U.S. to Toughen Drill Rules - Obama to Unveil Steps Thursday

[charlesg]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704026204575266714089093670.html

MAY 26, 2010
U.S. to Toughen Drill Rules
Obama to Unveil Steps Thursday as Criticism Rises Against Handling of Oil Spill
By JONATHAN WEISMAN And JEFFREY BALL

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, fighting to stay ahead of the political storm over the Gulf oil spill, is expected to announce on Thursday that the government will impose tougher safety requirements and more rigorous inspections on off-shore drilling operations. The steps come at what could be a turning point for Mr. Obama. His administration faces growing criticism that it has done too little, too late in the face of an environmental catastrophe that threatens some of the nation's richest fisheries, popular tourist beaches and, potentially, thousands of jobs in the offshore oil industry. "This is probably going to be the worst spill we've ever seen, and possibly the worst environmental disaster this country has ever seen," Carol Browner, the president's senior adviser on energy and the environment, said in an interview.

Mr. Obama is scheduled to fly to Louisiana Friday for his second visit in a month, the latest step in the administration's intensified efforts to show a vigorous response to the disaster. But the success of the White House effort to prevent political damage depends to a great degree on events it cannot control. Chief among these is whether BP's latest effort to stop the flow — a method of injecting drilling mud and cement known as "top kill" — will work. BP has said it will attempt the operation today. After initially balking a broadcasting the attempt on its live Internet feed, the firm relented at the request of the president and the administration response team, an administration official said. Company officials have cautioned the maneuver has never been done in such deep water. If the top kill fails, BP could try again to lower an oil-containing dome over the spewing well, although an earlier effort to use the same tactic failed. Government and BP officials fear the gusher will flow until August, when a relief well is completed to help plug the leak.

The president plans a speech Thursday, after he receives a Department of Interior report on what led to the April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which touched off the oil flow. Mr. Obama is expected to detail changes to offshore drilling permits. Administration officials say those changes will include new permitting procedures to ensure rig safety. Additional inspections of the rigs will be required, in part to verify that safety features and environmental precautions accepted during the permitting process were in place. Those regulatory changes are detailed in a 30-day review that was ordered by the president last month and due on his desk on Thursday. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is expected to reveal many of the review's recommendations during congressional testimony on Wednesday.

If the oil is still flowing Thursday, Mr. Obama will also address what more can be done...

[Webster Green]

1. I do hope Obama purges the chimp-bots from all government agencies.

These are extremely dangerous people who swore their oath of allegiance to the chimp, not the country.

Regulatory agencies will be useless until all the chimp-bots are gone.