Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum

In the name of job creation and clean energy, the Obama administration has doled out billions of dollars in stimulus money to some of the nation’s biggest polluters and granted them sweeping exemptions from the most basic form of environmental oversight, a Center for Public Integrity investigation has found.

The administration has awarded more than 179,000 “categorical exclusions” to stimulus projects funded by federal agencies, freeing those projects from review under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. Coal-burning utilities like Westar Energy and Duke Energy, chemical manufacturer DuPont, and ethanol maker Didion Milling are among the firms with histories of serious environmental violations that have won blanket NEPA exemptions.

Administration Created Exemptions After Congress Rejected Idea

The idea of granting blanket NEPA exemptions for stimulus recipients was first raised in Congress when the law was being crafted in early 2009. Industry groups claimed the environmental review process would hold up shovel-ready projects. Some governors called for greatly streamlining NEPA requirements.

Chamber of Commerce, Other Biz Lobbies Drill Big Oil for New Cash Gusher

Updated: 9/9/2010, 10:18 am | What do the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Industry Political Action Committee (BIPAC), and the new American Crossroads group have in common this summer?

All are seeking big bucks from the deep-pocketed but embattled oil industry as it faces higher taxes and increased regulations in the aftermath of the BP oil disaster.

Here’s the impeccable logic. “Everybody knows that the oil and gas industry has a big target on its back resulting from the Gulf oil spill and higher prices of a few years ago,” one veteran oil lobbyist told the Center for Public Integrity. “The industry is a ‘go-to’ place for any organization that can argue it can help create an easier climate for oil companies.”