Newswise — “Judge Martin Feldman now has something in common with Major League Baseball umpire Jim Joyce – both have blown an important call. Joyce's failing cost pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game, but Judge Feldman's decision yesterday to order the Department of the Interior to lift a six month moratorium on deep water drilling puts the Gulf Coast at risk of a future catastrophe.
“The Deepwater Horizon accident shows that oil companies do not have a coherent plan for responding to a blowout. If such a plan existed, we would have seen it implemented by BP.
“To be fair to Judge Feldman, the Department advanced other arguments that seem less compelling. The moratorium was sloppy and surely has a strong political element. But good judges and good umpires look through the arguments advanced to ascertain the underlying reality. The reality is that drilling for oil in the Gulf is more dangerous than we thought and more precautions are in order before proceeding.
“The Department of the Interior's moratorium is the best chance to force the oil companies operating in the Gulf to identify a realistic plan for addressing a deep-water spill of the type we are now witnessing. Fortunately, unlike Major League Baseball, the Federal Courts have a review process. The Department may appeal the ruling, or even re-issue it with further justification. Deep water drilling has inherent risks, but surely the residents of the Gulf deserve to know that their government is doing what it can to minimize those risks. The moratorium is best way of motivating the oil companies to craft such a plan.” –– Jeffrey J. Rachlinski, Cornell University Professor of Law
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