Shell’s Arctic oil drilling plan challenged with lawsuit

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Native Alaskans, conservation groups go to court to block federal approval for Beaufort Sea oil exploration and development

Sunset over the Beaufort Sea. PHOTO COURTESY USGS.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Alaska natives, along with state and national environmental groups, said Friday they have filed a lawsuit in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to block new offshore oil drilling in the Beaufort Sea, off the north coast of Alaska.

After a short delay following last summer’s Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, federal regulators approved plans by Shell to start Arctic drilling as soon as 2012 — despite the fact that there is no good disaster response or cleanup plan in place. Several federal reports have also pointed out that there are big gaps in the environmental data needed to make an accurate assessment of potential impacts.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement released an environmental assessment for the Beaufort Sea plan Aug. 4, concluding with a finding of no significant impact. (more…)

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Investigation of arctic scientist going nowhere

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

A polar bear in the Arctic. PHOTO COURTESY USGS/SUSANNE MILLER.

Is. Dr. Charles Monnett being muzzled for his work on global warming and polar bears?

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Federal investigators continue to claim they are investigating an Arctic scientist for his role in administering research contracts, but documents released by a watchdog and whistle-blower protection group this week suggest the investigation is off base. Read the transcript of the latest interview of Monnett.

That gives more credence to the suggestion that Dr. Charles Monnett is the target of a politically motivated witch hunt that may be linked with his observations on polar bears and climate change.

Monnett, who works for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, was suspended a few months ago pending results of the investigation, then reinstated, albeit in a different position. (more…)

Filed under: Environment, oil drilling, Summit County news | Tagged: , , , , | 9 Comments »

Federal study on Chukchi Sea oil leases still full of gaps

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Feds move ahead with oil leasing plan in Chukchi Sea.

BOEMRE still not including critical wildlife information

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — For the second time, federal officials have brushed aside serious environmental concerns to move ahead with s plan for offshore oil drilling leases in the Chukchi Sea, north of the Bering Strait.

A supplemental environmental analysis released this week does very little to close an information gap identified by a federal court last year, when a judge ruled that federal regulators violated environmental laws — and it’s own regulations — by leaving critical information out of a draft version of the study.

The Bureau of Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement previoulsy admitted that it hasn’t adequately located important feeding areas for endangered bowhead whales—a species central to the subsistence culture of indigenous Alaska Native communities on the Chukchi Sea coast and highly sensitive to industrial disturbance. The agency also admitted that it did not know enough to determine whether oil and gas activities would have a significant effect on marine mammals in the region. (more…)

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Tracking big oil: National environmental groups challenge federal investigation of Arctic researcher Charles Monnett

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Who's in charge of Arctic science? PHOTO COURTESY USGS/STEVEN AMSTRUP.

Federal regulators say scientists integrity and contracting are at the basis of the investigation

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Two national environmental groups have formally requested a full investigation into the suspension of Dr. Charles Monnett, an Arctic researcher who has been the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Department of Interior Inspector General.

Monnett works for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, the federal agency that permits offshore drilling. During a research project several years ago, Monnett saw drowned polar bears in the Arctic Ocean and later published an article on his observations.

The Center for Biological Diversity and Greenpeace say they are looking for documents that might show whether Monnett was the subject of correspondence between the agency and Shell Oil, which last week won approval for a controversial plan to drill in the coastal water of the Beaufort Sea.

Monnett’s circumstances were brought to light by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a watchdog and whistle-blower protection group. Memos and other documents suggest that the investigation of Monnett focused on his polar bear research. (more…)

Filed under: biodiversity, endangered species, energy, Environment, global warming, oil drilling, Summit County news | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Feds may be muzzling scientist over Arctic research

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

A polar bear roams a coastal strand. PHOTO BY SUSANNE MILLER, USFWS.

Battle over Alaska offshore oil drilling heats up

By Bob Berwyn

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SUMMIT COUNTY — Last summer’s Deepwater Horizon oil-drilling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico clearly showed the conflict between science, energy policy and politics, and the looming battle over drilling in Arctic waters will be no different, as a watchdog group claims that federal scientists are being muzzled and harassed over their efforts to disclose potential impacts of energy development in the fragile Arctic marine environment.

Dr. Charles Monnet, a senior federal scientist working the Arctic has been placed on administrative leave and is being investigated by the Interior Department’s Inspector General. Such inspections are not uncommon, but what’s unusual in this case is that the researcher says he has no idea what the investigators are looking for.

But a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog and whistle-blower protection group, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, says the investigation is designed to interfere with scientific research that points out the dangers of Arctic drilling. In a scientific misconduct complaint filed last week, the group charged that Monnet is “being hounded in a political attempt to impugn his observations on polar bears’ vulnerability to retreating sea ice.” (more…)

Filed under: biodiversity, climate and weather, endangered species, energy, Environment, gas drilling, global warming, oil drilling, Summit County Colorado, Summit County news | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 86 Comments »

Opinion: Business as usual for deepwater drilling?

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

A U.S. Coast Guard file photo shows the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig ablaze in April 2010.

New guidance from regulators intended to address industry concerns on complex rules

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — After fielding numerous complaints from oil companies, the federal government this week issued a five-page memo intended to clarify some of the provisions in deepwater drilling rules established last October in response to last year’s Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Oil companies say the news guidance helps give them some certainty in the permitting process, but critics charge that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement is going back to business as usual by institutionalizing loopholes that allow permits to be issued without in-depth environmental scrutiny. (more…)

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Oil spill: Back to business as usual in the Gulf?

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Feds won’t require new environmental studies for previously permitted deepwater drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico

A NOAA map shows the location of almost 4,000 oil drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — It could be back to business as usual for some oil companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement this week gave 13 companies a conditional go-ahead for more drilling. The companies, including Chevron and Shell, won’t have to revise their plans for previously approved operations if their worst-case spill estimates are less than the worst-case spill estimates in their oil spill response plans.

The companies will have to comply with new safety and environmental regulations developed after BP’s Deepwater Horizon catastrophe. (more…)

Filed under: BP Gulf oil spill, energy, Environment, oil drilling | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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