3.7.13
Oil Spill
New Orleans, state officials and National Wildlife Federation to discuss
spending BP oil spill money on coastal issues
By Richard Rainey, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
March 06, 2013 at 4:29 PM
With the trial over the largest oil spill in U.S. history underway, state
and city officials, along with the National Wildlife Federation, will meet
Thursday in New Orleans to publicly discuss how to best spend recovery
money on coastal restoration and storm protection.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/03/new_orleans_state_officials_an.html#incart_river
No pressure to cut corners, BP veteran testifies in Gulf oil spill trial
By Richard Thompson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
updated March 06, 2013 at 7:51 PM
Despite indications that the ill-fated Macondo well was over-budget and
behind schedule, BP's most respected presence on the Deepwater Horizon
testified Wednesday that he was not under pressure to pick up the pace or
cut costs.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2013/03/no_pressure_to_cut_corners_bp.html#incart_river
Cement in BP Macondo well never dried, leading to the blowout, expert
witness testifies
By Mark Schleifstein, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
updated March 06, 2013 at 10:38 PM
The cement pumped into the BP Macondo well a day before it blew out on
April 20, 2010, was not given enough time to "set," or harden, before a
negative pressure test was run that allowed oil and natural gas to travel
up the drill pipe to the surface, where it exploded aboard the Deepwater
Horizon drilling rig, an oil well cementing expert testified Wednesday.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2013/03/cement_in_bp_macondo_well_neve.html#incart_river
Ex-BP supervisor says he didn't feel pressure to sacrifice safety before
Gulf blowout
By Associated Press, Published: March 6
NEW ORLEANS — A retired BP employee who supervised drilling operations on
the rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico testified Wednesday that he
never felt pressure to sacrifice safety to save money, even though the
project was behind schedule and over budget.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/ex-bp-supervisor-says-he-didnt-feel-pressure-to-sacrifice-safety-before-gulf-blowout/2013/03/06/0d3a4a74-8671-11e2-a80b-3edc779b676f_story.html
BP, Transocean Officials Botched Tests, Witness Testifies
Bloomberg
By Allen Johnson Jr. and Jef Feeley - Mar 7, 2013
BP Plc (BP/) and Transocean Ltd. (RIG) officials on the Deepwater Horizon
drilling rig botched safety tests the night it blew up and sent oil
spilling into the Gulf of Mexico, an expert on drilling told a judge.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-06/bp-transocean-officials-botched-tests-witness-says.html
BP Safer Two Years After Gulf Spill, CEO Says
Bloomberg
By Bradley Olson - Mar 6, 2013
BP Plc (BP/), the second-largest European oil company, is safer and
stronger more than two years after a blowout at a Gulf of Mexico oil well
caused the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, the company's chief
executive officer said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-06/bp-ceo-dudley-says-company-safer-two-years-after-gulf-spill.html
No retreat from Gulf for BP
The Hill
By Ben Geman - 03/06/13 11:35 AM ET
HOUSTON – BP's massive 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill has not shaken the
oil-and-gas giant's plan to continue development in the region, CEO Bob
Dudley said Wednesday.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/286521-bp-ceo-no-retreat-from-gulf-of-mexico-despite-spill
State News
Kemper Plant Brings Economic Stimulus to East Miss.
MPB
Mississippi Power's multi-billion dollar power plant under construction in
east Mississippi is embroiled in fierce debate, but for Kemper County it
means business development like residents have never seen. MPB's Daniel
Cherry reports, the project is bringing jobs by the thousands to the rural
area.
http://mpbonline.org/News/article/996kemper_plant_brings_economic_stimulus_to_east_miss
National News
Obama Interior Pick Championed Outdoor Jobs Over Oil
Bloomberg
By Mark Drajem - Mar 7, 2013
As she stood before governors from western U.S. states last June, Sally
Jewell made a pitch that was self-evident and revolutionary: Public lands
are an economic boon.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-07/obama-interior-pick-championed-outdoor-jobs-over-oil.html
New York Assembly Approves Two-Year Moratorium on Fracking
Bloomberg
By Freeman Klopott - Mar 6, 2013
New York's Assembly approved a two- year ban on the natural-gas drilling
method known as fracking, after two previous attempts to block the practice
failed and with the state Senate taking a different approach.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-06/new-york-assembly-approves-two-year-moratorium-on-fracking.html
DC snowstorm buries climate change hearing
The Hill
By Zack Colman - 03/06/13 10:30 AM ET
The House Science, Space and Technology subcommittee on Environment was
scheduled to hear from a panel that included a pair of witnesses more
skeptical of some of the scientific consensus regarding climate change.
The snowstorm that struck Washington early Wednesday put those plans on
hold.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/286493-house-committee-cancels-climate-science-hearing-citing-weather
Press releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 06, 2013
CONTACT:
Mick Bullock 601-576-2811, mick.bullock@governor.ms.gov
Nicole Roberts 601-576-2802, nicole.roberts@governor.ms.gov
www.governorbryant.com
Robbie Wilbur, MS Dept. of Environmental Quality, 601-961-5277,
Robbie_wilbur@deq.state.ms.us
Caron Blanton, MS Inst. of Higher Learning, 769-257-4585,
cblanton@ihl.state.ms.us
Gov. Bryant to Make Announcement on Gulf Coast
Jackson– Gov. Phil Bryant, MDEQ Executive Director Trudy Fisher,
Institutions of Higher Learning Commissioner Hank Bounds and University of
Southern Mississippi President-elect Dr. Rodney Bennett will host a press
conference Thursday, March 7 on the Gulf Park Campus of the University of
Southern Mississippi in Long Beach, Miss.
Who: Gov. Phil Bryant, MDEQ Executive Director Trudy Fisher, Institutions
of Higher Learning Commissioner Hank Bounds and University of Southern
Mississippi President-elect Dr. Rodney Bennett
What: Announcement
Where: Science Building Lobby; USM Gulf Park Campus; 730 East Beach Blvd.;
Long Beach, Miss.
Date: Thursday, March 7
Time: 2 p.m.
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