Obama-Salazar lies for BP continue

First, it's clear, and becoming clearer by the day, that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar flat-out lied in talking about how the Administration had put the kibosh on new offshore oil drilling after Deepwater Horizon:

“We’re also closing the loophole that has allowed some oil companies to bypass some critical environmental reviews,” he added in reference to the environmental waivers.

But records indicated that regulators continued granting the environmental waivers and permits for types of work like that occurring on the Deepwater Horizon.

In testifying before Congress on May 18, Mr. Salazar and officials from his agency said they recognized the problems with the waivers and they intended to try to rein them in. But Mr. Salazar also said that he was limited by a statutory requirement that he said obligated his agency to process drilling requests within 30 days after they have been submitted.

“That is what has driven a number of the categorical exclusions that have been given over time in the gulf,” he said.

But critics remained unsatisfied.

Shown the data indicating that waivers and permits were still being granted, Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, Democrat of Maryland, said he was “deeply troubled.”

I copy such a long chunk to wonder exactly how Salazar phrased himself in Congressional testimony. That said, I don't think he was sworn in, so he couldn't have perjured himself anyway.

Beyond that, it's not just the waivers, but the projects for which they're being granted:

In the days since President Obama announced a moratorium on permits for drilling new offshore oil wells and a halt to a controversial type of environmental waiver that was given to the Deepwater Horizon rig, at least seven new permits for various types of drilling and five environmental waivers have been granted, according to records.

At least six of the drilling projects that have been given waivers in the past four weeks are for waters that are deeper ... than Deepwater Horizon.

And, while Salazar blames Congress for requiring that drilling permits be approved in 30 days, he didn't mention this:

There is also a 60-day statute of limitations on contesting the waivers, which reduces the chances that they will be reversed if problems are found with the projects or the Obama administration’s review finds fault in the exemption process.

Meanwhile, Team Obama continues to talk tough on BP while actually doing little. Don't expect that to change from the thin-skinned (even more than BushCo, I think) Team Obama.

Meanwhile, if you want to know why Team Obama is so thin-skinned, here's a look at the latest on Grand Isle, La.