We may find out in a new lawsuit.
The Boston Globe reports:
Environmental and Alaska Native groups will try to keep Shell Oil out of Arctic waters this summer by appealing an air permit that was granted by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The nine groups have sued in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, asking judges to send the permit granted to the Shell drilling ship Noble Discoverer back to the EPA for reconsideration.
“We think EPA took shortcuts,” said Colin O’Brien, an attorney for Earthjustice, an environmental law firm representing the groups. “We believe the permit failed to ensure that all air pollution controls are in place and that all standards are met for this major new source of pollution in the Arctic”…
Our working theory is that EPA grants slipshod permits so that enviros can easily block them in court while EPA gets to claim political credit for granting the permit.
These epa/enviro deals are brokered all the time.