http://pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net feed-30723921 Pam Rutter and Michael Smallberg 2008 Convio Content Management System Module en-us pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net-247051674 http://pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net/pogo-files/alerts/natural-resources/nr-ogrl-20110622.html After 15 years of fighting, a judge has approved a $3.4 billion settlement for activist Elouise Cobell and others who joined in her class action suit to recoup billions of dollars owed to Native Americans in mineral royalties, grazing fees, and other revenues that were mishandled or lost over the course of more than 100 years Wed, 22 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0500 pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net-216606284 http://pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net/pogo-files/letters/natural-resources/nr-doi-20110302.html 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. Wed, 02 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0600 pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net-217020536 http://pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net/pogo-files/alerts/natural-resources/nr-doi-20110302.html The U.S. Department of the Interior may have ignored possible ethical violations in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), allowing oil and gas regulators to yet again get too close to the industry they are charged with overseeing, according to a letter the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) sent Tuesday to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. Wed, 02 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0600 pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net-206531553 http://pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net/pogo-files/alerts/natural-resources/nr-doi-20110128.html No description available Fri, 28 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0600 pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net-205720701 http://pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net/pogo-files/alerts/natural-resources/nr-doi-20110126.html A White House report on last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill appears to have ignored scientific advice from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in order to advance a public relations agenda, according to email exchanges obtained by the Project On Government Oversight (POGO). Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0600 pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net-204993446 http://pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net/pogo-files/letters/natural-resources/nr-doi-20110125.html POGO has a keen interest in addressing the failures of oversight that led to the BP oil disaster, and ensuring accountability in the response to this offshore oil spill, the largest in our nation’s history. This spill has caused enormous economic problems in the Gulf states and for the people living there, continues to threaten vital ecosystems, and will remain a long-term concern for years to come whenever food is harvested from Gulf waters. Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0600 pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net-197491902 http://pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net/pogo-files/alerts/natural-resources/nr-doi-20101217.html Earlier this week the Department of the Interior (DOI) Inspector General (IG) released their report investigating whether former Interior Secretary Gale Norton's involvement in the oil shale program while at Interior and continued involvement as general counsel for Shell presented a conflict of interest. The IG did not "conclusively" find a violation of conflict-of-interest laws, but did find "irregularities" in Shell's winning bids. Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0600 pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net-187649252 http://pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net/pogo-files/alerts/natural-resources/nr-doi-20101104.html Yesterday Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Interior's plans to establish an Ocean Energy Safety Institute in response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf. Among the first orders of business for Congress's oversight, energy, and natural resources committees—as well as for the new chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee—should be ensuring that this Institute increases inspector expertise without increasing inspectors' coziness with industry. The Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources (CLEAR) Act of 2009, which passed the House in August, required the Secretary to establish training academies for government regulators and inspectors. Thu, 04 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0500 pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net-183721344 http://pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net/pogo-files/alerts/natural-resources/nr-doi-20101022-1.html POGO readers recently pointed out a few details we missed in our investigation into the bungled ethics ruling at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). For one, it turns out that Linda Rundell also signed the response to our Freedom of Information Act requesting the information. Fri, 22 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0500 pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net-183152324 http://pogoarchive.pub30.convio.net/pogo-files/alerts/natural-resources/nr-doi-20101022.html POGO applauds Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Bob Abbey's request that Interior's Inspector General renew investigative inquiries into former District Manager Steve Henke. Fri, 22 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0500