The Federal Governments Role In BP Oil Spill NPRNEAL CONAN, host This is TALK OF THE NATION. Im Neal Conan in Washington. As a thick blanket of ugly crude flows onto beaches and into sensitive marshes in Louisiana, the president and his administration find themselves in deepening water in Washington. Removal by Dredging and Excavation. Dredging or excavation remedies remove contaminated sediment from freshwater or marine water bodies in order to reduce risks to. Child Deaths Spike in Illinois After DCFS Privatizes Program A newspaper investigation found 15 children died of abuse or neglect from 2012 to 2016 while their. Education Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping, St. Petersburg, Russia Scientific and educational center for training specialists for. While patience with BP wears thin, the White House continues to rely on the oil giant to stop the gusher in the Gulf of Mexico and clean up the mess its created. Why, critics ask, when BP has already failed repeatedly Meanwhile, state and local officials complain bitterly that the federal governments been too slow to send the equipment needed to contain the gigantic spill and too bureaucratic to quickly approve the alternate methods needed to protect the coastline. Then there are questions about the scandal ridden federal agency that might have prevented this disaster in the first place. More and more people ask Is this Obamas KatrinaLater in the program, Valerie Harper, nominated for a Tony Award as Tallulah Bankhead in Looped. But first, is the federal government doing everything it can to contain the damage Is this Obamas Katrina Email us, talknpr. History. Amidst the profusion of sounds that a seaport generates, there is a constant droning that accentuates the atmosphere. Extending out from the source of this. The Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation and Museums manages more than 30 parks. These include Active parks, which are large, offer diverse activities. Official website of the Smithsonian, the worlds largest museum and research complex, with 19 museums, 9 research centers, and affiliates around the world. You can also join the conversation on our website. Go to NPR. org. Click on TALK OF THE NATION. And we begin with questions about whether the administration did everything it might have on prevention. Ian Urbina of the New York Times joins us from his office here in Washington. Nice to have you with us. Mr. IAN URBINA New York Times Thanks for having me. CONAN And you reported this morning on a report by the Interior Departments inspector general into MMS, the Minerals Management Service. During major wildfires, DNR and our wildfire response partners work to ensure you receive accurate information as quickly as possible. The best way to get uptodate. And let me quote your first sentence Federal regulators responsible for the oversight of drilling in the Gulf of Mexico allowed industry officials several years ago to fill in their own inspection reports in pencil and then turn them over to regulators who later traced over them in pen. Mr. URBINA Its pretty striking. Its a fairly damning report. It is a report that focuses on inappropriate and potentially illegal behavior that occurred between 2. But it does show real problems in the office and the way that the inspectors were handling themselves. CONAN And this focuses on the office of the MMS in Lake Charles, Louisiana. We should point out that similar, maybe even more lurid charges emerged earlier about the MMS office in Denver. Mr. URBINA Thats right. Whats different about this report from the prior three inspector general reports is that its focused on the area that we all are fixating on, namely the Gulf region. And the previous reports focused on the royalties collection arm of the Minerals Agency, and this focused more on the inspectors who handle safety issues and environment issues in the Gulf. CONAN And does the inspector generals report mention BP in particular or Transocean, the company that was doing the drilling, or the Deepwater Horizon rigMr. URBINA It doesnt, because again, all the misbehavior that they were focusing on seems to have stopped around 2. But it finds that a number of inspectors were not only involved in what you cited but also apparent drug use with industry officials. They took free meals and sporting tickets paid for by company officials. And it just seems that there was a culture during those years of misbehavior. CONAN Hunting and fishing trips as well. And as you say, this was perceived as general practice, and indeed one of the main concerns that some raise is the revolving door, where inspectors one inspector was apparently lobbying for a job in one of these companies as he was going out inspecting one of their rigs. Mr. URBINA Thats right, and at least seven individuals that were the focus of the investigation still work for the agency, but last night, when we presented the story to the Interior Department, they immediately said that they planned on putting those individuals on administrative leave until they could investigate further. CONAN Well, that raises a question about as you say, all these activities that this report speaks to were before this administration. What has this administration done at MMS to change the culture and indeed change the efficacy of this agency in the year or more since Ken Salazar became secretary of the Interior Mr. URBINA A couple things, the biggest of which is it got rid of the Royalties In Kind Program, and thats what you referenced before, the Denver office, and that was the program that concerned collection of payments from the industry for the leasing of drilling rights. He also put forward a new ethics code for the entire agency, which were fairly strong. And then most recently, after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, he divided up the agency in a way that hopes to get rid of the apparent conflict of interest between those who collect money and those who are supposed to police the industry. CONAN But after the Deepwater Horizon, some might say too little, too late. There has also been the resignation of Chris Oynes I dont know if Im pronouncing that correctly who was director of the Gulf of Mexico office and the MMS service for about 1. Washington in 2. 00. Mr. URBINA Thats right. I mean, there was a lot of speculation about that resignation, which occurred earlier this month. It occurred in a way that the department it was somewhat curious. The Department of Interior wouldnt answer questions as to why he was resigning. And as you mention, he is the official who was overseeing the Gulf region of this agency at the same time that there were all these things going on, both the misbehavior among staff, as well as problems in the collection of money and the realization that proper collection had not occurred and there had been lots of unpaid money that was owed to the federal government that had never been paid. CONAN Its important to remember this agency is the second most important source of income to the government other than the IRS. Mr. URBINA Thats right. Theres a lot of money at stake here, and its one of the reasons why I think the administration has to move pretty carefully in whatever reforms they put forward, but its also probably one of the reasons why theres so much technical difficulties between the industry and the regulators. CONAN In retrospect, are people concerned that maybe Secretary Salazar and President Obama couldve moved faster Mr. URBINA There are some who are saying that. Novos Baianos Acabou Chorare Rar. I think its a little overstated to cite this as President Obamas Katrina. Much of the misbehavior thats cited in this report and elsewhere predates this administration. But yes, as the disaster sort of draws out longer and longer and wider and wider, I think the stakes get higher and higher for the administration to solve it. CONAN Indeed. Ian Urbina, thanks very much for your time today. We appreciate it. Mr. URBINA Thank you. CONAN Ian Urbina, national correspondent for the New York Times, where his article, Inspector Generals Inquiry Faults Regulators, ran yesterday, or this mornings paper, actually. We posted a link to our site at NPR. He joined us by phone from his office here in Washington, D. C. Meanwhile, NPRs David Schaper has been covering the oil spill from the Gulf Coast and joins us now from New Orleans. David, good of you to be with us today. DAVID SCHAPER Thanks so much, Neal.