05/22/10
Solution: Form a Committee to Blame Someone
White House to Name Graham, Reilly to Head Oil Spill Commission
By SIOBHAN HUGHES and STEPHEN POWER
WASHINGTON--The White House is preparing to name a former Florida senator and a
former Environmental Protection Agency chief to lead a commission investigating
the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, according to people familiar with the matter.
Former Sen. Bob Graham, a Democrat, and former EPA Administrator William Reilly,
who led the agency during a Republican administration, are the picks to lead the
commission, which could be patterned after past commissions that have
investigated incidents such as the 1986 explosion of the Space Shuttle
Challenger.
Mr. Graham declined to comment. A White House spokesman did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.
President Barack Obama announced plans to establish the panel earlier this month
in response to an oil spill that followed an April 20 oil-rig explosion. Oil is
spreading to the Louisiana shorelines as a broken BP PLC on the sea floor
continues to spew oil.
Rep. Lois Capps (D., Calif.) and Rep. Ed Markey (D., Mass.) had both urged the
creation of an independent commission to investigate the causes, response, and
impact of the spill. Currently, the Coast Guard and the Interior Department's
Minerals Management Service are investigating their own lapses. BP is also
conducting an investigation of its own actions.
Also on Friday, eight senators representing Gulf coast states and the state of
Alaska asked the Obama administration to exclude shallow water drilling
platforms from a moratorium the administration announced recently on issuing new
offshore drilling permits.
The senators said shallow water drilling sites predominantly involve natural gas
resources with "less environmental risks, and ... predictable and mature
reservoirs." An administration spokeswoman didn't respond to a request for
comment. Citing an industry group, the senators said the moratorium could result
in the loss of "at least" 5,000 jobs if it isn't lifted soon.
Write to Siobhan Hughes at
siobhan.hughes@dowjones.com and Stephen Power at
stephen.power@wsj.com
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Meanwhile, does anyone remember that mad scientist back in the 60s who claimed that he could run an automobile engine on seawater? - In another year or so, the refineries in Houston ought to be able to quit importing crude oil and just start sucking seawater out of the gulf.
What the hell kind of a name is SIOBHAN ???
I don't think he's from around here.