The Interior Department's acting inspector general defended her impartiality today after House Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) accused her of helping draft an Interior report that misrepresented the views of a panel of independent scientists.

Hastings sent a letter to acting IG Mary Kendall yesterday, citing several internal Interior documents that show she attended meetings related to the report. The report -- issued in 2010 -- erroneously suggested that a panel of independent scientists endorsed an offshore drilling moratorium in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The letter is the latest in the Natural Resources panel's probe into whether officials purposely altered the 2010 report to buttress Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's drilling moratorium. In recent weeks, Hastings has questioned the thoroughness of an investigation by Kendall's office that found no conclusive evidence that Interior officials intentionally doctored the report (Greenwire, May 11).

According to Hastings' letter, Kendall was invited to a May 25, 2010, follow-up with a peer review panel on the report. She also wrote an email dated May 28, 2010, asking Salazar counselor Steve Black for a copy of the letter Salazar sent President Obama on the report.

"We are launching teams next week to respond to the Secretary's request that we determine whether specific deficiencies in [Minerals Management Service] policies or practices exist that need to be addressed to ensure that operations on the [outer continental shelf] are conducted in a safe manner protective of human life, health, and the environment," Kendall wrote in the email, according to the letter. "We do not, however, want to duplicate effort that you have already made (your effort has been tremendously impressive, by the way!)."

Hastings contends that such correspondence suggests Kendall misled the Natural Resources Committee when she told the panel in June 2010 that she was "not involved in the process of developing that report."

"Your apparent involvement also raises new questions about the IG's independence and impartiality in conducting the investigation of the Drilling Moratorium Report and whether it was appropriate for you to oversee this investigation in the first place or whether you should have disclosed your involvement and recused yourself from all matters concerning the investigation," Hastings wrote.

But in an interview today, Kendall dismissed such allegations. She did not participate in drafting the report, she said, but she did attend "information-collecting" meetings to learn more about deepwater drilling in preparation for her role on the Outer Continental Shelf Safety Board.

Kendall characterized her role as a "very active listener" who did not intervene or ask questions.

"One of the tasks of that board was to make recommendations to the secretary on areas where safety could be improved in deepwater drilling," Kendall said. "I knew nothing about deepwater drilling. What I knew was how to spell deepwater drilling."

She added: "I felt this was a real opportunity for me to get a lot of information in a very short period of time, and ultimately, the benefits were incredible."