As oil continued to flow virtually unchecked from BP's damaged underwater oil well in the Gulf of Mexico this weekend, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar lashed out at BP for failing to seal the well and stop the leak--and he said that the federal government would remove BP from the repair and cleanup effort if the oil company didn't do more to solve the problem.
"I am angry and I am frustrated that BP has been unable to stop this oil from leaking and to stop the pollution from spreading," Salazar told reporters after visiting BP's U.S. headquarters in Houston on Sunday. "We are 33 days into this effort and deadline after deadline has been missed. If we find they're not doing what they're supposed to be doing, we'll push them out of the way appropriately."
Salazar made his comments the day after U.S. President Barack Obama blamed the massive oil spill, which continues to pour a river of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, on "a breakdown of responsibility" at energy giant BP and the other companies associated with the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig that exploded on April 20.
"First and foremost, what led to this disaster was a breakdown of responsibility on the part of BP and perhaps others, including Transocean and Halliburton," Obama said in announcing that the independent commission he created to investigate the spill would be co-chaired by former U.S. Senator and Florida Governor Bob Graham and former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator William Reilly. "And we will continue to hold the relevant companies accountable not only for being forthcoming and transparent about the facts surrounding the leak, but for shutting it down, repairing the damage it does, and repaying Americans who've suffered a financial loss."
All of this tough talk from the Obama administration is fine, and there is no question that BP deserves every criticism the government can muster, but these comments from Salazar and Obama both ring somewhat hollow in light of other events and considerations.
First of all, the government can't really follow through on Salazar's threat to push BP out of the way because only BP and other oil companies have the knowledge and equipment necessary to stop the oil that is polluting the Gulf of Mexico and coastal wetlands at an alarming rate.
Admiral Thad Allen, chief of the Coast Guard, said on Sunday that the government is forced to rely on BP and the oil industry to plug the gushing underwater oil well. Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union" program, Allen said the government couldn't completely take over the repair and cleanup operation even it if wanted to.
"What makes this an unprecedented anomalous event is access to the discharge site is controlled by the technology that was used for the drilling, which is owned by the private sector," Allen said. "They have the eyes and ears that are down there. They are necessarily the modality by which this is going to get solved."
And Allen apparently doesn't share Salazar's frustration with BP officials. Allen said that he trusts BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward, despite his repeated efforts to downplay the size and severity of the oil spill and its environmental impact.
"I trust Tony Hayward," Allen said. "When I talk to him, I get an answer."
Whether that answer bears any resemblance to the truth is another question altogether.
The government's willingness to trust BP, and the proven folly of doing so, is partly to blame for the explosion that killed 11 workers and the oil spill that has sent millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico and fouled 65 miles of coastal wetlands thus far.
The government believed BP (and other oil companies) when it said its offshore drilling operations were environmentally safe, and waived the need for environmental review before issuing permits for those projects, even after the Deepwater Horizon exploded. The government also believed BP when it said it was prepared to manage an oil spill several times larger than the one it now finds unmanageable in the Gulf of Mexico.
So Obama is correct. The Gulf Coast oil spill is due to "a breakdown in responsibility." But that critical breakdown occurred not only at BP and its partner companies, but also at the government agencies that are responsible for regulating and overseeing offshore drilling.
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it is funny how the BP oil spill has outraged millions in our society due to the pollution into our waters and sealife. What about the billions of tons of pollution we americans contaminate our native land and wildlife with daily? the roads, buildings, landfills that have destroyed acres upon acres of precious land the many species we have drove into extinction