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Home U.S. World Entertainment Sports Business Health Science Technology Politics Offbeat Environment Travel News Articles Senate Seeks To Punish Gulf Oil Rig Safety Inspectors Email Facebook Digg Twitter Buzz Up! ShareThis June 23, 2010 3:54 p.m. EST Topics: politics, planning inquiries, disaster and accident, accident, pollution, interior policy, United States Tom Ramstack - AHN News Correspondent Washington, DC, United States (AHN) - Members of the Senate Wednesday hinted at criminal prosecutions against government safety inspectors who failed to prevent mistakes that led to the BP oil well leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Recent government investigations showed the inspectors failed to detect safety shortcuts by the oil company intended to save money. In addition, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded April 20 missed inspections required by government regulations. “I think the punishment should be severe,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on interior and environment. The subcommittee called the hearing to assess the government’s revised plan for regulating offshore oil and gas drilling. So far, the Interior Department has eliminated the Minerals Management Service and reorganized it as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. The new agency is divided into three divisions, one that manages government licenses to drill for oil and gas, a second that enforces safety and environmental regulations and a third that collects revenue from oil company licenses, fees and fines. A problem with the Minerals Management Service was the fact that oil companies paid their fees to a single division that enforced regulations against them, resulting in what members of the Senate described as a “cozy relationship” that was lax on safety enforcement. The Interior Department also hired Michael Bromwich as the new director of the agency. Bromwich made his reputation investigating poor job performance among law enforcement agencies. One of Bromwich’s first actions was to announce plans for a team he calls the “investigations and review unit” of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. The team will be charged with rooting out corruption and poor performance among the agency’s staff. Initial investigations of the BP oil spill showed government safety inspectors received gifts of food and other perks from oil companies. At least one safety inspector discussed a job offer from oil company executives as he investigated their oil rig. “I think it’s a matter of making sure cozy relationships will not be tolerated,” Bromwich said. If further investigation proves wrongdoing by inspectors, “they should lose their jobs,” he said. Members of the Senate panel said the investigation should also determine whether safety inspectors engaged in “willful” misconduct, which means they could be criminally prosecuted. The investigation cannot be completed until the oil leak is stopped, which could take as long as two months, according to Interior Department estimates. Only then can investigators retrieve the “blow-out preventer” from the ocean floor and examine it. The blow-out preventer is a safety device designed to prevent gas and oil from leaking from open wells. A failure in the equipment is suspected of allowing gas to rise to the surface on April 20, then exploding and killing 11 crew members before the Deepwater Horizon oil rig sank. President Obama responded by ordering a ban on more offshore oil drilling. On Tuesday, a federal judge overturned the ban, saying the greater danger to the public was the economic loss that would follow if the oil rigs are shut down. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said during the Senate hearing that stopping offshore oil drilling would be like shutting down the airline industry because of a single plane crash. “A third of the oil the United States gets comes from the Gulf of Mexico,” Alexander said. Nevertheless, the Obama administration said it would appeal the judge’s decision. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said one of the problems appears to be that safety inspectors are spread too thin. The government uses 60 inspectors to check about 3,800 offshore oil facilities, she said. “That clearly is woefully inadequate,” Feinstein said. Copyright © 2003 - 2010 AHN - All rights reserved.Redistribution, republication. syndication, rewriting or broadcast is prohibited without the prior written consent of AHN.License AHN news for your website, business, digital signage network or publication. 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