fact known to the public.
A few weeks ago, Alex Tafoya, the county’s planning and zoning supervisor, told the Optic he wasn’t sure if the public would be allowed in the task force’s meetings.
In the “Thumbs” feature on June 4, an Optic editorial stated, “Want to completely discredit the new task force formed to draft an ordinance regulating oil and gas drilling in San Miguel County? Then close the meetings to the public. If that happens, it will be hard to take anything the task force does seriously.”' More>>>>
"NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Against the backdrop of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, onshore natural-gas production in Pennsylvania is facing sharper scrutiny as concerns about the environmental impact of oil and gas drilling build.
Pennsylvania has become a focal point amid a nationwide boom in natural-gas production as lawmakers, residents and environmentalists struggle to determine how to reap the economic benefits of drilling without causing irreparable environmental damage. In 2008 alone, Pennsylvania garnered $2.95 billion in economic benefit as drilling flourished, according to a study by Pennsylvania State University, and the governor this week cut a deal with lawmakers to start taxing output. But a series of well accidents has raised fears about water contamination and prompted calls for a statewide moratorium. While the spill in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico may bode well for some onshore energy producers, the accident has ratcheted up worries about the environmental threat from oil and gas production.
"Gas drilling is an industrial activity, and there are going to be some environmental impacts even when it's done well," said John Hanger, the secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP. "What we're not willing to accept is gas migrating off-site, sloppy handling of materials, leaks and spills."' More>>>>
"Washington (CNN) -- BP has been trying to shut down an internal safety watchdog agency it set up under congressional pressure four years ago, according to sources close to the office and a leading congressman.
The Ombudsman Program was set up after a 2005 explosion at a BP refinery in Texas that killed 15 workers and a massive oil spill in Alaska the following year. Its chief, former federal judge Stanley Sporkin, would not comment for this story -- but a source inside his office told CNN, "I'm surprised we're still here."
The Washington-based office was set up to hear BP workers' safety concerns after investigations into the Texas City refinery explosion raised questions about whether employees feared retaliation for speaking up. Since then, 112 employees have filed complaints, and 35 of them have dealt with "system integrity or safety issues" that the office says are extremely serious.
But sources close to the office say BP doesn't like having independent investigators pursuing those complaints. A union representative told CNN that some workers who complained have faced retaliation. Jeanne Pascal, a former lawyer for the Environmental Protection Agency, agreed.
Santa Fe Reporter
June 30 - July 6, 2010
"What's Next? -- The disaster in the Gulf is no anomaly. It's an arrow pointing toward future disasters" page 16 and "New Mexico's Worst Case Scenario?" page 21 below:
"New Mexico's Worst Case Scenario?"
Excerpt:
"Last Oct. 26, federal scientists warned US Energy Secretary Steven Chu about the potentially disastrous consequences of a large earthquake near Los Alamos National Laboratory.
In its report, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said a quake could cause LANL’s plutonium to catch fire, creating a radioactive cloud that could kill not only lab workers but people living nearby.
DNFSB Vice Chairman John E Mansfield said Chu must take “definite, measurable, and immediate” steps to batten down LANL’s plutonium.
Four months later, Chu replied that a deputy, James J McConnell (who did not return SFR’s call), would oversee efforts to reduce the risk. What efforts?
Chu’s written response says his department has devised “incentives” of $1.3 million for the private contractor overseeing LANL to develop safety upgrades.
That’s roughly seven-tenths of 1 percent of LANL’s budget.
Three days after DNFSB issued its frightening report, the Energy Department awarded $5 million to a drilling project 50 miles from LANL that could contribute to the earthquake risk.
The award went to Jemez Pueblo for the drilling of two exploratory wells, intended to assess the geothermal energy resources near Indian Springs. Geologists are well aware that certain types of geothermal production can cause earthquakes."
"(DENVER) — The Interior Department has fined BP America $5.2 million for allegedly submitting false reports about energy production on an Indian reservation in Colorado.
The Interior Department said Wednesday that the U.S. unit of BP PLC repeatedly misreported royalty rates for natural gas on Southern Ute Indian tribal lands. (Read a brief history of BP.)
Interior spokesman Patrick Etchart said BP was not taking more natural gas than reported. Instead, BP at times reported erroneous royalty rates, or listed natural gas coming from the wrong wells, he said.
BP officials didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. (See pictures of people protesting against BP.)
Southern Ute auditors said they discovered incorrect reports in 2007 and reported them to BP, which blamed the misreporting on a computer glitch and promised to make changes. Etchart wasn't sure how far back the errors went. However, BP's reporting errors continued after the audit pointed out the problems, leading to the fine."
The BP oil blowout, now into its 11th week, is releasing large quantities of methane into the ocean, most of which is remaining dissolved in the waters deep beneath the surface.
~~~ Related Stories
The gas represents an under-appreciated pollutant in a drill-rig disaster that has pumped as much as 60,000 barrels (2.5 million gallons) of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico, researchers say.
Unlike the oil, the methane isn't coating birds or fouling beaches and wetlands. But it has the potential to wreak havoc on important links in the undersea food chain, researchers say.
By volume, some 40 percent of the hydrocarbons in the reservoir the Deepwater Horizon tapped is gas, of which 95 percent is methane, notes Samantha Joye, a marine scientist at the University of Georgia who has been gathering data at sea on the methane plumes.
By weight, she and her colleagues estimate, for every ton of oil spewing from the broken riser pipe, a half a ton of gas is blasting upward as well. "That's a tremendous amount of gas coming into the water column," she says." More>>>>
By MarketWatch
June 30, 2010, 11:04 a.m. EDT
"LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Hurricane Alex, which strengthened overnight from a tropical storm, is heading for the coastline near the Texas-Mexico border and is starting to churn oil from the massive BP spill on to beaches along the Gulf of Mexico, reports said Wednesday.
By Joshua Chaffin in Brussels
Published: June 30 2010 14:41 | Last updated: June 30 2010 14:41
"Top BP executives, including Tony Hayward, could be thrust into a public lion’s den following a decision by the presidential commission investigating the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to hold hearings in affected states.
Bill Reilly, co-chair of the commission, acknowledged concerns that the hearings, which will begin on July 12 at a 500-seat venue in New Orleans, could descend into a carnival-like atmosphere. But he argued that it was important that local residents be heard." More>>>>
"HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Compounds associated with neurological problems, cancer and other serious health effects are among the chemicals being used to drill natural gas wells in Pennsylvania, although state and industry officials said Monday the practice is not polluting drinking water.
The Associated Press obtained the list from the state Department of Environmental Protection, which assembled what is believed to be the first complete catalog of gas drilling chemicals being used in Pennsylvania. The agency hopes to post it online soon."
NOLA.com
Published: Tuesday, June 29, 2010, 7:28 AM Updated: Tuesday, June 29, 2010, 7:29 AM
"Kenneth Feinberg, administrator of the claims fund for victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, said Monday that the White House and BP have agreed to give him jurisdiction over claims from individuals and businesses harmed by the Obama administration's six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling.
"Yes, I now have discovered -- I didn't realize this until yesterday -- that the moratorium claims will fall under my jurisdiction," Feinberg said in an interview Monday on CNN.
"That's a huge development, and we didn't know that before?" replied the CNN reporter.
"I didn't either," Feinberg said.
Feinberg's new authority could vastly expand BP's liability to include claims not just from those whose livelihood has been directly affected by the spill, but also to include those who work in the deepwater drilling industry. " More>>>>
Posts
All Comments
