OIL/ENERGY POLICY
Republicans study offshore drilling, one year after lifting of deep-water ban
"The committee's leading Democrat said Hastings' concern is misplaced. Instead of holding a hearing focusing on a short-term deep-water drilling ban, Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said the panel should be studying the long-term environmental effects of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and reports of oil sheens near BP's failed Macondo well. "Holding a hearing on the impact of a safety check following an unimaginable oil spill is a little like holding a hearing on wearing a cast after shattering your leg, without looking at the accident that required the cast," Markey said. Markey added that the Natural Resources Committee also was overlooking the economic damage to tourism throughout the Gulf Coast caused by the spill itself."
Rep. Jeff Landry (LA) meets with drilling officials after 'Gestapo' comment
"Moments after the meeting, Bromwich released a statement saying that agency staffers "should not be placed in positions where they may feel they are being subjected to political influence, especially in connection with decisions on specific regulatory matters.""
THE GULF
Waterkeeper Alliance Takes Legal Action on Chronic Leak at 23051 Site in Gulf (Skytruth)
"One of our partners in the Gulf Monitoring Consortium, Waterkeeper Alliance, has filed a notice of intent to sue over the ongoing, chronic oil leak from the site of former platform 23051 in the Gulf of Mexico. We discovered this leak last May while analyzing imagery of the BP / Deepwater Horizon oil spill. According to the operator, Taylor Energy, and the Coast Guard, the wells at that location were damaged by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and, we presume, have been leaking 24/7 ever since. Repeated observations of the site on satellite images and via aerial overflights confirm that the leak is ongoing."
FLORIDA
BP begins work to remove tar patties on Pensacola Beach
"BP is taking its heavy equipment back to Pensacola Beach today to remove a concentration of tar patties buried in the sand near Portofino Resort."
Adam Hasner's changing positions on oil drilling
ALTERNATIVES TO OIL
