The owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded, resulting in the April 2010 Gulf oil spill disaster, is refusing to provide safety documents or a spokesperson to testify to a federal investigative panel.
The National Pipeline Mapping System, while missing many key pipelines, does show pipeline proximity to densely populated areas, where the greatest threat to life exists.
Jim Schwab, manager of the American Planning Association’s Hazards Planning Research Center, writes in Part 1 of a two-part series about the dynamics of recovery, silver linings, and post-disaster journalism.
"A lethal torrent of toxic red sludge from a metal refinery engulfed towns in Hungary, burning villagers through their clothes and threatening an ecological disaster Tuesday as it swept toward the Danube River."
"Congress Friday unanimously passed and sent to the President the first authorization bill the U.S. Coast Guard has had since 2006. The measure strengthens oil spill protections, saves taxpayer dollars by overhauling a failed Coast Guard acquisitions program and sets new fishing vessel safety standards."
"Oil industry and government officials could get caught flat-footed again by another deep-water blowout in the coming months because they have yet to incorporate many of the lessons learned during the BP disaster, experts inside and outside the business tell The Associated Press."
Federal investigators will be looking for key information about pressure tests, decision making and BP's safety culture when the next round of hearings begins Monday to determine the cause of the Gulf of Mexico rig explosion and oil spill."
"The Interior Department tightened its rules on offshore oil and gas operations on Thursday but left in place the moratorium on deepwater drilling that has left oil executives frustrated and Gulf Coast officials fuming."
"The National Oil Spill Commission continues its investigation into the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill, but the president's panel remains hampered by its inability to compel key witnesses to testify and turn over documents. Senate Republicans blocked a bill to grant the commission subpoena power in July. Now the Senate has gone home once without moving the measure forward."
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