THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010


KLMNO


EZ RE POLITICS & THE NATION U.S. says idle gulf wells must be plugged SEXEDUCATION BY STEVEN MUFSON The Interior Department said


Wednesday that oil and gas com- panies operating in the Gulf of Mexico need to do more to per- manently plug nearly 3,000 inac- tive wells and dismantle about 650 production platforms that are no longer in use. The new initiative is aimed at


cleaning up what the industry calls “idle iron” — inactive wells and platforms that litter the gulf, pose hazards to shipping and run some of the greatest risks of leaks and accidents during storms. Although the Interior Depart-


ment has regulations requiring that old wells be permanently plugged with subsea safety seals and old platforms dismantled, the regulations are rarely en- forced, industry sources said. Federal regulations require


idle structures to be decommis- sioned — a process that involves scrapping iron and steel plat- forms and pipelines or turning theminto artificial reefs — with- in one year of the lease’s expira- tion date. Yet in certain fields, if a single


well is producing, regulators will allow scores of other wells in those fields to be closed with temporary seals, gulf coast oil industry executives say. Opera- tors often argue that inactive wells could become economically viable again depending on oil prices. Some platforms are as much


as 40 to 50 years old, dating to the early days of offshore drill- ing, one senior industry execu- tive said. In some cases, the owners of thewells have gone out of business. Most of the idle platforms and wells rarely un- dergo maintenance, but the un- der-manned agency formerly known as the Minerals Manage- ment Service has been unable to inspect the thousands of sites in the gulf. The Interior Department has


periodically talked about forcing companies to clean up more of the idle iron in the gulf, especial- ly after hurricanes Rita and Ka- trina inflicted heavy damage to


Many teens in dark about birth control Almost all U.S. teens have had


formal sex education, but only about two-thirdshavebeentaught about birth control methods, ac- cording to a new government re- port releasedWednesday. Many teens apparently are not


absorbing the lessons: Other re- cent data show that after years of steady decline, the teen birthrate rose from2005 to 2007. It dipped again in 2008, to about 10 percent of all births. The report fromtheCenters for


Disease Control and Prevention is based on face-to-face interviews with nearly 2,800 teenagers in their homes from 2006 through 2008. Female interviewers from the University of Michigan asked the questions. About 97 percent of teens said


they received formal sex educa- tion by the time they were 18. Formal sex educationwas defined in the report as instruction at a school, church, community center or other setting teaching them howto sayno to sex or about birth control and sexually transmitted diseases. Lessons about saying no and


STDs were more common than instruction on how to use a con- dom or other birth control, the study found.


—AssociatedPress GERALD HERBERT/AP


The bottom of a preventer stack at BP’s DeepwaterHorizon site. The Interior Department said oil and gas companies must do more about idle wells and production platforms in the Gulf ofMexico.


inactive infrastructure. That damage accounted for many of the 130 small leaks during the storms. However, in the wake of the


blowout on BP’s Macondo well April 20 that led to the massive gulf oil spill, the Interior Depart- ment is taking a tougher look at oil and gas industry operations in the region. “As infrastructure continues to


age, the risk of damage increases. That risk increases substantially during storm season,” said Mi- chael Bromwich, the newhead of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Ener- gy Management, Regulation and


Enforcement. He added that the new order was expected to re- duce such hazards. The order issued Wednesday


reiterates that operators should plug wells that been inactive for the past five years. Production platforms and pipelines must be decommissioned if they are not being used for exploration or production, even under an active lease. Cathy Landry, a spokesman for


the American Petroleum Insti- tute, said that the order was “somethingwe have been expect- ing” and that the API has been talking to BOEMR about “a


The Models Are Breathtaking.


The Leases Are Amazing.


reasonable time frame for imple- mentation.” She said, “We believe that for most operators, compli- ance . . . will not be an issue.” But she said that companies


were worried about the ability of the already stretched agency to handle new permit applications for dismantling platforms. Companies involved in dis-


mantling platforms could profit handsomely. On Wednesday, the shares of two of the firms most active in this business, Hercules Offshore and Seahawk Drilling, jumped 7.5 percent and 6.6 per- cent respectively. mufsons@washpost.com


TEXAS


Closed hearing sought in shootings The Fort Hood shooting sus-


pect’sattorneywants tocloseakey hearing over concerns that his cli- ent cannot get a fair trial on the sprawlingTexasArmypost. Defense attorney JohnGalligan


said Wednesday that Maj. Nidal Hasan cannot get a fair trial if reporters and others are allowed to attend next month’s Article 32 hearing.Thehearingissimilartoa grand jury proceeding, inwhich a military officer will determine whether there’s enough evidence for a trial. Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, is


DIGEST


chargedwith13countsofpremed- itated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder intheNov. 5 shootings. —AssociatedPress


CALIFORNIA


Lawsuits target officials in tiny city The California attorney gener-


al’sofficehasfiledlawsuitsagainst eight former and current leaders of the tiny city of Bell, accusing them of fraud, conspiracy and wasting taxpayersmoney. Attorney General Jerry Brown


(D) saidWednesday that the law- suitsdemandcity officials, includ- ing former city manager Robert Rizzo and three current council members, return hundreds of thousands of dollars in bloated salaries they gave themselves. Brown,who is running for gov-


ernor, says his investigators will look at other cities andask legisla- tors to reformsalary and pension practices.


—AssociatedPress NEWYORK


Citymight ban smoking in parks New York City officials an-


nounced new legislationWednes- day thatwould outlawsmoking in Central Park, the Coney Island boardwalkandtherestof thecity’s parks, beaches, marinas, board- walks andpedestrianplazas. Violators could be issued quali-


ty-of-life summonses by the parks department. TheCityCouncil legislationwill


require hearings before the full 51-member body canvote. —AssociatedPress


Chicago police rally against their chief: Several hundred officers rallied outside Chicago police headquarters Wednesday and called for Superintendent Jody Weis, the city’s top police official, tostepdown.Theysaidthat initia- tives Weis pushed through after joining the force three years ago have put their lives in danger and the community at risk. —Fromnews services


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