The federal agency that oversees oil rig safety and leasing of federal lands for drilling [the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service (MMS)] has refused to release safety inspection records for Deepwater Horizon in the wake of the explosion that killed 11 people...The Washington Post reported last week the the MMS had exempted BP's "Gulf of Mexico drilling operation from a detailed environmental impact analysis last year." According to the Post, BP had recently [as recent as April 9] been lobbying the White House Council on Environmental Quality to provide categorical exemptions more often.
When CBS News asked to see those inspection reports on April 29th it took the agency a week and a half to decide that the public records could not be released because they were "considered part of an ongoing investigation."...
MMS has come under increasing fire, as critics say it "rubber-stamped" safety checks at BP's Deepwater Horizon rig...
On Monday, the Guardian UK reported that "the Obama administration had waived environmental reviews for 26 new offshore drilling projects even as the BP oil disaster spewed hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico..."
The administration also seems to be downplaying the extent of the oil leak, putting the oil spill at 210,000 gallons (5,000 barrels) per day, while others have estimated the spill to be closer to 1.1 million gallons (26,500 barrels) per day.
President Obama has been the top recipient of BP PAC and individual money over the past 20 years.
Previous Posts:
Oilgate? Obama and BP hiding the 'spill'?
BP Lobbyists, the Obama Cash Machine and the Gulf of Mexico calamity
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