Judge Blocks Obama's Moratorium. Rigs May Once Again Drill!!!!

[Obama 2012 1,714]

to the judge for doing the right thing.

at this ####### administration appealing it.

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http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/22/gulf.oil.disaster/index.html?video=true?video=true&hpt=T1

New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- A federal judge in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Tuesday blocked a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, a ruling the White House said it would immediately appeal.

U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman issued a preliminary injunction against the ban, which halted all drilling in more than 500 feet of water and prevented new permits from being issued. President Barack Obama ordered the moratorium after the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, an oil rig off Louisiana. Eleven people died in the blast, which triggered an underwater oil gusher.

Brian Collins, an attorney for the Justice Department, insisted Monday that the suspension is necessary while officials conduct a safety review.

But a group of companies that provides boats and equipment to the offshore drilling industry filed a lawsuit claiming the government has no evidence that existing operations pose a threat to the Gulf of Mexico and asked the court to declare the moratorium invalid and unenforceable.

Feldman agreed, writing in his ruling, "an invalid agency decision to suspend drilling of wells in depths of over 500 feet simply cannot justify the immeasurable effect on the plaintiffs, the local economy, the Gulf region, and the critical present-day aspect of the availability of domestic energy in this country."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the government will immediately appeal the ruling to the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

"The president strongly believes, as the Department of Interior and Department of Justice argued yesterday, that continuing to drill at these depths without knowing what happened does not make any sense," Gibbs said. Such drilling "puts the safety of those involved, potentially puts safety of those on the rigs and the safety of the environment and the Gulf at a danger that the president does not believe we can afford right now."

In issuing the ruling, Feldman said, "the court is unable to divine or fathom a relationship between the findings (of the government) and the immense scope of the moratorium. The plaintiffs assert that they have suffered and will continue to suffer irreparable harm as a result of the moratorium. The court agrees."

Transocean President Steve Newman, whose company owned the Deepwater Horizon, said Tuesday that he supported ending the moratorium, and the office of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal filed a brief in support of blocking the moratorium.

Jindal and Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana, were among those asking the Obama administration not to appeal the ruling.

"I'm going to strongly urge the administration not to appeal this ruling, but to try to find a way forward that would achieve the president's goals for safety and responsibility, but at the same time would not jeopardize and threaten a very vibrant and necessary industry for decades," Landrieu told reporters during a conference call.

Ken Wells, the president of the Offshore Marine Service Association, said Tuesday that while the ruling is positive for his group -- which represents many of the ships that service oil rigs -- the decision is "tempered by the realization this is a big, strong government. And if they want to keep fighting on this, they will keep fighting."

Wells told CNN that many of the small business owners and workers who support the rigs felt "like innocent bystanders in all this," adding that many of them are losing their jobs left and right. He said Feldman's decision "may help our industry survive."

Government estimates indicate as much as 60,000 barrels (2.5 million gallons) of oil may be flowing into the Gulf every day, and the gusher has already taken a serious toll on tourism and the fishing industry in Gulf Coast states.

Shane Guidry said his company, which provides support vessels for deepwater drilling, may have to make cuts.

"I'm very, very concerned. I can see this going on for 24 to 36 months. If that happens, we have no choice but to let people go. We have investors to think about, returns to think about," said Guidry, CEO of Harvey Gulf International Marine. "We're in survival mode right now, and we have to survive this."

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has closed 86,985 square miles -- about 36 percent of the Gulf's federal waters -- to fishing.

BP said Tuesday it had collected 25,830 barrels -- 1.08 million gallons -- of oil from the gushing undersea well over the past 24 hours. The amount is the most ever collected; the previous record was set Thursday when 25,290 barrels were collected.

Of the 25,830 barrels, 10,270 were "flared" aboard the Q4000, a ship which uses a specialized clean-burning system to flare oil and gas captured by a containment system. BP previously estimated the Q4000 would collect between 5,000 and 10,000 barrels a day.

The company announced Tuesday that it will donate net revenues it receives from the sale of oil recovered from the spill to the National Fish and Wildlife Federation.

Meanwhile, progress continues to be made on the drilling of two relief wells, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said Monday.

"They're in a position now where they're closing on the wellbore," Allen said. "They're going to do something that's called ranging, where they actually send electrical current down the wellbore and ... it allows them to get an accurate reading about how far away from the pipe -- the wellbore -- they are getting as they get closer to making the intercept here in the next few weeks. But that ranging operation is scheduled to start in the next 24 hours."

Also Tuesday, protesters in London, England, briefly disrupted an oil conference that BP CEO Tony Hayward pulled out of a day earlier.

Just before the welcoming speech by BP chief of staff Steve Westwell, who was standing in for Hayward at the World National Oil Companies Congress, a woman got on stage and started shouting. Security quickly removed her.

The woman was Greenpeace campaigner Emma Gibson, who told the crowd that "because BP is incapable of telling you the truth, I'm going to tell you what you need to know."

Hayward decided not to attend the conference because of his "commitment to the Gulf of Mexico relief effort," a BP spokesman said Monday.

Westwell started his speech by apologizing on Hayward's behalf for him not being at the conference. He said the past few weeks have been "extremely difficult for BP."

"It has been hugely shocking for us, for America, and for the rest of the world," Westwell said. "Everyone at BP is devastated, and we deeply regret what's happened. Our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones. And we are profoundly aware of our responsibilities to those people whose livelihoods and neighborhoods have suffered."

He said BP is doing "everything in our power to put the damage right" and to learn lessons to prevent such catastrophes in the future.

"I'd also like to make it clear this is not simply about fulfilling our legal obligations. We feel a huge moral responsibility," he said. "All of us at BP will work tirelessly to clean up this spill, repair the damage and restore the Gulf Coast communities."

Kenneth Feinberg, who is overseeing BP's $20 billion escrow claims fund, is scheduled to meet with Alabama Gov. Bob Riley on Tuesday. He told CNN on Monday that he wants to accelerate the claims payment process.

Elsewhere, a spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry said the Islamic republic, which has chilly relations with the United States, would consider helping America with the oil spill if asked, according to the Iranian Labour News Agency.

"The fact that America is still stuck, despite all its claims that it will solve this problem, is puzzling," ILNA quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast as saying. "The difficult solution of an oil spill, from the standpoint that it's a humanitarian problem, persuades all countries to offer help.

"Iran has professional experts, and if the Americans ask for help, we will take their request under consideration," Mehmanparast said, according to the report.

BP said in a statement Monday that costs from the disaster now total about $2 billion, including the cost of the response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to Gulf states, claims paid and federal costs. To date, more than 65,000 claims have been submitted and more than 32,000 payments totaling more than $105 million have been made, the company said.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

It will be appealed because it has nothing to do with the explosion and everything to do with raising taxes. The judge can find no connection because there is not one.

Does this guy still think he offers to hope to this country when he steps on every form of prosperity he can?

[evli1966 88]

They are appealing to use as an excuse or a smoke screen to try and divert peoples attention from the US borders that need secured and what the majority of legal citizens of the USA are wanting done with Illegal Aliens.

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

Just sing November when they sing september.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vprDWPBDIxQ

[SupportGeek 21]

They are appealing to use as an excuse or a smoke screen to try and divert peoples attention from the US borders that need secured and what the majority of legal citizens of the USA are wanting done with Illegal Aliens.

It will never work.

Its been proven by the last president that a good invasion and war or 2 is best at distracting people from real issues, they should give that a try.

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

It will never work.

Its been proven by the last president that a good invasion and war or 2 is best at distracting people from real issues, they should give that a try.

You wouldnt by chance have a blue dress in the closet would you? Poor Bill! Lets talk about days gone by shall we?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6nqbpBkMec

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVrtMnggr6A

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Will Obama ever rull WITH the will of the people?