From the San Francisco Chronicle’s Editorial:
…A 2005 audit of the Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) suggested that under staffing in its field offices could affect its ability to respond to a major marine oil spill. It would be inappropriate to put the OSPR in the position of evaluating its own level of preparedness before the Cosco Busan spill – or whether the governor and state legislators gave it the resources it needed to do the job.
A much better approach would be along the lines of the state of Alaska’s 7-member commission of world-class experts that examined the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Its recommendations led to landmark legislation on oil-tanker safety.
“With a potential $100 million liability from this spill, it’s just not realistic to expect any agency to step up to the plate and say, ‘yeah, we screwed up here, here and here,’ ” said Warner Chabot of the Ocean Conservancy…
