Posted on 06/07/2010 8:36:38 AM PDT by IMissPresidentReagan
Walter gives a good lecture on economics, but one hour is enough and one day is enough. Hoping for Mark Steyn.
Rush better be enjoying his honeymoon (and I hope he is) because the rest of us are paying, big time.
I too want Steyn.
There must be some reason why Rush doesn’t use Mark full time when he’s part time.
I want Steyn too!
Steyn’s probably pretty well booked up with his own stuff (NR, a whole bunch of newspaper columns, etc) so if we get him much more than one day out of the next four, we should probably count it as a bonus.
OT, I just checked 24/7 and we actually get (drumroll)
Mark Davis......
Okay, no bonus today.
Is that you on the Chris Plante Show?
Mark Davis—ugh!
And on a day when I can actually listen, too.
At least it’s not Chrissy Matthews, like it was for one day back in 1999. What was Rush thinking?
Yes, Sir.
From “ClimateAudit”
by Steve McIntyre
EPA and the “National Contingency Plan”
Did any of you know that the US supposedly has a National Contingency Plan for dealing with very large oil spills? And that EPA has legal responsibility for maintaining readiness for such an eventuality? Who knew? I’ve watched hours of coverage and this hasn’t been mentioned anywhere.
The National Oil and Hazardous Substances Contingency Plan Act was signed into law in 1994 (superceding previous legislation that went back to the 1969 Torrey Canyon oil spill.) Laws and regulations are collated here. The EPA has an online book describing the National Continency Plan. See for example http://www.epa.gov/oem/docs/oil/edu/oilspill_book/chap7.pdf (change the number to get other chapters.)
The EPA manual says:
WHEN A MAJOR oil spill occurs in the United States, coordinated teams of local, state, and national personnel are called upon to help contain the spill, clean it up, and ensure that damage to human health and the environment is minimized. Without careful planning and clear organization, efforts to deal with large oil spills could be slow, ineffective, and potentially harmful to response personnel and the environment. In the United States, the system for organizing responses to major oil spills is called the National Response System.
One of the principles of the National Contingency Plan is that an effective and prompt response is a national priority. The chair and vice-chair of the National Response Team are to come from EPA and the Coast Guard. The EPA manual says:
AFTER THE PLAN is developed, it is important to test it to see if it works as anticipated. Testing usually takes the form of an exercise or drill to practice responding to a spill.
Also, in a first reading, the presumption of the legislation is that dealing with major problems is a national interest and the government will take charge. The idea behind the plan is that there will be national readiness to deal with oil spills and that EPA will lead the national readiness. Section 3.1.1 (h) states:
Direct planning and preparedness responsibilities of NRT [national Response team] include: (1) Maintaining national preparedness to respond to a major discharge of oil that is beyond regional capabilities.
MMS, who have borne the brunt of criticism of government activities, play little to no role in the National Contingency Plan – based on my initial reading – and definitely a very minor role relative to EPA. MMS does not appear to be a member of the National Response Team (though 300.175 notes that MMS may have useful information and can be called on through the Dept of Interior representative).
I’ve noticed EPA involvement in worrying about dispersant toxicity, but otherwise EPA seems to have been surprisingly invisible given the prominent role assigned to them in the National Contingency Plan.
I’ve only browsed the legislation and manuals and it’s not an area about which I speak authoritatively. I invite readers to look through the Act, regulations and manuals and comment on the degree to which EPA and other agencies have met their statutory obligations. Please do so in relatively technical terms and avoid the temptation to hyperventilate.
Davis today and tomorrow . . . Belling back Thursday and Friday.
Not good for us Steyn lovers.
Yep.
sniff, sniff.
Thanks . . . my work computer is not allowing for media player these days, so I’m stuck with Davis. :-(
Frank Luntz needs to ditch the hairpiece.
Yes. I remember that. But at the time, Chrissy wasn’t such a blatant leftist. He was more middle road as I recall, but I know he did sub a couple times. But he has gone off the deep end. Way off.
I’m here!!
Thought Rush was on an FM station down your way. Can’t get him in your office?
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