The Daily Glob

Did FBI Secrecy Cost Government Spill Probe Its Credibility?

The Justice Department's refusal to tell the AP where BP's jammed blowout preventer (BOP) is looks like a PR fail. The FBI's reflexive secrecy may be intended to inspire confidence in its investigations -- but secrecy about the obvious and unhideable only convinces many skeptics the FBI is trying to hide further efforts to doctor the evidence. The best way to inspire confidence would be to let the media watch.

"Gulf Oil Blowout Preventer: Where Is It?"

"NEW ORLEANS — The Justice Department won't say if the blowout preventer that failed to stop oil from gushing from BP's undersea well into the Gulf of Mexico is on its way to shore. Spokeswoman Hannah August declined comment Monday. The 50-foot, 300-ton device, which was lifted to the surface Saturday, is expected to be analyzed at a NASA facility in Louisiana." Harry R. Weber reports for the Associated Press September 6, 2010.

"NOAA Claims Scientists Reviewed Controversial Report; The Scientists Say Otherwise"

NOAA said the Aug. 4 report claiming 3/4 of the oil BP spilled in the Gulf was gone had been peer-reviewed. The scientists say it was not.

Feds Shut Down All Independent Science on Spill Impacts

Having just been caught fudging the numbers on Gulf spill impacts, the federal government, with no apparent legal authority, is kicking independent scientists out of public areas in the Gulf and confiscating data and notes. The story came out on NPR's Science Friday, the complete audio of which is available online now here.   Or here.

It has been known for some while that scientists have been pushed to sign non-disclosure agreements if they are involved in the BP spill "Natural Resource Damage Assessment." But there are now numerous credible reports of independent academic scientists not involved in the NRDA being told to leave public gulf waters and lands by agents of the Fish & Wildlife Service and Dept. of Homeland Security. Scientists' samples and notes are being confiscated, even when the notes do not pertain to the secret areas.

Federal agents told research scientists that they could not do independent research in public areas without approval of the "Unified Command." It was the "Unified Command" that compiled the work of federal scientists, interpreted it, and published the Obama administration's preferred conclusions without data or documentation in the now-discredited August 4 report that said 3/4 of the oil was gone. A NOAA representative yesterday refused to give a Congressional committee the data on which the Obama White House's conclusions were based.

The story was laid out in a segment produced by Annette Heist on the August 20, 2010, edition of Science Friday, with a panel including Linda Hooper-Bui of Louisiana State University A&M, Christopher D'Elia of LSU, and Cary Nelson of the American Assn. of University Professors. Audio should be available here by 6 pm ET Aug.20.

Some of the events recounted by Dr.. Hooper-Bui were published in an opinion piece, "Oil's Stain on Science," in The Scientist August 5, 2010. Or available without registration here.

SEE ALSO:

"Research on Gulf Oil Spill Shouldn't Take A Backseat To Litigation," Washington Post, July 27, 2010, by Robert B. Gagosian and Christopher F. D'Elia

"Freedom of Spill Research Threatened," Nature, July 28, 2010, by Amanda Mascarelli

"The Case of the Missing $470 Million in BP's Promised Research Fund," Science, August 20, by Lauren Schenkman (by subscription; summary only available free)

"Murky Relationships Mark Scientific Efforts to Assess Gulf Spill's Impacts," Greenwire, August 18, 2010, by Laura Petersen

"Deepwater Horizon: A Scientist At The Centre of the Spill," Nature, August 4, 2010, by Mark Schrope

"Top Democrat Criticizes U.S. Oil Spill Report"

"White House claims that the worst of the BP oil spill  was over were undermined [Thursday] when a senior government scientist said three-quarters of the oil was still in the Gulf environment and a research study detected a 22-mile plume of oil in the ocean depths.

Bill Lehr, a senior scientist at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) departed from an official report from two weeks ago which suggested the majority of the oil had been captured or broken down.

'I would say most of that is still in the environment,' Lehr, the lead author of the report, told the House Energy and Commerce Committee."

Suzanne Goldenberg reports for the UK Guardian August 19, 2010.

SEE ALSO:

"Markey Says Report That Most Oil Is Gone Has Led To 'False Confidence'" (Froomkin/Huffington Post)

"Ummm, About That Disappearing Oil?" (Mother Jones)

"White House Slammed for Rosy Gulf View" (Politico)

"Academic Scientists Say Oil From Gulf Spill Is Not Going Away Quickly" (Washington Post)

"Top Democrat Criticizes U.S. Oil Spill Report" (Wall St. Journal)

"Scientists Say Gulf Oil To Linger, Administration's Estimates Rosy" (McClatchy/Miami Herald)

"Rep. Markey Challenges U.S. Claims About Gulf Spill" (NPR)

"Gulf Oil Spill: Most of the Oil Remains" (Greenspace/L.A. Times)

"Return of the BP Cover-Up"

"Earlier this month, the federal government claimed that three-quarters of the oil in the Gulf had magically disappeared. But as I reported Wednesday, the federal government has so far refused to provide congressional investigators and the media with the numbers to support that claim. Now, it looks like the official report, with all the data and substantiating material, won't be released for months.

On Wednesday afternoon, during a telephone briefing on the spill for congressional staffers, NOAA scientists said the data might not be available for at least two months. The full report is in the 'process of being written,' according to NOAA, but it won't be made available for 'around a couple months.' The delay, NOAA representatives said, is so the report 'can be peer reviewed.'"

Kate Sheppard reports for Mother Jones August 19, 2010.

"BP Accused of Withholding Deepwater Horizon Evidence"

"The owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig is accusing BP of withholding critical evidence needed to identify the cause of the worst maritime oil spill in history. In a sternly worded letter obtained by The Associated Press, Transocean says that lack of information is preventing the company from informing state and federal investigators, and the families of those killed on the rig, about what happened. According to the rig's owner, BP appears to be preventing any other entity from investigating the blowout." Dina Cappiello reports for the Associated Press August 19, 2010.

Spike Lee Explores the Gulf Coast's Crises in New Documentary

"Spike Lee's new HBO documentary starts on a high note: Super Bowl Sunday 2010, when the New Orleans Saints claim victory over the Indianapolis Colts. ... Then, only 17 minutes into 'If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise,' the BP oil spill enters the narrative.

Murky Relationships Mark Scientific Efforts to Assess Spill's Impacts

"Lawmakers have criticized BP PLC for attempting to 'muzzle' scientists researching the Gulf of Mexico oil spill with confidentiality agreements and blocking the 'open exchange of scientific data and analysis.' But the government is employing similar tactics itself.

"Exclusive: BP Oil Spill Coverup"

"While officials claim most of the oil from America's worst-ever spill has disappeared, fishermen hired by BP are still finding tar balls—and being instructed to hide their discoveries." Rick Outzen reports for the Daily Beast August 17, 2010.