Regulatory Capture Of Oil Drilling Agency Exposed In Report

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/08/report-illustrates-regula_n_709681.html

In a dramatic illustration of regulatory capture, a new report from an Interior Department review board has found that poorly trained, ill-equipped and overextended federal inspectors who were supposed to be policing the nation's offshore oil and gas drilling facilities were routinely bullied by industry representatives and were often undercut by their managers when they reported safety violations.

The review board was appointed after a BP rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April, causing the worst accidental offshore oil spill in history. Its report paints a devastating picture of the Minerals Management Service, the agency now known as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE).

Rather than take issue with the report's findings, BOEMRE's new reform-oriented director, Michael Bromwich, has responded with an implementation plan aimed at fixing the problems.

John M. Broder writes for the New York Times:

The report recommended hiring dozens of new inspectors and giving additional training to those already on the job. It also urged a more robust system of enforcement, including greater authority to cite violations and impose fines....