I know Mistermix has touched on this already, but it is nice to see this splashed on the front page of the NYT:
Federal regulators warned offshore rig operators more than a decade ago that they needed to install backup systems to control the giant undersea valves known as blowout preventers, used to cut off the flow of oil from a well in an emergency.
The warnings were repeated in 2004 and 2009. Yet the Minerals Management Service, the Interior Department agency charged both with regulating the oil industry and with collecting royalties from it, never took steps to comprehensively address the issue, relying instead on industry assurances that they were on top of the problem, a review of documents shows.
In the intervening years, numerous blowout preventers and their control systems have failed, though none as catastrophically as those on the well the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig was preparing when it blew up on April 20 — an accident that has left tens of thousands of gallons of oil a day spewing into the Gulf of Mexico.
Agency records show that from 2001 to 2007, there were 1,443 serious drilling accidents in offshore operations, leading to 41 deaths, 302 injuries and 356 oil spills. Yet the federal agency continues to allow the oil industry largely to police itself, saying that the best technical experts work for industry, not for the government.
Critics say that, then and now, the minerals service has been crippled by this dependence on industry and by a climate of regulatory indulgence.
“Everything that’s done by the oil industry is done for profit,” said Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, who demanded this week that the Interior Department investigate these backup safety systems. “Throw in the fact that regulators have taken a lax attitude toward overseeing their operations, and you have a recipe for catastrophe.”
It really is kind of amazing how successful industry has been at gutting almost every aspect of regulation in this nation. Not only was there no effective regulation of the oil industry, if regulators were simply allowing the oil industry to regulate themselves, there was no regulation at all, because that is what “regulating themselves” means. It means looking the other way. I’d sure like it if cops would let me regulate my own speed on the highway.
And adding insult to injury, we’re paying the regulators to not regulate.
Stooleo
Dick Cheney, bitches. Dick Cheney.
Phlip
That is exactly why these motherfuckers need to pay.
Rosalita
Can’t cut into the profit margins with pesky safety measures…
schrodinger's cat
But but.. free markets, Reagan told me markets wuz good and gubmint wuz evil.
–teapartier
russell
cash rules everything.
C Nelson Reilly
I can’t drive 55
kommrade reproductive vigor
Well. Um. Let’s see… Oh, I know!
Effective government oversight and strict enforcement of the rules would have caused MORE accidents because the poor oil companies would have been dependent on the nanny state to provide oversight. And amoral Democrats caused the MMS to reward oil companies with free love!
Skreeee! [Fart]
Violet
The members of Congress who allowed this to happen should also be implicated. I’m sure they’d be happy to donate a bit of their campaign funds to the cleanup.
Egypt Steve
All of which proves that the Deepwater Horizon accident has not even happened, since it was obviously in BP’s and Transocean’s financial interest not to let any such thing happen, and the Invisible Hand of the Marketplace functions perfectly to prevent corporate entities from acting contrary to their own financial interests. This whole thing has been staged in a tank somewhere in a Hong Kong movie studio by Chinese warlords intent on destroying the U.S. oil industry so they can take over the world.
Kyle
I smell the rotten tentacle of Dick Cheney in all of this. You can bet he was bullying any regulators with a conscience that survived the Repig ‘drown in the bathtub’ purges and installation of industry whores. “Nobody could have foreseen” the consequences of Texas-style government.
Sue
“I try to ask nicely, and nothing happens. I yell, and nothing happens. We can’t have anything nice around here.”
This is what happens when regulators graduate from the Walk All Over Mom School of Regulator Training.
cleek
wall st collapse: lax regulation
coal mining accidents: lax regulation
oil spills: lax regulation
i sense a theme.
El Cid
__
Time, July 1981, “The Virtues of Doing Nothing“:
Regulatory capture by South Carolina Reaganite dentist.
trollhattan
When Jon Stewart told us “You don’t know Dick” he was understating by tenfold. What a guy; what a legacy.
Still, kan I blame the Kenyan?
Bulworth
Freedom!!
Don’t tread on me!!
slag
Not only that, but we’re still–after all these catastrophes–losing the argument that government has an important role to play. And that always cutting taxes and deregulating is incompatible with protecting our public resources. Even now we’re losing that argument.
I mean, is there some ingenious “third way” that the rest of America has caught onto that we haven’t? Some amazing innovation that will enable us to cut taxes and deregulate while still protecting our public sphere? If so, I want in.
twiffer
a few coke-fueled orgies were all it took, if i recall correctly.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
@cleek:
wall st collapse: lax regulation
coal mining accidents: lax regulation
oil spills: lax regulation
All during the Cheney Years. I’m shocked, shocked I say.
I still want to strangle Ralph Fucking Nader. All this “the parties are just the same” crap was just that crap. Why? With Dem administrations, there is at least some effort, not always effective but they try, to oversee and regulate industries in desperate need of it.
People who bitch that Obama’s not doing enough of this or that should realize that one of *the* most important things his administration does every day is have responsible, ethical people in positions of regulatory authority.
DMcK
It’s this stuff that’s emerged in the wake of this catastrophe that’s convinced me we should NEVER — but NEVER — turn to nuclear energy as a solution to our dependence on fossil fuels. Not that I believe there’s anything intrinsically wrong with nuclear technology if handled responsibly (in fact up ’til now I was all in favor of expanding our nuclear energy output) but in the US it would be like giving a loaded gun to a three year old. The interested parties on all sides simply cannot be trusted to prioritize safety over profits.
WereBear
It beggars understanding when you realize the Republican party sure doesn’t think human beings can regulate themselves; they can’t figure out whom to marry, how to raise their children, keep a job, or even buy food sensibly.
schrodinger's cat
@comrade scott’s agenda of rage: Don’t forget Iraq.
slag
@comrade scott’s agenda of rage: Seriously, if I could just blame Dick Cheney for all this shit, I would be so happy. Ecstatic, even. I’d be as happy as Jon Stewart would be if he could turn all his energies toward making fun of the guy wearing an ascot on the teevee. But while the former Vice President of the United States of America is, indeed, a depraved asshole who also shot an old man in the face, he is not an evil genius capable of creating all of these misadventures on his own. It took a Village.
kommrade reproductive vigor
@WereBear: Ah, but that’s people. Corporations are always right because they’re guided by the Invisible Hand of the Free Market. When people interfere, that’s when things get all screwy.
Comrade Javamanphil
Would love to see one reporter ask any freemarketfarian “If there had been less regulation, how would that have prevented Deepwater Horizon or made things better in the aftermath?” Pretty sure I’m getting my unicorn pony first though.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
@slag:
Yes as I infer in the rest of my comment.
I work for Club Fed. I see this crap all the time. Repup administrations come in and, in an attempt to gut regulatory activity without legislating it out of existence, they put either party hacks or industry insiders in all the positions of authority. They are instructed (more or less) to either sit around with their thumbs up their collective asses and do nothing for as long as possible or try to rewrite regulations, etc., as much as they can given what latitude they have under Federal statute.
It’s amazing how much leeway the Executive Branch is given when it comes to implementing legislation.
Thus, a Village was involved. It just so happens that the Village Chieftan decided to not play by most of the rules and thus, things got far, far worse during the 8 years of the Chieftan’s rule. How could that go on for so long? An opposition party with no spine and a “free” press that was and is, whipped.
A good buddy of mine worked on Cheney’s staff. He was the first one to tell me that these guys didn’t play by the rules and ignored practically everything previous administrations did when it came to policy implementation. To say that the foxes where in charge of the henhouses was an understatement.
TenguPhule
They were first up against the wall when the revolution comes.
slippy
But, but, HOOOOOCOOOODANOOOODE that oil spills happen?
I still maintain we don’t need technical experts in the government to solve this problem for us. We simply need to make it clear to oil drillers that should they fuck up, they will be on the hook for EVERY DIME. Remove the liability cap completely for oil spill accidents and make it illegal for the industry to pursue settlements. Force them to fight every single mistake out in court against the people whose lives/property/economic means of sustenance they have destroyed. Their lawyers will be down there with a rectal microscope making damn sure that there is no chance a blowout can get out of control. Let the market ACTUALLY fix this problem by letting the drillers know YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN.
I think that’s putting it lightly — I read something I believe in these very hallowed pages about regulators literally having sex with oil industry employees. Talk about being in bed with the industry.
slag
@slippy:
Heh. Like with the collapse of the financial markets?
sukabi
it’s the revolving door effect…. either replace the actual watchdogs with “experts from the industry”, or turn the watchdogs into “experts in the industry”… eventually you end up with a regulatory system that is designed from top to bottom to benefit the business over the public welfare.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
@sukabi:
We have that already, it’s called the civil service. Since I work on the transportation side of things, we’ve got plenty of career people like me who are wonks, highly knowledgeable of the industry they deal with.
But when the political head implements a “management policy” that in effect makes you spin your wheels for years, there’s not much you can do.
That’s why electing a Dem president is so important.
tc125231
@Phlip:
tc125231
@slippy:
bkny
Agency records show that from 2001 to 2007, there were 1,443 serious drilling accidents in offshore operations, leading to 41 deaths, 302 injuries and 356 oil spills. Yet the federal agency continues to allow the oil industry largely to police itself, saying that the best technical experts work for industry, not for the government.
remind me again — who was in charge. this country will be paying in blood for those assholes’ policies for generations.
tc125231
@comrade scott’s agenda of rage:
slippy
@slag: I don’t know what equivalence you’re reaching for but it’s not even the same deal.
And honestly, if we break up the too-big-to-fails then yes, we should also let banks fail when they fuck up.
slippy
@tc125231: I love the completely randomly-chosen userid. Trolling is a blast, isn’t it?
This is known as a logical argument. I will speak slowly and use little words so you don’t get lost, but basically I’m going to repeat what I already said. You ready?
If the problem is that the government can’t technically understand every issue that the industry does
And if the industry is clearly informed that failures and disasters on their part are THEIR responsibility and not that of the government
THEN it would proceed that any rational businessman confronted with the spectre of simply being sued out of existence should he let a huge clusterfuck erupt on his watch
AND any rational stockholder would also want to be sure not to lose his shirt on an investment
THEREFORE it follows that telling the oil industry there is NO LIMIT to their liability should they screw up will force them to actually take charge of their own “regulations.”
That gets the government out of the business of telling the industry what to do, and ends the insanity of socializing the risk and privatizing the returns.
My bet is that confronted with such a scenario most energy corps will either tighten up their safety designs or opt for safer energy sources altogether. Maybe I’m wrong. I just feel like it’s time to take the free-market people at their word and MAKE them do it the way they say it should be done, rather than continuing to socialize the risks that big corps take.
kay
“Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, who demanded this week that the Interior Department investigate these backup safety systems. “Throw in the fact that regulators have taken a lax attitude toward overseeing their operations, and you have a recipe for catastrophe.”
I’m pleased they’re getting closer, but I don’t think this is going to cut it. Congress have to focus directly on the regulatory agencies. Start at the beginning. Stop calling the private entities and regulators for testimony. It’s a waste of time, and the damage is already done at that point.
Focus only on the regulatory agencies. Assume capture. Start there. If the point of regulatory agencies is to prevent disaster, Congress has to move pro-actively and investigate to what extent they are captured.
It doesn’t make any sense to take this after-the-fact approach knowing what we know. We’re racking up huge damages, whether it’s dead miners, a smoking ruin of an economy or the Gulf of Mexico. There should be a sense of urgency and at least an effort to head off the next disaster.
Are they looking at all the other areas where the Interior Department has regulatory authority? Wouldn’t that be smart to do?
Alan
A new term (at least to me), The Bankster Party. Dylan Ratigan lays it out.
Origuy
It doesn’t matter that the technical experts work for the industry, if the managers that set their budgets make the decisions not to use their expertise. Enforced regulation makes managers tell their technicians do what they would do if they had their druthers.
For example, in 2003 the European Union adopted the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive, or RoHS. It restricted the use of six substances in electronic equipment, including lead, mercury, and cadmium. Because of RoHS, IBM, HP, Hitachi, and everyone else who wanted to sell into the EU had to spend a lot of money to eliminate these substances.
Now, the people who run these companies might be good-hearted souls who think getting lead and mercury out of the environment is a good thing. They might wish that their workers weren’t exposed to them. But if they had made the decision to spend the money unilaterally, reducing the profits on the bottom line, the shareholders would have their heads. RoHS forced their hands and took the responsibility away, so that they could say “it wasn’t us, it was the evil government.”
ET
Yet another example of how industries are so good about policing themselves.
slag
@slippy: The point is that we will always find reasons to be unable to live without these companies. (And sometimes, the reasons will be valid.)
This country goes to war because of oil. And you think, if push comes to shove, we’ll let entire oil companies fail just because they created an environmental disaster? Could you imagine the political backlash Democrats would be facing if an oil company went bankrupt and thousands of people lost their jobs because of “the environmentalists”? Of course, “the environmentalists” wouldn’t be the reason, but since when would that matter?
Citizen Alan
@tc125231:
At this point, I am totally on board with “the French solution.”
Citizen Alan
@slippy:
Or, alternatively, it will force them to be spendthrift in their financial support for Repuke politicians who, once in office, will manipulate the machinery of state to protect them from liability. It was Ken Lay and his fellow travelers who financed the recall against Gray Davis, and it was Ken Lay specifically who personally persuaded Schwartzenager to run for Governor. And lo and behold, one of Schwrartzenager’s first acts upon taking office was to direct the Attorney General to settle all of the state’s outstanding fraud claims against Enron for a fraction of what they were worth.
How much did Exxon spend over the last twenty years to ensure that, once the Exxon-Valdez case finally got to the Supreme Court, the new Chief Justice would have been appointed by a former oil company executive?
Elizabelle
Meanwhile, Investors Business Daily ran an editorial cartoon (5/05) showing a trickle of oil in the Gulf, and a sea of red ink emanating from Washington.
Insult to one’s intelligence.
LanceThruster
Clearly we’re not paying them enough to not not regulate. If we paid them more, they would not not regulate more. Instead, they are paid by the industries they regulate to not regulate. Until government can pay their regulators a wage competitive with those of not regulators, any attempts at getting them to not not regulate are doomed to failure.
Add to this the amount of time that can be spent not regulating by surfing online pr0n, and you can see what we’re up against.
An effective solution might be tying actual regulation actions to the availability of such pr0n. The more you do your job not not regulating, the more free pr0n you get. We’d have agency workers regulating the f*ck out of these guys. True, they we’re offering regulators drugs and hookers (that is to say the industry lobbyists) to not regulate, but perhaps some competively equivalent model could be devised to motivate regulators in a similar fashion to not not regulate.
S. cerevisiae
@El Cid: I wish Jimmy Carter would go piss on Ronald Reagan’s grave – for all of us.
Redhand
Bureaucracies like M.M.S. are beyond reform. M.M.S. should be abolished, all the senior administrators fired, and new agencies with discreet roles in safety and royalty management created. This disaster should be for M.M.S. what 9/11 was for the INS.
On top of that, the companies that do the drilling should have unlimited liability for fuck-ups like this. It’s not like they can’t afford it, and if they go belly up, tough shit. I’m tired of these corporations fucking us.