Emily Yehle, E&E reporter
\nPublished: Monday, January 23, 2012<\/p>\n
A scientist from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
\nAdministration falsified findings to lowball the amount of oil
\nthat leaked in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion, according to
\na scientific integrity complaint filed today.<\/p>\n
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility is already
\npursuing a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior over a
\nFreedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the memos and
\nemails behind the official scientific assessments of the size of
\nthe Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Today’s complaint stems from the
\ndocuments thus far received and is the first the group has filed
\nunder NOAA’s new scientific integrity policy.<\/p>\n
The complaint alleges that NOAA senior scientist William Lehr
\nintentionally misrepresented the findings of the one of the teams
\nunder the Flow Rate Technical Group, a panel of experts convened
\nby the White House to estimate the flow of oil in the disaster.
\nLehr headed the Plume Analysis Team.<\/p>\n
NOAA’s scientific integrity policy was finalized in December,
\nmeaning Lehr’s actions preceded the policy. How that will affect
\nthe complaint is unclear.<\/p>\n
Lehr wrote in a final report a few weeks after the spill that
\n“most of the experts” concluded that the best estimate was
\nbetween 25,000 and 30,000 barrels per day. That estimate turned
\nout to be only half of the actual leakage, and experts have said
\nthat the original low estimate hampered the cleanup.<\/p>\n
PEER asserts that the team was actually split on that estimate
\nfrom the beginning. According to the group’s complaint, only
\nthree of 13 team members made such an estimate, using a technique
\ncalled Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), and they concluded that
\nit was inappropriate.<\/p>\n
Three others used a different method that estimated a leak rate
\nto be between 50,000 to 60,000 barrels per day, while one team
\nmember used a third method, and the rest didn’t submit estimates
\nat all, according to PEER.<\/p>\n
The group cites an email to the plume team from Marcia McNutt,
\ndirector of the U.S. Geological Survey, who led the Flow Rate
\nTechnical Group. In it, she appears to respond to some concerns
\nabout oil plume estimates released to the press. She refers to
\npressure from White House officials on how to frame the results,
\nincluding one communications person who suggested she say that
\nthe flow was 12,000 to 19,000 barrels per day but could be as
\nmuch as 25,000.<\/p>\n
“I cannot tell you what a nightmare the past two days have been
\ndealing with the communications people at the White House, DOI,
\nand the [National Incident Commander] who seem incapable of
\nunderstanding the concept of a lower bound,” she wrote. “The
\npress release that went out on our results was misleading and was
\nnot reviewed by a scientist for accuracy.”<\/p>\n
NOAA spokesman Scott Smullen said the agency had just received
\nthe documents and thus was unable to respond to it. PEER sent out
\na press release at about 11 a.m. announcing the complaint.<\/p>\n
PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch said the complaint will serve
\nas a “litmus test as to whether the Obama administration will
\napply its scientific integrity rules to its own actions.”<\/p>\n
“Hopefully, the investigation of this complaint will force the
\nimmediate release of the full deliberations so that the
\nscientific record can be set straight,” Ruch said, citing his
\ngroup’s continuing lawsuit over emails concerning the plume
\nestimate.<\/p>\n
Special thanks to Richard Charter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Emily Yehle, E&E reporter Published: Monday, January 23, 2012 A scientist from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration falsified findings to lowball the amount of oil that leaked in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion, according to a scientific integrity complaint filed today. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility is already pursuing a lawsuit against the Department … Continue reading E&E: Scientist is accused of lowballing size of Gulf spill<\/span>