OK, too easy a title, but it all fits. The NYT did the story on the lack of adequate review by the Fish and Wildlife staff of the Department of the Interior on the need to protect wildlife in the Gulf when doing the BP deep water drilling. For some reason the NYT story fails to mention that the oversight, theoretical and legal, if not in reality, of the Fish and Wildlife Servied was Dirk Kempthorne, former Governor of Idaho and, until now, his biggest embarrassment was the money he spent on a fancy bathroom for himself during the less than two years he spent in the position. Why the NYT did not do any real research or point out who was really supposed to be in charge under Bush/Cheney, in reviewing this Fish and Wildlife study, remains to be determined, but here is at least part of the background.
Here are the key parts of the NYT story and there is not much in it by way of real background, as you will see. Who Leslie Kaufman is and why she did so little with this may be an interesting story it itself?
http://www.nytimes.com/...
Agency Agreed Wildlife Risk From Oil Was ‘Low’
By LESLIE KAUFMAN
Published: July 5, 2010
The federal agency charged with protecting endangered species like the brown pelican and the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle signed off on the Minerals Management Service’s conclusion that deepwater drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico posed no significant risk to wildlife, despite evidence that a spill of even moderate size could be disastrous, according to federal documents.
. . . . .
But in a letter dated Sept. 14, 2007, and obtained by The New York Times, the wildlife agency agreed with the minerals service’s characterization that the chances that deepwater drilling would result in a spill that would pollute critical habitat was "low."
The agency signed off on the minerals service’s biological evaluation, even though that assessment considered only the risks to wildlife based on spills of 1,000 to 15,000 barrels — a minuscule amount compared with the hundreds of thousands of barrels now spewing into the gulf. The assessment also noted that even such modest spills carried up to a 27 percent risk of oil reaching the critical habitat for some endangered species.
. . . . .
Deborah Fuller, the endangered species program coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service’s office in Lafayette, La., led the team that reviewed the minerals service’s biological assessment. She said that her office recognized that a big spill would be disastrous to wildlife and that it made suggestions for increasing preparedness for the cleanup of a spill as part of an informal consultation on the biological review.
Sorry to lift so much from Wiki, but most of you do not know the mixed sentiment of the people of Idaho who cared about trying to have a minimum level of competence in the managment of government in Idaho and therefore were happy to see Governor Kempthorne leave the Governor's chair, but worried, properly, about his delivering the same level of competenct to the Department of the Interior as he had in Idaho.
Here is a summary of his tenure before this latest incompetence over the Gulf drilling came to light. Now someone can add another section to his Wiki bio!
On March 16, 2006, Kempthorne was nominated by President George W. Bush to replace Gale Norton as the 49th Secretary of the Interior. On May 10, 2006, Kempthorne's nomination was approved by voice vote by the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. He was confirmed by the full Senate on May 26, and resigned as governor to accept the position the same day. Lieutenant Governor Jim Risch succeeded Kempthorne as governor, filling out remaining months of the term. Kempthorne is the second Idahoan to hold the Cabinet post. Former Governor Cecil Andrus was the Secretary of the Interior under President Jimmy Carter, serving from 1977 to 1981.
Upon Kempthorne's appointment as Secretary of the Interior, environmental groups characterized him as someone who has "almost always favored changing laws like the Endangered Species Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act to make them more favorable to commercial interests."[2]
As Secretary of the Interior, Kempthorne was criticized for not placing any plants or animals on the federal endangered species list since his confirmation on May 26, 2006. As of September 2007, Kempthorne held the record for protecting fewer species over his tenure than any Interior Secretary in United States history, a record previously held by James G. Watt for over 20 years.[7]
In December 2007, as a result of a long-term investigation and resignation of former Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie MacDonald, Inspector General Earl Devaney found "abrupt and abrasive, if not abusive" management[8] at the department under Kempthorne's supervision. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests, attributed the "untold waste of hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' dollars" to MacDonald's actions.[9] Of the department, Representative Nick J. Rahall II, chairman of the House Natural Resources said "The results of this investigation paint a picture of something akin to a secret society residing within the Interior Department that was colluding to undermine the protection of endangered wildlife and covering for one another’s misdeeds."[10]
In September 2008, Devaney reported wrongdoing by current and former employees of the Minerals Management Service, an agency under Kempthorne's administration that collects about $10 billion in oil and gas royalties annually, and one of the government’s largest sources of revenue other than taxes. According to the New York Times, "Eight officials in the royalty program accepted gifts from energy companies whose value exceeded limits set by ethics rules—including golf, ski and paintball outings; meals and drinks; and tickets to a Toby Keith concert, a Houston Texans football game and a Colorado Rockies baseball game.... The investigation also concluded that several of the officials "frequently consumed alcohol at industry functions, had used cocaine and marijuana, and had sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives." The New York Times reports a whistle blower officially complained about the wrongdoings in the spring of 2006, prior to Kempthorne's being sworn into the office.[11]
On December 16, 2008, the Center for Biological Diversity announced intent to sue the Interior Department under Kempthorne for introducing "regulations... that would eviscerate our nation’s most successful wildlife law by exempting thousands of federal activities, including those that generate greenhouse gases, from review under the Endangered Species Act." The lawsuit, which is critical of policy advocated by Kempthorne and President George W. Bush, was filed in the Northern District of California by the CBD, Greenpeace and Defenders of Wildlife. According to the CBD, "The lawsuit argues that the regulations violate the Endangered Species Act and did not go through the required public review process. The regulations, first proposed on August 11th, were rushed by the Bush administration through an abbreviated process in which more than 300,000 comments from the public were reviewed in 2-3 weeks, and environmental impacts were analyzed in a short and cursory environmental assessment, rather than a fuller environmental impact statement."[12]
In 2009, CNN correspondent Campbell Brown criticized Kempthorne for using "$235,000 of your money to renovate his office bathroom at the Department of Interior." According to Brown, the costs included a shower, a refrigerator, and a freezer hidden behind lavish wood paneling, as well as "DK" monogrammed towels.[13] Donald Swain, Chief of the Interior Department's National Business Center said the towels do not exist. He further says the project came in $10,000 under budget and was approved by the General Services Administration. [14]
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
So, once again, from Idaho, sorry folks, but the R's elected this guy to the US Senate and as Governor and Congress approved his nomination by President Bush. At least this Idaho R was not ARRESTED in the bathroom!