MMS Scandal: Where Are They Now? Deepwater Horizon Edition
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We don't know everyone's fate, but a recent quote by former Minerals Management Service (MMS) Director Randall Luthi (Director from July 2007 - January 2009—and oddly not identified as a former MMS Director in the article) shows that he is now the president of the National Oceans Industries Association (NOIA).
According to its website, NOIA's mission is "to secure reliable access and a favorable regulatory and economic environment for the companies that develop the nation's valuable offshore energy resources in an environmentally responsible manner." Its members include "producers of crude oil and natural gas, contractors, marine engineers, service and supply companies and others with an interest in producing energy from the nation's outer continental shelf." In other words, Luthi now represents precisely the industries his agency was tasked with overseeing. Ruthi succeeded Tom Fry, another former MMS Director, as as President of NOIA. NOIA's March press release announcing Luthi's position can be found here.
This is, of course, only one instance of the systemic revolving door problem between the Department of the Interior and the oil and gas industries that continues to cast doubt on the integrity of Interior's oversight of taxpayers' natural resources. We invite readers to contact POGO, or leave comments, into other instances that we have missed.
-- Mandy Smithberger
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As an associate was saying about this case they find the usual revolving door excuse particularly laughable. Usually people pretend that their skill sets are so narrow that there's nothing they can do in any other sector. But in this case, Luthi had previously been an elected official--specifically a Wyoming State Representative and Speaker of the House. He couldn't have served the people of Wyoming very well if his only area of expertise was offshore drilling.
Posted on: Apr 30, 2010 at 02:37 PM