"Sure, it could have happened to anyone. BP certainly is not the only company drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. Or in La Plata County. Or on tribal lands. But lately, BP is doing a spectacularly abysmal job of demonstrating why its industry is one we should be forced to play nice with - as neighbors, regulators or host counties.

The most obvious and egregious example of BP's failure to consider the what-ifs associated with its drilling operations is still running roughshod over the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem and economies. There is no sign of the havoc being wrought by Deepwater Horizon catastrophe stopping anytime soon, and the last best hope for ebbing the flow - a relief well that is still weeks away from completion - is hardly a sealed deal.

Then there is the small matter of the company's underreporting of royalties paid to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe for coalbed methane development on tribal lands. Oops. Poor BP. It is so confusing marking the correct box on those reporting forms: Natural gas or coal-bed methane. Now which is it? What an odd coincidence that the mistake benefited BP."

Get the Story:
BP: Troubling example of industry culture (The Durango Herald 7/8)

Related Stories:
DOI fines BP America $5.2M for underpaid Southern Ute Tribe (6/30)