Failing to do the job

Sunday, May 16, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

In the wake of the Gulf of Mexico disaster, it has become painfully clear that the federal Minerals Management Service, which is supposed to regulate offshore drilling, has been derelict in its duty.

As authorities continue to investigate the explosion and sinking of the oil rig Deepwater Horizon, which was leased by BP America, emerging details show a picture of federal regulators rolling over for the oil industry. The industry is essentially allowed to police itself, and MMS has shown a pattern of easing or ignoring federal requirements for oil drilling.

On Friday, President Barack Obama called for a complete review of the agency’s operations.

“For too long, for a decade or more, there has been a cozy relationship between the oil companies and the federal agency that permits them to drill,” Obama said. “It seems as if permits were too often issued based on little more than assurances of safety from the oil companies. That cannot and will not happen anymore.”

According to a story in Friday’s New York Times, the agency gave permission to dozens of oil companies to drill in the Gulf without getting necessary permits from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA assesses threats to endangered species. In a letter last year, NOAA accused the agency of regularly understating the chances of a spill in the Gulf and the potential consequences.

The Washington Post reported this month that MMS estimated the most likely large spill in the Gulf would release no more than 193,200 gallons of oil into the environment. Scientists estimated the spill at 4.6 million gallons last week.

The Post also reported that BP was given a pass on a detailed environmental assessment before the Deepwater Horizon started drilling. And just days before the explosion, BP was lobbying for less regulation.

MMS scientists have complained that their assessments are often ignored or rewritten if they are too critical of a drilling project, according to the Times. But the agency has a built-in conflict of interest. MMS is responsible for both the regulation of drilling as well as leasing government land for drilling, which brings in billions of dollars.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he would split the agency in two, and that is good, but the agency will also need a change of attitude. During the Bush administration, federal regulators were turned into lap dogs of industry, and the result has been disastrous.

Although oil is and will be part of the nation’s energy plan for years to come, that is no reason to give oil companies a pass. The federal government must step up, do its job and start regulating the industry.