Merged Judge blocks moratorium on off-shore drilling

[Kthulhut Fhtagn]

NEW ORLEANS – A federal judge in New Orleans on Tuesday blocked a six-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling projects imposed in response to the massive Gulf oil spill.

The White House promised an immediate appeal. President Barack Obama's administration had halted approval of any new permits for deepwater drilling and suspended drilling of 33 exploratory wells in the Gulf.

Source

 

[Drysdale]

Good

 

[thaiboxerken]

Conservative NO Judge blocks Moratorium on Off Shore Drilling

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/23/us/23drill.html

Does Conservative madness know no bounds?

 

[leftysergeant]

Good

Why is it good that a judge just ruled AGAINST public safety in favor of a bunch of crybaby industrialists?

Public safety is the first concern of government. Enabling people to drive vehicles the size of main battle tanks is not more important to public safety than is protecting the food supply.

 

[leftysergeant]

Source

Feldman needs to be removed from the bench. He has no grounds on which to require that the moratorium be lifted prior to determination of the safety of continuing. That's rather like allowing a lunatic to keep a pistol until it is determined whether or not he was right to shoot somebody.

 

[AlBell]

To the alternative question: Does the Obama administrations madness have the same problem?

 

[Drysdale]

What grounds does Obama have instituting the ban in the first place?

 

[AvalonXQ]

Good. Now the government won't be unnecessarily putting lots of people out of work before we actually know whether there's a problem.

 

[ponderingturtle]

Good. Now the government won't be unnecessarily putting lots of people out of work before we actually know whether there's a problem.

Think about were we would be if they did that after challenger and Columbia. Stopping sending shuttles into space put people out of work, at least temporarily. That was the wrong thing to do, I mean look at the spaces they opened up in the astronaut program for a start.

 

[firecoins]

Think about were we would be if they did that after challenger and Columbia. Stopping sending shuttles into space put people out of work, at least temporarily. That was the wrong thing to do, I mean look at the spaces they opened up in the astronaut program for a start.

They stopped the shuttle program. They will be outof work

 

[TraneWreck]

Good. Now the government won't be unnecessarily putting lots of people out of work before we actually know whether there's a problem.

Given the potential risk, the moratorium on deep water drilling was prudent.

If you want to employ those people have them start drilling relief wells on all existing rigs. The minute those are done, starts sucking up that delicious crude.

Regardless of what the problem is, we already know a solution that will prevent all future spills (explosions and unecessary rig-worker death, not so much). I think it's also safe to assume that the Deep Water wasn't the only rig with lax regulation and dangerous procedural short-cuts.

Put yourself in Obama's shoes: what would we think of him if another rig springs a leak?

 

[ponderingturtle]

They stopped the shuttle program. They will be outof work

But this logic shows that it was wrong to stop shuttle flights just because one blew up and you don't know why. I wonder if there will be an injunction about that as well.

 

[AvalonXQ]

Put yourself in Obama's shoes: what would we think of him if another rig springs a leak?

I assume nothing, since apparently Obama is incapable of error. He's perfect no matter what he does.
It's always those evil corporations' fault!

 

[AvalonXQ]

But this logic shows that it was wrong to stop shuttle flights just because one blew up and you don't know why.

We didn't shut down all automobile manufacturing when the Pintos started exploding.

 

[TraneWreck]

I assume nothing, since apparently Obama is incapable of error. He's perfect no matter what he does.
It's always those evil corporations' fault!

There will always be some apologist for anything. Hell, 1/5 of the country approved of Bush when he left. But setting aside the 20% at each end of the spectrum, the rest can easily be swayed.

We are on notice that government has failed in the Gulf. The regulation scheme was a farce.

We are on notice that business has failed in the Gulf. Given the chance, they flaunted the notion of safe practice.

There could be no indication of a failed presidency more obvious than another disaster after we've learned these things but before knowing the specific problem. Obama has no choice.

 

[TraneWreck]

We didn't shut down all automobile manufacturing when the Pintos started exploding.

But they shut down Pinto manufacturing.

This moratorium only applies to the deep water rigs.

 

[Alferd_Packer]

What grounds does Obama have instituting the ban in the first place?

I would imagine that it is the same grounds by which the administration can ground all the planes of a particular model if a safety flaw is discovered.

 

[Ladewig]

That's rather like allowing a lunatic to keep a pistol until it is determined whether or not he was right to shoot somebody.

Isn't it more like taking everyone's pistols while investigating a shooting involving a single gun owner?

 

[ponderingturtle]

We didn't shut down all automobile manufacturing when the Pintos started exploding.

You are right auto recalls are bad for the ecconomy. Toyota would be so much better if they didn't have all that bad press around their recalls. And a similar number of people died from those problems as died in the rig explosion.

 

[HistoryGal]

Why is it good that a judge just ruled AGAINST public safety in favor of a bunch of crybaby industrialists?

I always like to read the actual rulings before I spout an opinion.

I'm guessing that you haven't read the ruling issued by Judge Feldman. You can find it here:

http://www.laed.uscourts.gov/GENERAL/Notices/10-1663_doc67.pdf

Here are a couple of quotes from that Order's Ruling and Reasons:

A thirty-day examination was conducted in consultation with respected experts from state and federal governments, academic institutions, and industry and advocacy organizations. On May 27, 2010 the Secretary issued a Report, which reviews all aspects of drilling operations and recommends immediate and long term reforms to improve drilling safety. In the Executive Summary to the Report, the Secretary recommends “a six-month moratorium on permits for new wells being drilled using floating rigs.” He also recommends “an immediate halt to drilling operations on the 33 permitted wells, not including relief wells currently being drilled by BP, that are currently being drilled using floating rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.” Much to the government’s discomfort and this Court’s uneasiness, the Summary also states that “the recommendations contained in this report have been peer-reviewed by seven experts identified by the National Academy of Engineering.” As the plaintiffs, and the experts themselves, pointedly observe, this statement was misleading. The experts charge it was a “misrepresentation.” It was factually incorrect. Although the experts agreed with the safety recommendations contained in the body of the main Report, five of the National Academy experts and three of the other experts have publicly stated that they “do not agree with the six month blanket moratorium” on floating drilling. They envisioned a more limited kind of moratorium, but a blanket moratorium was added after their final review, they complain, and was never agreed to by them. A factor that might cause some apprehension about the probity of the process that led to the Report.

Emphasis added.

Later in the Order and Reasons, Judge Feldman wrote:

Of course, the present state of the Administrative Record includes more than the Report, the Notice to Lessees, and the Memorandum of Moratorium. It includes a great deal of information consulted by the agency in making its decision. The defendants have submitted affidavits and some documents that purport to explain the agency’s decision-making process. The Shallow Water Energy Security Coalition Presentation attempts at some clarification of the decision to define “deepwater” as depths greater than 500 feet. It is undisputed that at depths of over 500 feet, floating rigs must be used, and the Executive Summary to the Report refers to a moratorium on drilling using “floating rigs.” Other documents submitted summarize some of the tests and studies performed. For example, one study showed that at 3000psi, the shear rams on three of the six tested rigs failed to shear their samples; in the follow up study, various ram models were tested on 214 pipe samples and 7.5% were unsuccessful at shearing the pipe below 3000psi. How these studies support a finding that shear equipment does not work consistently at 500 feet is incomprehensible. If some drilling equipment parts are flawed, is it rational to say all are? Are all airplanes a danger because one was? All oil tankers like Exxon Valdez? All trains? All mines? That sort of thinking seems heavyhanded, and rather overbearing.

Emphasis added.

Footnote 10:

If the MMS and the Department truly were incompetent and corrupt, as the intervenors insist, the Court fails to see how this conclusion supports the government’s position. Indeed, while the government makes light of the fact that several of the experts disagree with the recommendations in the Report by noting that they do not disagree with the findings, of greater concern is the misleading text in the Executive Summary that seems to assert that all the experts agree with the Secretary’s recommendation. The government’s hair-splitting explanation abuses reason, common sense, and the text at issue.

Emphasis added.