When An Environmental Accident Becomes A Crime (NPR)
Drilling review out of spending bill
"A plan approved by the Senate and House to continue federal spending until March does not contain a controversial provision tripling a 30-day mandatory federal review period for offshore oil and gas plans, likely the last chance the White House had to get such a mandate through Congress.
Oil-state lawmakers in both parties fiercely opposed language to extend to 90 days the amount of time federal offshore drilling regulators can take to review these drilling plans - which include environmental analyses, oil spill response strategies and other aspects of a larger blueprint that need to be approved before a company requests an actual permit to drill."
Government report: Not much subsea oil, but tar mats from oil spill still near beaches
"One of the 2 "areas of concern" highlighted in the report involves the failure of federal officials and BP to find all of the tar mats buried in shallow areas along the Gulf Coast. Those tar mats could cause a re-oiling of some shorelines, according to the report. The report calls the lack of information about oil near shore a "sampling gap."
In recent weeks, new tar mats have been discovered off of Gulf Shores. The Press-Register also found a number around Pensacola during November. "
