Gulf Coast Disaster: Morning News Roundup, June 22

Day 64

Highlights in this issue:

> Bad weather Monday interrupts Gulf containment
> Feds send third bill - $51 million - to BP for cleanup costs
> MMS is renamed with a new director
> Poll:  Most Americans don’t think Obama has a plan for the spill or for jobs and the economy
> Where’s Tony?
> IRS may tax BP payments to Gulf victims

This morning’s summary:
The Gulf oil spill has been leading the network news for nine weeks now with gripping pictures of the sea laced with brown oil patches, animals coated with gooey oil and people losing their jobs and way of life. But it’s hard to wrap your mind around this disaster despite the pictures and ongoing reports. One thing is clear: the brakes are not yet on. Bad weather interrupted the containment effort on Monday and more devastation is being reported among the wildlife and marshlands. The two relief wells to cap the leak are about halfway done, but it will be weeks before they become operational. The political sideshow continues around this colossal environmental disaster. BP CEO Tony Hayward remains the brunt of jokes and ridicule. So does Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, who may lose his position on the House Energy panel for apologizing to BP. And there is remarkable maneuvering among BP’s partners in the well over who should pay damages and how much.

Quotable quote:

The men and women who make their living from deepwater drilling don't want a handout from BP, the federal government or anyone else. They just want a job to go to. That's why I will continue to press the administration to end this moratorium as quickly as possible so that we don't cripple the economy of the Gulf Coast region - Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La)

National News:

Poll: Most Say Obama Lacks Clear Plans on the Oil Spill, Energy or Jobs
Most Americans do not believe President Obama has a clear plan to deal with the oil spill in the Gulf, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll. Just 32 percent say Obama has a clear plan to deal with the leak, while 59 percent (including 64 percent of Gulf coast residents) say he does not. 

Read more from Brian Montopoli
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20008373-503544.html?tag=stack


Washington Post: Bad weather, equipment problems trip up oil collection
Capturing oil from the damaged BP well in the Gulf of Mexico dipped slightly Monday because of weather and maintenance issues, causing more crude to gush into gulf waters. It underscored the need to bring in equipment that can increase output and resistance to bad weather, Coast Guard Adm. Thad W. Allen said Monday.

Read more from William Branigin
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/21/AR2010062103007.html


Times Picayune: Early completion of deepwater drilling report appears unlikely
The co-chair of the White House commission investigating the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico appeared to dash the hopes of Louisiana officials seeking an early end to President Obama's six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling. He said his panel would not hold its first meeting until the middle of July and may not issue its report until early next year. But a federal judge in Louisiana is expected to rule Wednesday on a motion to lift the moratorium. It could set off legal challenges all the way to the Supreme Court.

Read more from Bruce Alpert
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/06/early_completion_of_deepwater.html

Also see: Times Picayune: Scientists against oil drilling moratorium, meet with Salazar, new MMS head
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/06/scientists_against_oil_drillin.html


Los Angeles Times: Gulf oil spill: Undersea oil masses confirmed by tests
Scientists from several universities had it right and told the public weeks ago. Now NOAA confirms the presence of “concentrations of oil below the surface, at more than 3,600 feet”— the so-called plumes which could be suffocating marine life deep under the sea.

Read more from Geoff Mohan
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/06/gulf-oil-spill-undersea-oil-masses-confirmed-in-tests.html


MSNBC: Oil agency renamed, gets new director
The federal agency, formerly known as the Minerals Management Service, got a new name and a new director Monday. Michael Bromwich, a former assistant U.S. attorney and Justice Department inspector general, will lead a reorganization of the agency. The question going forward is whether the new agency really will separate its enforcement and management functions and work for the public good as the Obama administration contends.

Read more
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37820433/ns/disaster_in_the_gulf


AP: IRS may tax BP payments to Gulf coast victims
The people of the Gulf coast have endured enormous burdens in the last eight weeks since the Deepwater Horizon well blew. But now comes the ultimate insult: It’s unclear whether BP’s damage payments to individuals and businesses are taxable. The IRS would not comment on whether exemptions would be made. Kenneth Feinberg, the administration’s payout czar, said it hasn't been determined if the payouts will be considered taxable income.

Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/06/22/gulf-coast-residents-confused-frustrated-claims-payouts-taxed


CNN: Donations flow as celebs join Larry King’s Gulf telethon
Larry King raised $1.3 million Monday night for three charities in the Gulf states region.

Read more from Alan Duke
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/21/larry.king.gulf.telethon/


AP: The oil spill by the numbers
Since April 20th, about 126.3 million gallons of oil has leaked into the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Do you have some trouble putting that into perspective. The Associated Press tried to help here. For instance: The Mississippi River pours as much water into the Gulf of Mexico in 38 seconds as the BP oil leak has done in two months. On a more human scale, the spill seems more daunting. Take the average-sized living room. The amount of oil spilled would fill 9,200 of them.

Read more from Seth Borenstein
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100621/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill_how_big


CBSNews: Documents: Device could have prevented oil spill
It’s called the blind shear ram. It is the absolute final line of defense and part of the blowout preventer—huge pincers with blades to close around the drill pipe and cut it off. It failed and so the blowout preventer could not do its job.

Read more from Sheryl Attkisson
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/21/eveningnews/main6604583.shtml?tag=cbsnewsSectionC


Politics

Huffington Post: Where’s Tony?
We know embattled BP CEO Tony Hayward was at the yacht races on Saturday in the UK and that he is being replaced as the primary BP executive overseeing the Gulf oil spill. But Tuesday, he canceled his plans to be the keynote speaker at the World National Oil Companies Congress in London. BP said he was too busy dealing with the oil disaster.

Read more from Rafael G. Satter
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/21/bp-ceo-tony-hayward-cance_n_619842.html


Huffington Post: Michael Steele to Obama: Forget the golf
Taking advantage of the public scorn for Tony Hayward’s yacht racing break, GOP Chairman Michael Steele called out the President and said he should not be playing golf while oil still leaks in the Gulf of Mexico and unemployment hovers at 10 percent. Said Steele: “Until this problem is fixed, no more golf outings, no more baseball games, no more Beatles concerts, Mr. President.”

Read more
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/21/michael-steele-to-barack_n_619313.html


Huffington Post: The vultures circle around Joe Barton
Rep. Joe Barton's fate supposedly rests with the voters, but the pressure is on within his own party. Republican leadership aides say that Barton's ability to remain the senior-ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee depends on what GOP members are hearing from constituents back home about Barton's apology to BP on Thursday.

Read more from Ryan Grim
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/21/joe-barton-the-vultures-c_n_619654.html

Feature

The Daily Beast: BP makes friends
While a series of recent executive gaffes, evasions, and misadventures have turned most of the rest of the world against the oil giant, here in Houma, La., BP has made a few friends. In part, that’s because the company is sustaining the entire coastal economy for the time being, hiring out-of-work fishermen to search for tar balls and dead birds.

Read more from Rebecca Dana
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-06-21/bp-makes-friends-near-gulf-oil-spill/?cid=hp:beastoriginalsL3


Business

CNN: Feds send BP third bill for cleanup costs - $51 million
The government has given BP the third bill for the cleanup--$51 million. The Obama administration said BP "and other responsible parties" have paid the first two bills in full, for a total of $71 million. Monday's bill makes a total of $122 million billed to date.

Read more from Julianne Pepitone
http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/21/news/companies/bp_third_bill/index.htm?source=cnn_bin&hpt=Sbin


Bloomberg: Anadarko may seek arbitration over who should pay for oil spill
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. may resolve a dispute with BP over who should pay for the oil spill through a private proceeding not open to the public. BP says Anadarko, as a 25 percent partner should pay its share. Anadarko says BP should pay the full tab because of the reckless way it drilled the well.

Read more from Edward Klump
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-21/anadarko-may-use-arbitration-to-resolve-bp-oil-spill-dispute.html


Editorial

New York Times: Call in the Navy to get to the bottom of the well
President Obama needs to create a new command structure that places responsibility for plugging the leak with the Navy, the only organization in the world that can muster the necessary team. Then the Navy needs to demolish the well, writes Christopher Brownfield.

Read more by Christopher Brownfield:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/opinion/22Brownfield.html?ref=opinion


Times-Picayune:
Smart ideas for cleaning up the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could very well come from entrepreneurs and small business owners, but only if people with sound proposals can get the attention of BP or government agencies, the Times-Picayune said.

Read more:
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/06/be_careful_cleaning_up_oil_spi.html


Regional

CNN: New Orleans wants $75 m tourism grant from BP
Hoping to send the message that the Big Easy is open for business, the city of New Orleans has asked BP for a grant of $75 million over three years to mitigate any long-term effects the Gulf oil disaster may have on its tourism.

Read more:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/21/gulf.oil.new.orleans/


USA Today: Psychological impact of oil spill devastating
Along with all the physical impacts of the spill, the emotional damage is beginning to show for Gulf residents dealing with the trauma. Reports chronicle a rise in drinking, domestic conflict and other difficulties of people trying to deal with the enormous dislocation of their communities and livelihoods from the disaster.

Read more from Elizabeth Weise
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-06-22-oilhealth22_ST_N.htm

Coast Guard Seizes Shrimp Harvested From Off-Limits Fishing Zone
It’s getting harder to keep the seafood supply from the Gulf safe. The Coast Guard returned 30,000 pounds of shrimp back to the Gulf of Mexico. They were seized Sunday from shrimper who allegedly scooped them up from oil-tainted waters.

Read more from Scott Hensley
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/06/21/127989959/coast-guard-seizes-shrimp-harvested-from-off-limits-fishing-zone-in-gulf?ft=1&f=1001


Orlando Sentinel: Gulf oil spill pushes oysters off Red Lobster menu
The Gulf oil spill is forcing the removal of oysters from Red Lobster's menu. A Louisiana processing plant that provided oysters for the Red Lobster chain shut down last week because it was unable to maintain its supply.

Read more from Sandra Pedicini
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-darden-oysters-20100621,0,4961201.story


CBS News: Sea Turtles swimming into deep trouble
Wildlife workers have rescued more than 500 turtles, but only one in five survive because they are coated with  too much oil. 

Read more from Mark Strassman
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/21/eveningnews/main6604741.shtml?tag=cbsContent;cbsCarousel


Graphic

Gulf oil tracker: animated graphic
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/gulf_of_mexico_oil_spill_anima.html

Map: Impact of the oil disaster
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2010/gulf.coast.oil.spill/interactive/map.impact.google/index.html?hpt=T2