From TPM Reader MM …
What has continued to bother me about this whole affair is that no drilling projects can be initiated without full disaster fall-back plans that have to be approved by the government. These plans are supposed to take in every eventuality.
This is not like the Space Shuttle, where new tech is being tried, and will sometimes fail. As far as I know, no one has looked at the ‘approved’ disaster plans for this well. I’ll bet they will be interesting. I’d want to know which scenarios were specified, the government comments on each, and who signed off on this permit. My guess is the person who did was being wined and dined by BP.On a side note, get a look at a chart or map that shows the number of off-shore wells in the gulf. The number will be staggering and numbing. Each one an accident waiting to happen. I think most people assumed there aren’t a lot of rigs out there. Think again.
I spent years as an investigative journalist. I wish I was back in the game, because so many people seem to be missing the obvious things to follow up.
