Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) is putting new pressure on oil giant BP over the amount of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, following media reports that it’s far larger than previously estimated.

“The public needs to know the answers to very basic questions: how much oil is leaking into the Gulf and how much oil can be expected to end up on our shores and our ocean environment?” wrote Markey, a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, in a letter Friday to BP America Inc. CEO Lamar McKay.

“I am concerned that an underestimation of the flow may be impeding the ability to solve the leak and handle management of the disaster,” he added.

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Over on our On The Money blog, my colleague Vicki Needham reports that the oil industry’s most powerful trade group is fighting Capitol Hill efforts to raise the cap on economic damages for offshore spills.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) on Friday provided a broad outline of mine safety improvements he’s seeking in response to the April 5 explosion at West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch coal mine that killed 29 workers.

Rockefeller’s office, in a press release, said he is working on “new legislative approaches” on workplace safety that include:

* Additional workplace safety enforcement and accountability standards through the Mine Safety and Health Administration and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

* Streamlining Pattern of Violation rules and regulations so that repeat offenders are subject to additional oversight and enforcement.

* Reducing the appeals backlog at the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission in order to prevent companies from avoiding responsibility simply by filing appeals.

* Improved whistleblower protections to empower miners and all workers to report dangerous conditions.

* Increased fines and penalties for companies that routinely violate safety laws and regulations.

Rockefeller is also proposing amendments to the Wall Street reform bill on the Senate floor that would force mining companies to disclose information about safety hazards to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) vowed Friday to probe allegations that the Interior Department approved offshore drilling projects that could threaten endangered species without securing the needed permits.

“It is a very disturbing set of allegations,” Bingaman said Friday morning during an appearance on C-SPAN. “I don’t know if it is all true, but we certainly need to get to the bottom of it.”

The New York Times reported Friday that Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) “gave permission to BP and dozens of other oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first getting required permits from another agency that assesses threats to endangered species — and despite strong warnings from that agency about the impact the drilling was likely to have on the gulf.”

The story said that this included approval for the BP well that is now spewing thousands of barrels of oil per day into the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the April 20 accident at the Deepwater Horizon rig. MMS is the Interior branch that regulates offshore oil-and-gas drilling.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is scheduled to appear before Bingaman’s committee next week to discuss offshore drilling and the Gulf of Mexico spill.

On Thursday, an environmental group called the Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice of intent to sue Interior over endangered species protection. The group alleges that Interior, under Salazar, has approved three offshore lease sales, over 100 seismic surveys and over 300 drilling operations without obtaining permits required under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act.

* Amount of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico could be much higher than the 5,000 barrels-per-day estimate

National Public Radio is out with an “exclusive” analysis with this alarming conclusion: “There's at least 10 times as much oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico than official estimates suggest.”

“At NPR's request, experts analyzed video that BP released Wednesday. Their findings suggest the BP spill is already far larger than the 1989 Exxon Valdez accident in Alaska, which spilled at least 250,000 barrels of oil,” their story continues.

“BP has said repeatedly that there is no reliable way to measure the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico by looking at the oil gushing out of the pipe. But scientists say there are actually many proven techniques for doing just that.”

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The Environmental Protection Agency took a big step toward limiting industrial greenhouse gas emissions Thursday by spelling out how it will apply the Clean Air Act to large sources like power plants and oil refineries.

The action shows that EPA plans to move ahead in the absence of climate change legislation, which could add political pressure on lawmakers to pass a bill that gives polluters more flexibility and assistance.

Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) unveiled a sweeping climate and energy bill Wednesday that includes free emissions allowances for affected industries, trade protections for manufacturers and other benefits.

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A Democratic senator lashed out at a Republican Thursday who blocked a bill intended to hold oil giant BP more responsible for a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who is staunchly opposed to expanded oil drilling off the U.S. coast, posted a message on his Twitter account after Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) objected to a unanimous consent request to pass a measure that would raise the liability cap for oil companies that cause spills from $75 million to $10 billion.

"Senator from Alaska just sandbagged my bill to hold BP accountable for up to $10 billion for the oil spill," he said.

Murkowski said that she is open to the idea of raising the cap, but said lawmakers need to consider the amount more carefully. She said if the cap is raised too high, that could squeeze smaller oil companies out of the offshore drilling business because they would not be able to be bonded and insured.

But Democrats attacked Republicans after Murkowski blocked the measure, accusing them of obstructionism.

"Inexplicably, Republicans are protecting negligent oil companies like BP and blocking our efforts to prevent a BP bailout," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said in a statement. "Through their obstruction, Republicans are leaving taxpayers on the hook to pay for BP’s negligence."

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), a sponsor of the measure, had tweeted about the request earlier in the day.

Cross-posted to the Twitter Room

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) sought so-called unanimous consent for the bill’s passage Thursday afternoon.

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Sen. Robert Menendez is asking the Senate for unanimous consent to vote on legislation hitting BP and other oil companies.

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