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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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she would have no problem subjecting her members to another tough vote on climate change legislation before the November election if a far-reaching bill passes the Senate.

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The Senate delegations of California, Washington and Oregon are introducing legislation that would create a permanent oil-and-gas drilling ban in Pacific Coast waters.

The legislation – which follows a House proposal to bar West Coast drilling – is one of several new Capitol Hill efforts to re-impose coastal protections following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Drilling bans along the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts lapsed in 2008.

According to an announcement of the bill from Sen. Maria Cantwell’s (D-Wash.) office, the bill would “permanently protect the $34 billion coastal economies of the three states – which support nearly 570,000 jobs in California, Oregon and Washington.”

While the lawmakers want to codify protections, the Obama administration has already ruled out selling oil-and-gas leases in Pacific waters.

Over on our main page, I have a story about the tough road ahead for the Senate climate and energy bill.