[ProgressNowAction.org], a Denver-based liberal advocacy group, is calling for a federal investigation of the relationship between former Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and Royal Dutch Shell's oil shale operations in northwest Colorado.
The group alleges that Norton may have used her influence at the federal agency to approve Shell's leases in Colorado, followed by Shell hiring Norton as a general counsel for the company's "unconventional resources" unit that includes oil shale development.
Norton resigned from Interior in March 2006. Shell was awarded the federal leases in November 2006. Shell hired Norton in December 2006.
Although it hasn't been launched as of writing, ProgressNow Action is to launch InvestigateNorton.org today.
Norton left Interior under a cloud, as her two main sidekicks -- Italia Federici and Stephen Griles -- were significant players in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Because Interior has jurisdiction over his client's Indian tribe casinos, Abramoff targeted Interior for corruption to benefit his clients. Abramoff got his clients to contribute massive amounts of money to Norton's pet "think tank" to try and influence Interior's decision-making. He was successful.
The Shell division in which Norton now works is the oil shale division, which owns 40,000 acres in the mountains of northwest Colorado. In situ oil shale extraction is being sold to the public with all the usual placations and "gee whiz" articles about new technology, but in situ has massive implications for water quality in Colorado, as Shell's holdings sit up at the top of the Colorado River drainage basin.
If there is any evidence that Norton at all gamed the approval process in her department, and greased the wheels for Shell to access oil shale resources that are currently public property, then an investigation into Norton's revolving door career is more than warranted.
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