A week ago we posed this:  “Cape Wind” Tribes might want to ask: Is the Department of Interior’s Minerals Management Service simply a rubber stamp for disaster?

As pointed out then, the MMS gave a pass on the design and construction requirements for the BP rig that self-destructed in the gulf.  This lack of oversight, to the benefit of BP, is suspected as contributing to the ongoing oil spill.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, during his decision process regarding the Cape Wind project, looked to two of his agencies for advice.  Representing the “move forward” position of the Developer was the MMS.  The National Park Service, on the other hand, agreed with the local Tribes who are very concerned that their ancient and sacred lands in the area of the “wind farm” will be destroyed by the turbines.

Well, it turns out the Secretary chose the advice of the MMS – supporting developers, over that of the National Park Service – supporting the Tribes position.

Now we learn that Secretary Salazar’s decided make a change to the MMS and break the incompetent monster into pieces.  Why?  Well, according to the Federal Eye, Richard Charter, a senior policy adviser for the advocacy group Defenders of Wildlife, said in an interview that there has always been “an inherent conflict of interest.”

Interesting!  If Mr. Charter’s suggestion is accurate, how reliable was the advice Secretary Salazar received from the MMS regarding Cape Wind.  Hopefully, there was no conflict of interest in play when the MMS suggested to the Secretary that he should not worry about the burial grounds, since they’ll be keeping an eye on things.

I guess it’s too late to reconsider your support for Cape Wind, Mr. Secretary?

Oh, by the way … you’ll like this from Jake Tapper’s blog:  In the wake of the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) has continued to issue “categorical exclusions” for oil companies, allowing them to bypass the last stage of environmental review before proceeding with drilling projects, an Interior Department official told ABC News Wednesday.