Gulf Oil Spill: Relief Well at 9,000'; Minerals Management Service Inspects

In its most recent press conference appearance, the Minerals Management Service, the federal agency most responsible for the ongoing environmental disaster in the gulf, gives a prepared statement. Describing its role in testing and approving cleanup and mitigation methods, including the likelihood of a topkill and the drilling of two relief wells, the agency now sounds like the uncompromising agency it should have been.

The MMS reassurances of its stringent testing and oversight after the fact are an odd chase-the-fox-they-let-into-the-henhouse approach. Now that the agency's lax standards and oversight have created a horrific spill, spill, the MMS describes the bold, stringent steps it is taking to regulate BP's mitigation efforts. These are odd claims to make after the fact. The MMS now reviews and assesses every effort BP makes at capping . MMS engineers are now on sight testing the blowout preventers on the two relief wells. But one has to wonder where MMS was when BP was not maintaing or properly installing the blowout preventer that could have prevented the spill, and the loss of eleven lives, a month and a half ago.