EDITORIAL: Oil-drilling doublespeak

Washington Times Editorial - The Obama administration has announced the end of its ban on oil drilling in the Gulf. "We are open for business. ... We have made, and continue to make, significant progress in reducing the risks associated with deep-water drilling," chimed Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Tuesday. This is nothing but empty campaign-season rhetoric because oil companies still can't resume drilling. "It will clearly not be tomorrow, and it will not be next week," Michael R. Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, clarified last week. "My sense is we will have permits approved by the end of the year, but how much before the end of the year I can't say, and how many before the end of the year I can't say." So the secretary says there's an "open" sign on Interior's front door and oil companies can line up to purchase new drilling permits, while his department's regulatory enforcer has a vague "sense" permits might be handed out by the end of December. This is bureaucratic doublespeak - the moratorium is lifted, but it's not. Read more

EDITORIAL: Oil-drilling doublespeak