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Mary Landrieu warns of economic disaster, but Salazar not budging on drilling ban
Warning that a moratorium on deepwater drilling could bring more economic ruin to the Gulf Coast than the ongoing oil spill itself, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., on Wednesday pleaded with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to reconsider the six-month "pause" on exploratory drilling.
Michael DeMocker / The Times-Picayune"On behalf of the people I represent, I am asking: Can you give any time certain that we can get our people back to work?" Landrieu asked at a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Salazar said it is possible that a commission being named by the president to investigate the causes and lessons of the Deepwater Horizon blowout and the oil spill that followed could reach conclusions before its six-month mandate that would enable the administration to end the moratorium sooner, but he was making no promises.
"This could be devastating to our state and to the Gulf Coast," said Landrieu, warning that if the moratorium "lasts much longer than a few months, it could potentially wreak economic havoc on this region that exceeds the havoc wreaked" by the oil spill, the worst in American history.
Rattling off the names of companies that would find themselves in desperate straits with an extended hiatus in deepwater drilling, Landrieu asked Salazar if "the oil-services companies have to either go out of business or take bankruptcy or lay off classes of workers, are you going to ask BP to pick up their salaries and to make them whole?"
"Yes, we will," Salazar said.
The Associated Press'On behalf of the people I represent, I am asking: Can you give any time certain that we can get our people back to work?' U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu asked Wednesday.
BP has not responded to questions about whether those in the offshore industry harmed by a moratorium would be among those who could make what it considers "legitimate claims" for lost wages, and some legal experts have expressed skepticism that BP could be held responsible for such claims.
Landrieu also questioned Salazar about the letter she received Tuesday signed by eight of the 15 experts that the Interior Department had consulted in preparing the 30-day review of the Deepwater Horizon accident that included Salazar's call for a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling.
In the letter, those experts said that although "we broadly agree with the detailed recommendations in the report and compliment the Department of Interior for its efforts ... we do not agree with the six-month blanket moratorium on floating drilling."
The moratorium, which they said was "added after the final review and was never agreed to by the contributors," would, they warned, "have an immediate and long-term economic effect," but "will not contribute measurably to increased safety."
Salazar said that while "the experts provided recommendations, and I appreciated them ... it was my decision to issue the moratorium."
The Energy Committee hearing, on what members noted was day 51 of the Gulf oil disaster, was one of more than 30 that have been held since the fatal rig explosion April 20 led to an environmental catastrophe that has gripped the nation's attention.
The Associated PressInterior Secretary Ken Salazar wasmaking no promoses Wednesday.
At the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., clashed with panel Democrats on how to hold oil companies liable for damage caused by spills.
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said Vitter's proposal, which would create an unlimited cap on damages for the BP spill, probably wouldn't pass "legal muster" because it deals with only a single company.
Vitter responded that he would be happy to work with Menendez on technical changes in his plan, though he said he thought his proposal, requiring the secretary of interior to renegotiate the Deepwater Horizon permit to provide for unlimited liability, would survive legal challenge.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., the Environment and Public Works Committee chairwoman, said Vitter, who like her is up for re-election this year, seems willing to ensure compensation for victims of the current Gulf spill, but not willing to do the same for victims of future spills in other communities.
Vitter sarcastically apologized "for having the gall" to offer legislation to address the "immediate" problem at hand, the Louisiana spill.
The Environment and Public Works Committee's debate about liability caps was lively. Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., said Democratic proposals for either a $10 billion cap, or an unlimited one, would prove so expensive as to leave only the largest or foreign-owned companies able to compete, knocking out the smaller competitors.
But Menendez said small companies could still compete, provided they have sound plans for oil development.
"This is not a question of small versus big companies," Menendez said. "This is about safe versus unsafe companies."
Capt. Michael Frenette, president of the Venice Charter Boat and Guide Association, expressed little confidence BP would fairly compensate the charter boat operators, fishers or others who have lost their livelihoods because of the spill.
Ken Murchison, a law professor at Louisiana State University, said caps on liability, such as the current $75 million limit, have the "unconscious effect of discouraging some additional safety and environmental protections."
At yet another oil spill hearing, of the House Science and Technology Committee, actor Kevin Costner offered what he called a "partial solution": skimmers capable of separating oil from water. He's been promoting his equipment to the oil industry and government for 20 years, without much interest, Costner testified.
"We are all at fault here," he said. "It's just too easy to blame BP. What I can provide is a technology that is available immediately, a technology that will allow rigs to resume operation and to put people back to work. Every day we wait to deploy we lose more wildlife, coral reefs and our way of life."
Warning that a moratorium on deepwater drilling could bring more economic ruin to the Gulf Coast than the ongoing oil spill itself, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., on Wednesday pleaded with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to reconsider the six-month "pause" on exploratory drilling.
Michael DeMocker / The Times-Picayune"On behalf of the people I represent, I am asking: Can you give any time certain that we can get our people back to work?" Landrieu asked at a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Salazar said it is possible that a commission being named by the president to investigate the causes and lessons of the Deepwater Horizon blowout and the oil spill that followed could reach conclusions before its six-month mandate that would enable the administration to end the moratorium sooner, but he was making no promises.
"This could be devastating to our state and to the Gulf Coast," said Landrieu, warning that if the moratorium "lasts much longer than a few months, it could potentially wreak economic havoc on this region that exceeds the havoc wreaked" by the oil spill, the worst in American history.
Rattling off the names of companies that would find themselves in desperate straits with an extended hiatus in deepwater drilling, Landrieu asked Salazar if "the oil-services companies have to either go out of business or take bankruptcy or lay off classes of workers, are you going to ask BP to pick up their salaries and to make them whole?"
"Yes, we will," Salazar said.
The Associated Press'On behalf of the people I represent, I am asking: Can you give any time certain that we can get our people back to work?' U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu asked Wednesday.
BP has not responded to questions about whether those in the offshore industry harmed by a moratorium would be among those who could make what it considers "legitimate claims" for lost wages, and some legal experts have expressed skepticism that BP could be held responsible for such claims.
Landrieu also questioned Salazar about the letter she received Tuesday signed by eight of the 15 experts that the Interior Department had consulted in preparing the 30-day review of the Deepwater Horizon accident that included Salazar's call for a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling.
In the letter, those experts said that although "we broadly agree with the detailed recommendations in the report and compliment the Department of Interior for its efforts ... we do not agree with the six-month blanket moratorium on floating drilling."
The moratorium, which they said was "added after the final review and was never agreed to by the contributors," would, they warned, "have an immediate and long-term economic effect," but "will not contribute measurably to increased safety."
Salazar said that while "the experts provided recommendations, and I appreciated them ... it was my decision to issue the moratorium."
The Energy Committee hearing, on what members noted was day 51 of the Gulf oil disaster, was one of more than 30 that have been held since the fatal rig explosion April 20 led to an environmental catastrophe that has gripped the nation's attention.
The Associated PressInterior Secretary Ken Salazar wasmaking no promoses Wednesday.
At the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., clashed with panel Democrats on how to hold oil companies liable for damage caused by spills.
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said Vitter's proposal, which would create an unlimited cap on damages for the BP spill, probably wouldn't pass "legal muster" because it deals with only a single company.
Vitter responded that he would be happy to work with Menendez on technical changes in his plan, though he said he thought his proposal, requiring the secretary of interior to renegotiate the Deepwater Horizon permit to provide for unlimited liability, would survive legal challenge.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., the Environment and Public Works Committee chairwoman, said Vitter, who like her is up for re-election this year, seems willing to ensure compensation for victims of the current Gulf spill, but not willing to do the same for victims of future spills in other communities.
Vitter sarcastically apologized "for having the gall" to offer legislation to address the "immediate" problem at hand, the Louisiana spill.
The Environment and Public Works Committee's debate about liability caps was lively. Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., said Democratic proposals for either a $10 billion cap, or an unlimited one, would prove so expensive as to leave only the largest or foreign-owned companies able to compete, knocking out the smaller competitors.
But Menendez said small companies could still compete, provided they have sound plans for oil development.
"This is not a question of small versus big companies," Menendez said. "This is about safe versus unsafe companies."
Capt. Michael Frenette, president of the Venice Charter Boat and Guide Association, expressed little confidence BP would fairly compensate the charter boat operators, fishers or others who have lost their livelihoods because of the spill.
Ken Murchison, a law professor at Louisiana State University, said caps on liability, such as the current $75 million limit, have the "unconscious effect of discouraging some additional safety and environmental protections."
At yet another oil spill hearing, of the House Science and Technology Committee, actor Kevin Costner offered what he called a "partial solution": skimmers capable of separating oil from water. He's been promoting his equipment to the oil industry and government for 20 years, without much interest, Costner testified.
"We are all at fault here," he said. "It's just too easy to blame BP. What I can provide is a technology that is available immediately, a technology that will allow rigs to resume operation and to put people back to work. Every day we wait to deploy we lose more wildlife, coral reefs and our way of life."
