GULF OIL DISASTER
New BP debate over size of spill could affect fine
"BP's request could save it as much as $10.5 billion or as little as $1.1 billion, depending on factors such as whether the government concludes that BP acted negligently. For context, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's entire federal budget for 2010 was $10.3 billion. President Barack Obama has said he wants Congress to set aside money BP pays for fines for the Gulf's coastal restoration.
William K. Reilly, co-chairman of the presidential commission, expressed amazement at BP's case Friday. Reilly headed the Environmental Protection Agency under President George H.W. Bush.
"They are going to argue that is 50 percent less" than the government's total? Reilly asked. "Wow.""
Spill panel leader says oil industry was complacent
ALASKA
Study fuels calls for Slope pipe monitoring
"Nearly every week on average since 1995, the North Slope oil fields have had a spill from a pipeline, a well, a tank or other equipment, according to a study published Thursday by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation."
Ship Carrying Edible Oil Adrift In The Bering Sea
CALIFORNIA
Will Congress ban oil drilling off the Sonoma coast?
"A bill originated by Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, would more than double the size of two existing marine sanctuaries — in which drilling is prohibited. The measure appears likely to be rolled into an Omnibus Public Lands Act, congressional aides said Thursday.
The Cordell Bank and Gulf of the Farallones national marine sanctuaries currently cover about 1,800 square miles of ocean from just north of the Golden Gate Bridge to Bodega Head.
Woolsey's proposal, approved by the House last year and backed in the Senate by California Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, would extend the sanctuaries' northern limit from Bodega Head to Point Arena in southern Mendocino County."
VIRGINIA
Drilling's obstacles argue for delay
