The federal Minerals Management Service (M.M.S.) allowed dozens of oil companies, including BP, to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without required permits from the agency that assess threats to endangered species. This occurred despite strong warnings that drilling would likely have a negative impact to the environment.
The M.M.S. also frequently overruled staff biologists and engineers who raised concerns over the drilling proposals in the Gulf and Alaska.
The scientists also reported that agency officials often pressured them to change their findings on internal studies if the findings were negative.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration accused the M.M.S, in a September 2009 letter, of a pattern of minimizing the chance and potential consequences of a major gulf spill.
Continue reading NYT: U.S. Said to Allow Drilling Without Needed Permits
