WASHINGTON — The Interior Department’s inspector general says the White House edited a drilling safety report in a way that made it falsely appear that scientists and experts supported the administration’s six-month ban on new drilling.
The inspector general says the editing changes resulted “in the implication that the moratorium recommendation had been peer reviewed.” But it hadn’t been. The scientists were only asked to review new safety measures for offshore drilling.
The investigation is the latest in a string of incidents in which the Obama administration has been accused of overstating the science behind official reports and political decisions made after the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In the wake of the April 20 disaster, the administration struggled to portray that it, not BP, was in charge of responding to the blowout, which killed 11 and spewed millions of gallons of oil into the gulf.
Last month, staff for the presidential oil spill commission said the White House’s budget office delayed publication of a report by federal scientists that forecast how much oil could potentially reach the gulf’s shores.
The inspector general’s report says the staff of President Barack Obama’s energy adviser, Carol Browner, could have implied scientists had endorsed the moratorium, by moving up a reference to peer review in the drilling safety report.
Steve Black, an adviser for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, said he did not have any issues with the changes.
“There was no intent to mislead the public,” said Kendra Barkoff, a spokeswoman for Salazar, who also recommended in the May 27 safety report that a moratorium be placed on deepwater oil and gas exploration. “The decision to impose a temporary moratorium on deep-water drilling was made by the secretary following consultation with colleagues, including the White House.”
The Interior Department, after reviewers complained about the inference, promptly issued an apology during a conference call, with a letter and personal meeting in June.
The inspector general’s report, requested by Louisiana Sen. David Vitter and Rep. Steve Scalise in June, said the administration did not violate federal rules because the executive summary did not say the experts approved the recommendations, and the department offered a formal apology and had publicly clarified the nature of the expert review.
The conclusion, however, did little to assuage Gulf Coast lawmakers and will likely fuel Republicans taking over the House next year to push for further inquiries into administration decisions after the massive oil spill.
