Official Letters and Oversight

Rep. Grijalva has been actively involved in environmental and oil rig safety oversight since before the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. His letters on this and other issues will appear on this page as they become publicly available.

BP ATLANTIS OIL RIG

Feb. 24 - Letter to Minerals Management Service Director Elizabeth Birnbaum on safety concerns at the BP Atlantis rig (press release)

March 26 - Letter from the Minerals Management Service promising an investigation of BP Atlantis would be complete at the end of May

May 20 - Letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Minerals Management Service Director Elizabeth Birnbaum on MMS' investigation of BP oil platform safety (press release)

June 22 - Letter to Michael Bromwich, head of the newly formed Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement, formally requesting the handover of documents on BP Atlantis construction and safety certification

September (undated) - Letter from Michael Bromwich, head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement, promising a full report on BP Atlantis some time in October of 2010

November 3 - Letter from Michael Bromwich, head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement, indefinitely delaying the delivery of a report on safety concerns at the BP Atlantis oil rig

DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL RESPONSE

August 2 - Letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on the potential to generate thousands of jobs in the Gulf of Mexico by employing residents to dismantle outdated and abandoned oil rigs (press release)

September 29 - Letters to NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco, US Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt, and US Coast Guard Rear Admiral James Watson requesting information about the administration's early August report suggesting 74 percent of the oil spilled by the Deepwater Horizon disaster was no longer an environmental threat

November 30 - Letter to NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco, co-signed by Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall, reiterating the Sept. 29 request for information and Rep. Rahall's earlier request for data on endangered species consultations as part of oil licensing

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY POLICIES

May 13 - Letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on the need for stronger environmental regulation of offshore drilling

June 9 - Letter to Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid on legislative priorities for a potential energy overhaul bill

July 26 - Letter to President Obama highlighting the need for reforms of the outdated 1872 Mining Law ahead of Vice President Biden's visit to the Grand Canyon

July 30 - Letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar urging reforms to the Bureau of Land Management's wild horse roundup and preservation policies

HOUSING AND ECONOMIC REFORM

October 15 - Letter to Troubled Assets Relief Program special inspector general Neil Barofsky requesting an audit of mortgage lenders Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and GMAC in light of revelations about improper foreclosures and evictions nationwide.