As the BP oil spill began, so did calls for people to be held accountable for it, and one of the first people brought down is Elizabeth Birnbaum, or S Elizabeth Birnbaum, the director of the Mineral Management Service. The Mineral Management Service, or MMS, is part of the Department of the Interior and that is the office that oversees off shore drilling operations. Whether MMS is more at fault than BP isn’t clear yet. However, Birnbaum is out of a job and a moratorium on offshore drilling is due to take effect.
Mineral Management Service director resigns
When the BP oil leak began, someone was going to have to face the music at some point. No one is in need of a loan until payday to put an attorney on retainer, at least yet. One of the first government officials to be held accountable is Elizabeth Birnbaum, the director of the Mineral Management Service. She was asked by Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, to resign, according to the New York Times. On Thursday, May 27, she announced her resignation.
Moratorium on drilling to begin
President Obama is announcing a moratorium on off shore drilling. According to the Los Angeles Times, the moratorium will last at least 6 months, and current plans for an offshore drilling rig off the Virginia coast will be scrapped. Some members of congress have insisted Birnbaum is a mere figurehead for an already broken agency.
Perhaps a moratorium is a good thing
Though off shore drilling can potentially offset the cost and need for imports, the potential for disaster is still one that requires a responsible approach to drilling. One needs only to peruse the list of Superfund sites to see the legacy of extrication for profit, when corporate entities have done hideous damage and left the taxpayers to foot the bill. Business is after all business, but that hardly offers a remote defense of the taxpayers being forced to clean up the mess after the offenders have made off with the profits.
More information on this topic:
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/us/28drill.html
Los Angeles Times
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/05/moratorium-on-deepwater-driling-to-be-extended-new-industry-rules-coming.html
Superfund sites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Superfund_sites_in_the_United_States
