Gulf Drilling Regulators Let Oil Companies Fill Out Their Own Inspection Reports

New York Times:

WASHINGTON -- Federal regulators responsible for 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 turned them over to the regulators, who traced over them in pen before submitting the reports to the agency, according to an inspector general's report to be released this week.

The report, which describes inappropriate behavior by the staff at the Minerals Management Service from 2005 to 2007, also found that inspectors had accepted meals, tickets to sporting events and gifts from at least one oil company while they were overseeing the industry.

...

Taking such gifts "appears to have been a generally accepted practice," said the report, written by department's acting inspector general, Mary L. Kendall.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[ALCThomas]

11:48 AM on 05/26/2010

This is in direct violation of several Federal Statutes. At the least they should be charged with fraud because they submitted pay/time sheets for work not performed. I am a DoD employee and if I submit a timesheet and never peformed the work I can be prosecuted for fraud. Submitting false claims is a crime and that is just the starting point. There are also limits on what they can accept and meals and perks are not on the list. A cup of coffee and a keychain are about the extent of it. We need a prosecutor assigned to this as the statute of limitations has not run out.

[Kenyatta J Yamel]

08:25 AM on 05/26/2010

Corruption, incompetence, conflicts of interest and endangering public safety and nobody has been arrested or fired. Let's have some accountability , now.

[lvdragonlady]

02:42 AM on 05/26/2010

ALL the regulators should be fired on the stop. Let's get someone in there that will do their job and not sellout for a few dollars.

[Yaxchibonam]

10:32 PM on 05/25/2010

The things I am moved to say and do about this foul nest of corruption would get me banned from HuffPost. But tomorrow is another day, and I will find better coping skills. I guess one bright spot in this is that citizens of the Gulf Coast may transform themselves into our most ardent environmentalists after facing the dire consequences of this spill.

[MissingAmerica]

06:56 PM on 05/25/2010

There ya go!!!!!

[CatherineK]

06:24 PM on 05/25/2010

I think the CEO of BP, the 'regulators', and Dick Cheney should be charged with criminal negligence. This is an attack, on many levels, on the United States. The misery index caused will be immeasurable.

The government needs to take over BP's assets- pay weekly wages to those on the Gulf who have lost their income because of this criminal negligence and use the rest for the clean up.

The one word that we ALL should be shouting from the rafters from here in in is :REGULATE!

Regulate our banks and industries- coal mines where workers are choking on methane, and oil workers are being blown to kingdom come.

And put the BASTARDS in jail. And Ban BP and others involved in this catastrophe from ever drilling an oil well again.

That's the kind of CHANGE I voted for.

[Amondale]

05:34 PM on 05/25/2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1Pmg3BxCCM

[Amondale]

05:37 PM on 05/25/2010

OK, this is what happens you've started to reply to an oh-so-soon-to-be-deleted comment.

YOU GET TOP BILLING!!

[socialiq]

07:27 AM on 05/26/2010

this is an oh-so-funny comment! fanned! lol

[jasongrundy]

05:30 PM on 05/25/2010

DAM!!!!! Obama has a lot to fix....The Bush Administration screwed this country from head to toe...We need to be cleansed or a good colonic

[Marie9]

05:21 PM on 05/25/2010

How is it that the criminals ---get such high position in areas that affect others lives? I suppose if they sell their souls and have no conscience it is pretty easy. Who hires them anyway? That is where the buck stops.

[HdTinkler]

04:42 PM on 05/25/2010

Sooooooooooooooooo, here we are again, with a new group of leaders in the White House who are just as messed up as the previous 8 + years of looking backwards. Doesn't seem to matter who is in leadership positions, they should all be held accountable and fired.

It would be nice if we could find some men/women who have the moral fiber to do the right thing, to step down if they were part of the problem. Time for our President to grow some balls and use them.!

[markm8128]

05:09 PM on 05/25/2010

Another Teabagger who didn't read the story....

"The report, which describes inappropriate behavior by the staff at the Minerals Management Service from 2005 to 2007"

Teabaggers may not know this....but Obama didn't take office until Jan. 2009.

[Amondale]

05:35 PM on 05/25/2010

Big fargging oops to HeadTickler bagger du jour.

[1Troubles]

09:01 AM on 05/26/2010

parantly Chris Matthews didn't have all his facs last night either, he told the story of the regulaters, but didn't mention o nce when tis took place.

[Mahi Joe]

03:49 PM on 05/25/2010

Myabe next we can let the banks do their own IRS audits as well. I am sure they all are honest folks at the banks and would never ever think of screwing anyone.

[getsit]

03:36 PM on 05/25/2010

Anyone participating in the graft from the oil companies should have been fired when it came to light. Not only that, but some need to go to jail. Being bribed and committing fraud are jailing offences.

They whole dept needs to be gutted and competent, qualified people brought in to clean up the mess. Immediately!

There are no excuses. To have the oil companies grade themselves is pure incompetence and criminal.

[amaboss52]

03:16 PM on 05/25/2010

Will we ever see the end of the Bush failures, or are they going to haunt us for decades? And yet there are still all those fools out there wanting to put the repubes back in power so they can do more of this. The repubes deregulated everything, the oil companies didnt care and now we have this horror to deal with for decades. All of you repubes who cry about blaming bush for everything, guess what most of it IS his fault.

[getsit]

03:41 PM on 05/25/2010

This all goes back to Reagan. The Republicans have been systematically gutting the government regulations for the benefit of the big corporations at the expense of the poor, middleclass, and small business. Bush gave the oil companies carte blanche-free to do as they please with subsidies from our government to pad their profits. Afterall, he and Cheney are oil men and they allowed the oil companies to dictate what they wanted. The Bush administration gave away the store.

[bushgirlsgone]

03:04 PM on 05/25/2010

.

This is what happens when government is in bed with big business - government is meant to protect the people by REGULATING business and keeping it honest, not making it easier for them to screw us over.

The damage the Bush administration did to our country is still being revealed years later. Eleven people died because of the BP oil disaster and thousands are left without their ability to earn a living fishing. Those responsible need to be sent to prison!

[amaboss52]

03:11 PM on 05/25/2010

Well you gotta hand it to the bush admin, when they eff up they do it up right.

[frameofmind]

03:38 PM on 05/25/2010

Wow amaboss, you said a mouthful. Sorry I couldn't resist. Fanned and faved.

[2garen]

05:52 PM on 05/25/2010

X2

[urturn]

02:09 PM on 05/25/2010

Again, the Country is plagued with the incompetence of the prior administration. Unfortunately, it will not end anytime soon. GW appointed so many unqualified people to run very important agencies that I fear that we have not heard/seen the worst yet.

None of us should be surprsied that the MMS would be a haven of corruption when the President was an "oil man." For 8-12 years, Government has allowed the Corporations to take complete advantage of the American people.
Their actions are criminal and should be treated as such.

There should be jail time, not retirement for these crooks.