Assist vessels fire water cannons at the Deepwater Horizon in an attempt to control and extinguish a fire April 21, 2010, which has engulfed the mobile offshore drilling unit after an explosion April 20. Coast Guard helicopters, planes and cutters are responding to the incident. U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Petty Officer 3rd Class Tom Atkeson.
While the Obama and Manchin administrations continue their closed-door investigation of the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, the probe of the nation’s other current fossil fuel catastrophe is going on — in public, out in the open, and broadcast live in the Internet.
An alert Coal Tattoo reader pointed out to me this National Public Radio story that was based on large part on testimony delivered at the public hearings, going on this week in New Orleans:
Just hours before a deadly explosion unleashed an unprecedented oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, managers on the drilling rig had a dispute about how work would proceed, according to testimony from the rig’s chief mechanic. And that testimony has raised questions about whether BP was under pressure to move on to another well.
The mechanic, Douglass Brown, told federal investigators meeting outside New Orleans on Wednesday that he attended a daily meeting of managers on the Deepwater Horizon rig the day of the explosion. He said he didn’t follow all of the details that closely, but he did notice one thing: “I recall a skirmish taking place between the company man, the OIM, and the tool pusher and driller concerning the events of the day. The driller was outlining what was going to be taking place, whereupon the company man stood up and said, ‘No, we have some changes to that.’ “
The hearing is part of what is called the Deepwater Horizon Joint Investigation, being conducted by the Departments of Interior and Homeland Security, through the Coast Guard and the Minerals Management Service. There’s a ton of information online about this investigation, including its “Statement of Principles and Convening Order,“ a discussion of the investigation process, and an MOU between Homeland Security and Interior on how this all will work.
They’re posting daily witness lists, as well as the live video and archived video and audio of previous day’s hearings.
So why can the Obama administration do this for an oil industry catastrophe and not for a coal-mining disaster?
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My gosh, Ken! Why don’t you get over it? Can’t you see that it’s best that Massey doesn’t hear witness testimonies, enabling the company to hide evidence or intimidate witnesses. MSHA shouldn’t even be asking questions until after the FBI has finished gathering its evidence and presenting its case, but since they are doing it, it should be secret. Also, if MSHA is guilty of any wrongdoing or negligence, the FBI should be able to uncover it. Do you think Massey management is going to sit still and take the fall all by itself if MSHA shares in the guilt. I don’t know whether you have thought this out, or whether you are just trying to stir up discontent, but if the public wants to prepare a case against the guilty party, or parties, it shouldn’t share its information with the perpetrators.
tallcotton,
You’re missing a significant point … there is very indication that there is a criminal probe of the BP disaster … see for example:
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/in_focus&id=7459163
Even after working 24-7 on the broken oil well in the Gulf, oil is still gushing from the underwater well.
On Monday, BP learned it is facing an investigation from the Justice Department. That comes just days after the government said it is prepared to take over.
The U.S. Department of Justice investigation is a spot the feds have been in before. It’s not uncommon in massive accidents like this for them to look at the company for violations of environmental law or covering up mistakes.
The situations are so similar, yet they are being handled completely differently by the agencies involved … Ken.
Could it be there are plenty of coal miners and lots of coal left- but most of the beaches and shrimp boats are at risk? Nah, not possible. Don’t worry Ken, if they get the well plugged the sunshine on the Gulf spill will tend to abate as a new disaster from somewhere comes to the front pages. Maybe a runaway bride or a balloon boy!
Real-time 24/7 sunshine seems to be the default mode in investigating the Gulf explosion and blowout. Whereas the default in the UBB case is now pretty much closed-door, we’ll tell you when we decide to. You can express reasons for both approaches but the difference is a stretch to explain without invoking politics and PR concerns. The fact that the earth in the Gulf is still bleeding means the media attention is unrelenting. If it bleeds, it leads. With unrelenting media attention a higher degree of sunshine is necessary for a lot of reasons. Does this make any sense?
You’re probably right, Tom. The call for public hearings on UBB did not get tons of support from the media, locally or on the national level.
I’m for lots of real-time sunshine on UBB because past closed-door efforts have been a colossal failure. You could say, for example, that letting Massey off the hook at Aracoma was the reason they followed the practices that led to 29 dead miners at UBB. How’s that closed-door system working out for you, MSHA?
[...] Here’s an op-ed commentary by United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts that appeared in today’s Gazette, raising an issue first addressed on Coal Tattoo here: [...]