Judge Rules Against US Government on Oil Drilling

[kpete]

Source: Reuters


Published on Wednesday, September 1, 2010 by Reuters
Judge Rules Against US Government on Oil Drilling

HOUSTON - A federal judge on Wednesday rejected the U.S. government's request to dismiss an industry lawsuit challenging its deepwater oil and gas drilling moratorium, dealing another blow to the Obama administration.

Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc and other drilling companies sued the administration on June 7 after it first ordered a halt to deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico following BP Plc's well rupture that killed 11 workers and caused the world's worst offshore oil spill.

As a result of Louisiana-based Hornbeck's lawsuit, U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans blocked implementation of the drilling ban on June 22.

The Obama administration then issued a reworked second drilling moratorium and asked that the Hornbeck lawsuit be thrown out because the first ban was no longer relevant.

Read more: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/09/01-6

[FirstLight]

1. Just. so. wrong.

Is this a bush appoointee fucking with the administration, checks & balances my ass..someone is owned by an oil corp and is stacking the deck on their behalf...

fuck. ALL drilling(gulf & arctic) should be stopped until the permits can be gone thru with a fine tooth comb and proper inspections performed.

ugh,

what recourse does the administreation have now? executive order?

[mrcheerful]

2. Nope even worse

He joined the court in 1983 after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan.

[izquierdista]

5. OSHA can probably kill them

A few hundred OSHA inspectors, checking every regulation on every drill rig and every piece of equipment before it is put out to sea. But we have seen that Obama does not want to exercise the administrative discretion he has. Otherwise MSHA would be crawling all over Massey coal like ants at a picnic.

[The Northerner]

3. How despicable

[JDPriestly]

4. The Obama administration will have to demand to inspect

each rig individually and close all those down that are not absolutely meeting safety standards. That's how this will have to work. Obama cannot sit back and allow the rigs to function unless they are meeting every safety standard and are prepared to handle a spill should one occur.

[OnyxCollie]

6. Does this judge have financial ties to the oil industry? nt

[lonestarnot]

7. You can bet money on it if you'd like.

[OnyxCollie]

8. Self-edit. nt

[HankyDubs]

9. He sure does

This same judge has ruled in favor or big oil a couple times recently.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/06/23/2010-06-23_martin_feldman_judge_who_overturned_obama_gulf_drilling_ban_had_investments_in_o.html

Held stock in both transocean and halliburton, and has stock in Blackrock funds as well, which has interests in many different oil companies.