Ten lawmakers questioned Rear Adm. Craig Bone at a Congressional hearing Monday about whether the Coast Guard could have done more to warn the ship it was in trouble. Bone responded that the spill was solely the ship operator's fault. The committee also asked Bone why the agency waited hours to inform city officials of the spill and why it did not press fishermen and volunteers into service sooner. Bone acknowledged that the Coast Guard was too slow to inform city officials. The Coast Guard said Monday it was initiating a nationwide "incident-specific preparedness review" to ensure its personnel in other regions would be ready for such a disaster. AP 11/20/07
A timeline of the Bay Area oil spill
Sources: House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation; Mercury News reporting.
The congressional committee, unhappy with the responses from the Coast Guard, announced Monday they would seek a new probe by the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security. In particular, members of the committee were concerned that the Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Game office of Spill Prevention and Response were investigating problems in which their own officials might have played a part, doubting the organizations’ ability to take an honest accounting of their own actions. The group expressed interest in unearthing problems in the Coast Guard’s response as quickly as possible. SF Chronicle 11/20/07
Panel criticizes Coast Guard's response to spill LA Times 11/20/07
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1 comment:
Well written article.
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