Judge may rule on deepwater drilling moratorium Tuesday
CNN Wire Staff
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/US/06/22/gulf.oil.disaster/c1main.drill.jpg caption="A judge in New Orleans may rule Tuesday on whether to lift the federal government's moratorium on deep water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico." width=300 height=169]
A judge in New Orleans may rule Tuesday on whether to lift the federal government's moratorium on deep water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman has said he will give his decision between early Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon on whether to issue a preliminary injunction against the six-month ban, which halts all drilling in more than 500 feet of water and prevents new permits from being issued.
Brian Collins, an attorney for the Justice Department, insisted Monday that the suspension is necessary while officials conduct a safety review after the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
But a group of companies that provide boats and equipment to the offshore drilling industry filed a lawsuit claiming the government has no evidence that existing operations pose a threat to the Gulf of Mexico. They want a court to declare the moratorium invalid and unenforceable.
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Filed under: Gulf Oil Spill • T1 |
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Obviously there is a threat to existing operations. The evidence is choking the gulf to death right now. Isn't it safe to assume that the moratorium gives inspection personnel time to review policies, codes, procedures, etc, and then re-inspect all exisiting deepwater rigs with enough scrutiny to prevent the same disaster twice?
"claiming the government has no evidence that existing operations pose a threat to the Gulf of Mexico"... Did the government have any evidence of threat from the Deepwater Horizon?
The 6 month moratorium would allow proper inspection/verification of data on existing installations as well as safety viability of new permits.
If the moratorium become effective the workers will lose their jobs, the platforms will become idle and they will take another directions out of the USA, and the only benefited will be George Soros the personal friend of Obama who is investing in Petrobras (Brazil)