 finally salazar issues gulf of mexico drilling permits secretary of the interior ken salazar this week issued the first deepwater drilling permit in the gulf of mexico since the bp oil spill even though the deepwater drilling ban was listed last october salazar refused to reissue permits despite bipartisan efforts to do so what happened what caused secretary salazar to change his approach this week for details see  dailycallercom 20110301 interiorsecretarysalazarcracksunderpressureandbegi  74  