|
POGO's Oversight of the Department of the Interior
Related Resources (government documents and letters)
POGO Files
Inspector General’s Reports Show Officials May Have Ignored Ethical Misconduct in Bureau of Land Management
March 2, 2011
POGO Uncovers Ethic Concerns at BLM The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) wants to bring to
your attention our continued concerns about the state of ethics at the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM). POGO recently obtained two Department of the Interior
Inspector General (DOI OIG) reports released under the Freedom of Information
Act, one from 2006 and another from 2009, that raise serious questions about
the cozy relationship between management in BLM’s Casper, Wyoming,
Field Office and a particular company the field office is charged with
overseeing. Furthermore, we are concerned by details in the 2009 report that
seem to indicate a lax attitude towards ethics compliance continued after the
Secretary’s revised ethics guidance, and that perhaps there is even a lack of
understanding of basic ethics rules by an ethics official—the authority
employees rely on to interpret the rules and provide guidance and advice—at
BLM’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
March 2, 2011
Calling Congressional Investigators--Will New Interior Training Academies Improve Inspections?
November 4, 2010
New Details Emerge out of POGO's BLM Ethics Investigation
October 22, 2010
BLM Director Requests Renewed Investigative Inquiry
October 22, 2010
Interior Department Ethics Problems Spill into BLM
October 13, 2010
POGO Letter to Secretary Salazar Regarding Bureau of Land Management and the Revolving Door
October 12, 2010
POGO statement regarding the Outer Continental Shelf Safety Oversight Board report
September 8, 2010
Penalties May Not Surpass BP's Oil Spill Tax Credit
August 4, 2010
House Advances POGO Recommendations for Strong Reforms in Response to the Gulf Oil Disaster
July 30, 2010
POGO Applauds House Passage of Whistleblower Protections for Oil and Gas Industry Workers
July 30, 2010
POGO's Comment on BP's Tax Deductions
July 28, 2010
Testimony of POGO's Danielle Brian on Examination of The Department of the Interior’s Oversight of Offshore Oil Drilling
July 22, 2010
Interior Agency Needs to Dig Deeper on Reforms
July 22, 2010
Podcast: Examining Reforms to the Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior's Oil and Gas Regulator
July 9, 2010
POGO Applauds the Senate Energy Committee for Voting in Favor of Slowing Revolving Door between Industry and Interior
June 30, 2010
POGO Letter of Support for Amendment to Slow Revolving Door between Industry and Interior POGO, along with the undersigned groups, strongly supports Senator Wyden’s amendment to S. 3516, the Outer Continental Shelf Reform Act of 2010, to slow the revolving door between the oil and gas industry and the Department of the Interior. We applaud Senator Wyden for his leadership on this critical issue and effort to enact the reform called for by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
June 29, 2010
POGO Letter Expressing Strong Support for the Stop Cozy Relationships with Big Oil Act of 2010
June 23, 2010
MMS Reforms Must Dig Deeper
June 17, 2010
POGO Submits FOIA Request for Minerals Management Service Documents POGO has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documents from the Minerals Management Service (MMS) Solicitor's Office.
May 27, 2010
POGO joins letter to President Obama urging continued public access to monitoring of Gulf oil spill
May 26, 2010
Can a Lab Paid by BP Assess the Environmental Damage from the Gulf Oil Spill Without Bias?
May 21, 2010
Breaking up MMS and Kicking Industry out of Bed: POGO Applauds Sec. Salazar's Announcement
May 19, 2010
Salazar Should Finish the Job, Separate All Oversight Functions from Oil and Gas Leasing
May 11, 2010
MMS Scandal: Where Are They Now? Deepwater Horizon Edition
April 30, 2010
MMS Thought Deepwater Horizon was Award-Winningly SAFE
April 29, 2010
More Lessons From the Deepwater Horizon Disaster
April 29, 2010
How Much Will the Deepwater Horizon Spill Cost Taxpayers?
April 28, 2010
Drilling the Taxpayer: Department of Interior's Royalty-In-Kind Program In its fifth report since 1995 about oil and gas royalties, POGO examines the mismanagement and corruption in the Department of the Interior's Royalty-In-Kind program. The report tracks how industry's influence on the RIK program has been pervasive, and can be traced from the program's inception through its expansion into the full-blown program that exists today. In the face of these numerous problems, POGO now demands the program be abolished.
September 18, 2008
POGO: DOI’s Minerals Management Service Wins “Worst Misconduct Abuse” Award
September 10, 2008
Related Resources
High Risk Series: An Update
Report GAO-11-278, Goverment Accountability Office (GAO)
February 1, 2011
BLM Needs a Comprehensive Strategy to Better Manage Potential Oil and Gas Well Liability
Report GAO-11-292, Government Accountability Office (GAO)
February 1, 2011
Interior Department Oversight of Offshore Oil Drilling, Panel 2
Featuring POGO's Danielle Brian at about 12:20 running time, C-Span Video Library
July 22, 2010
GAO Testimony on Oil Spills: Cost of Major Spills May Impact Viability of Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund
Statement of Susan Fleming, Director, Physical Infrastructure, Government Accountability Office (GAO)
June 16, 2010
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree introduces legislation to collect royalties on spilled oil
Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME), US House of Representatives
June 14, 2010
House Natural Resources Chairman Rahall Letter to Interior Secretary Salazar Regarding Drilling Inspectors
Nick J. Rahall II, Chairman, (D-WV) Committee On Natural Resources, U.S. House of Representatives
June 8, 2010
Inspector General Report on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) District Manager Steve Henke
Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of the Interior
June 7, 2010
Key Questions Arising from Inquiry into the Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico
Committee on Energy and Commerce, US House of Representatives
May 25, 2010
Letter from Senator Charles Grassley to Halliburton Co.
Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
May 17, 2010
Letter from Senator Charles Grassley to President of BP America, Inc.
Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
May 17, 2010
Letter from Senator Charles Grassley to CEO of Transocean, Ltd.
Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
May 17, 2010
Letter from Senator Charles Grassley to Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
May 17, 2010
Hearing on "Inquiry into the Deepwater Horizon Gulf Coast Oil Spill"
House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, US House of Representatives
May 12, 2010
Hearing: to review current issues related to offshore oil and gas development
Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, U.S. Senate
May 11, 2010
Issa to Investigate Regulators Responsible for Oversight of Offshore Drilling Activity
Republican Blog, Committee on Oversight & Government Reform
May 3, 2010
Letter to Dept. of Interior Secretary Salazar calling for investigation into the BP, Transocean and Deepwater Horizon Safety Regulations and Certifications
Representative Darrell E. Issa (R-CA), House of Represenatives, Committee On Oversight and Government Reform
May 3, 2010
Letter from Senator Bill Nelson to Department of Interior Inspector General Regarding Reliable Back-Up Systems to Cap Underwater Wells
Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), United States Senate
May 3, 2010
Investigative Report: Island Operating Company et al
Office of the Inspector General, Department of the Interior
March 31, 2010
Oil and Gas Management: Interior's Oil and Gas Production Verification Efforts Do Not Provide Reasonable Assurance of Accurate Measurement of Production Volumes
Report GAO-10-313, Government Accountability Office (GAO)
March 15, 2010
Offshore Oil and Gas Development: Additional Guidance Would Help Strengthen the Minerals Management Service's Assessment of Environmental Impacts in the North Aleutian Basin
Report GAO-10-276, Government Accountability Office (GAO)
March 8, 2010
MMS Could Do More to Improve the Accuracy of Key Data Used to Collect and Verify Oil and Gas Royalties
Report GAO-09-549, Government Accountability Office (GAO)
July 1, 2009
Federal Oil and Gas Resource Management and Revenue Collection In Need of Stronger Oversight and Comprehensive Reassessment
Testimony of Frank Rusco, Director, Natural Resources and Environment, Government Accountability Office (GAO-09-556T)
April 2, 2009
MMS: Safety Alert: Plug and Abandonment of Non-producing Wells and Facilities
Contact: Jane Powers, Minerals Management Service
August 1, 2007
Idle Iron in the Gulf of Mexico
Under MMS Contract by Coastal Marine Institute and Louisiana State University; Center for Energy Studies; Mark J. Kaiser and Allan G. Pulsipher, US Department of the Interior / Minerals Management Service / Gulf of Mexico OCS Region
May 1, 2007
Testimony of Department of Interior Inspector General Earl E. Devaney
Subcommittee on Energy & Resources, US House of Representatives
September 13, 2006
Offshore Oil and Gas Resources: Interior Can Improve Its Management of Lease Abandonment
GAO, Government Accountability Office
May 1, 1994
Mineral Revenues: Progress Has Been Slow In Verifying Offshore Oil and Gas Production
GAO/ RCED-90-193, Government Accountability Office
August 1, 1990
Offshore Oil and Gas: Final Annual Report on Shut-In and Flaring Wells
GAO, Government Accountability Office
September 1, 1986
Offshore Oil and Gas: Inspection of Outer Continental Shelf Facilities
(GAO), Government Accountability Office
December 1, 1985
Selectively Reducing Offshore Royalty Rates In The Gulf Of Mexico Could Increase Oil Production and Federal Government Revenue
By the Comptroller General, Government Accountability Office (GAO)
May 10, 1985
Fiscal Accountability of the Nation's Energy Resources
David Linowes and the Linowes Commission, Commission on Fiscal Accountability of the Nation's Energy Resources
January 21, 1982
Impact of Regulations -- After Federal Leasing -- On Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Development
By the Comptroller General of the United States, Government Accountability Office (GAO)
February 27, 1981
GAO Letter to FERC Chairman Charles B. Curtis regarding Review of OCS Pipeline Permitting and Regulatory Functions
J. Dexter Peach, Director, Government Accountability Office (GAO)
January 12, 1979
POGO in the News
Recusal policy reveals oil industry-gov't ties, Dina Cappiello, Associated Press, CNBC, July 26, 2011
Higher oil royalty charges expected from Obama, Evan Bush; Center for Public Integrity, Tucscon Sentinel.com, June 18, 2011
The F Word: Is BP Too Big To Fail?, By Laura Flanders, The Nation, May 3, 2011
BP Still Being Awarded Lucrative Government Contracts, By Jason Leopold, Truthout; The Public Record, April 21, 2011
Big Break For Big Oil, Larger Burden For Taxpayers, By Aaron Mehta, The Huffington Post; iWatch News, April 15, 2011
Cozy relationship between Casper BLM manager, contractor deserves more scrutiny, By Dustin Bleizeffer, WyoFile, March 10, 2011
BLM pressed on alleged ethics violations by former Wyoming manager, By Scott Streater, Environment & Energy Daily reporter, WyoFile, March 8, 2011
Report: Favors to Wyo. BLM official in land deal, Associated Press, KULR-8 New, March 6, 2011
Report: Wyo. BLM field office manager took favors from public-private land deal beneficiary, By Mead Gruver, Associated Press, The Republic, March 4, 2011
2009 investigation report from the Interior Department's Office of the Inspector General, By Jeremy Fugleberg, Casper Star-Tribune, March 3, 2011
Dept. of Interior Ignoring Ethical Violations at BLM, Secret Dealings with Energy Industry, By Rachel Cernansky, Treehugger, March 3, 2011
Interior's Management Of Oil And Gas Is 'High-Risk' Program: GAO, By Marcus Baram, The Huffington Post; The Watchdog, February 16, 2011
BP royalty payments in gulf spill face scrutiny, By Ralph Vartabedian, The Los Angeles Times, February 3, 2011
Did PR Beat Out Science in the Obama Oil Spill Report?, By Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov.com, January 28, 2011
Watchdog: Admin Ignored Scientists' Spill Report Recommendations, By Kate Sheppard, Mother Jones, January 26, 2011
White House is accused of politicizing oil spill estimates, By David Hammer, The Times-Picayune, January 25, 2011
Feds want investigation of NMOGA’s Steve Henke reopened, By Bryant Furlow, The New Mexico Independent, October 29, 2010
BLM director wants to reopen inquiry, By Chuck Slothower, The Farmington Daily Times, October 25, 2010
BLM took no action against manager who took oil company gifts, By Bryant Furlow, The New Mexico Independent, October 18, 2010
Ex-regulator's new job queried; 'Revolving door' charge rebuffed, By Jim McElhatton, The Washington Times, October 17, 2010
Report: Interior Dept. Took No Action After Official Accepted Oil Industry Gifts, By Andrew Restuccia, The Washington Independent, October 13, 2010
Despite Anger Over BP Spill, Washington Might Not Act, By Shashank Bengali and William Douglas, McClatchy Newspapers, The Miami Herald, July 30, 2010
Three of every four oil and gas lobbyists worked for federal government, By Dan Eggen and Kimberly Kindy, The Washington Post, July 22, 2010
Groups seek investigation over oil industry hire, By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press, Salon, July 21, 2010
Minerals Management Serice and Offshore Drilling Regulation, Testimony By POGO's Danielle Brian, House Committee Natural Resources | Energy and Mineral Resources, June 17, 2010
Dick Cheney's Last Laugh, By Kate Sheppard, Mother Jones, June 10, 2010
Before Deepwater Horizon Disaster – Wyomingites Had Key Roles in MMS, By Rone Tempest, Wyofile.com, June 2, 2010
Obama Administration Official Resigns in Wake of BP Spill, By Yunji de Nies, ABC News, May 27, 2010
INFLUENCE GAME: Drilling regulators move from government to industry through revolving door, Associated Press, Fox News, May 26, 2010
Oil Regulation or ‘Sex, Drugs, and Football’, By Larry Doyle, Wall Street Pit; Global Market Insight, May 25, 2010
Report Details Ethics Violations Of Offshore Agency, With Brian Naylor, National Public Radio (NPR), May 25, 2010
Oil inspectors took company gifts, watchdog group finds, By Dugald McConnell and Carol Cratty, CNN, May 25, 2010
Feds neglect to collect billions from big oil, By Scott Hiaasen and Curtis Morgan, The Miami Herald, May 22, 2010
Libertarian Paul defends oil and gas company, With Chris Hayes, The Rachel Maddow Show, May 21, 2010
Why Is BP Calling the Shots in the Gulf?, With Matt Gutman, ABC News with Diane Sawyer, May 21, 2010
Conflict of Interest Worries Raised in Spill Tests, By Ian Urbina, The New York Times, May 20, 2010
After ten, Kathleen Dunn and her guest discuss the history and regulatory changes concerning offshore drilling, With Kathleen Dunn, Wisconsin Public Radio, May 18, 2010
Can MMS restructuring save regulation?, With Rachel Maddow, MSNBC: The Rachel Maddow Show, May 14, 2010
Regulatory Failure Marks Gulf Oil Spill Disaster, By David Dayen, Blog: Firedoglake, May 12, 2010
Minerals Management Service duties to be divided in wake of Gulf of Mexico oil leak, By Jonathan Tilove, NOLA.com, May 11, 2010
A plan to split offshore oil agency, With Brett Neely, Marketplace, May 11, 2010
Rules, Revolving Doors and the Oil Industry, By The Editors, The New York Times; Room For Debate: A Running Commentary On The News, May 6, 2010
Govt Agency: Offshore Drilling Regulator Understated Risks of Oil Spills in Plans to Expand Drilling, By Marian Wang, Propublica, May 5, 2010
There Will Be Blood, By Kate Sheppard, Mother Jones, May 5, 2010
Gulf Oil Spill Puts Spotlight on Regulator With Mixed Record, By Marian Wang, The ProPublica Blog, April 29, 2010
GAO Report: Interior Fails to Accurately Track Oil and Gas Production on Federal Leases, By Noelle Straub, Greenwire, April 14, 2010
