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Poll: BP Oil Spill Response Rated Worse than Katrina
Poll: BP Oil Spill Rated Worse Than Hurricane Katrina; Most Americans Favor Pursuit of Criminal Charges According to ABC News and Washington Post Poll - ABC News
By more than a 2-to-1 margin, Americans support the pursuit of criminal charges in the nation's worst oil spill , with increasing numbers calling it a major environmental disaster. Eight in 10 criticize the way BP's handled it – and more people give the federal government's response a negative rating than did the response to Hurricane Katrina.
Beaches across four Gulf shore states brace for oil onslaught.
A month and a half after the spill began, 69 percent in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll rate the federal response negatively. That compares with a 62 negative rating for the response to Katrina two weeks after the August 2005 hurricane.
What I think is so interesting about polls and/or threads like this one is that these are the same people (Conservatives) who continue to state the government should stay out of the business of private enterprise. But the moment private enterprise screws up suddenly everyone's calling for the head of "big government" to step up and do something. Really...what do you expect the man or his Administration to do exactly? What more could the White House possibly do in a situation like this?
1. The last major oil spill of this size that took place in the GOM occured in 1979 by a Mexican oil company. The same containment procedures were used and the spill continued until a relief well was drilled in August of that same year.
2. People quickly forget that 11 people died in this tragic accident. The sinking of the oil rig was a rescue and recovery event before it became and environmental containment and cleanup incident. People need to remember that.
3. By all accounts, BP didn't share all the information they had w/the White House initially. It took about a week before the Obama Administration knew the full details of how much oil was spewing from the well, as well as the difficulties it would take to cap it.
4. Although not the first oil rig to spring a leak in the GOM, it IS the first to happen in such deep water.
5. Society expects that the government should have all emergency equipment on "standby" for such disasters. Well, where's the responsibility of private enterprise? BP made the mess and by law wasn't it their responsibility to take all necessary safety precautions including ensuring their backup systems worked and that they had enough boom and skimmers under their control to promptly respond to this disaster before any other entity was involved?
I think anyone who's blaming the President and his Administration for doing nothing or little to nothing are placing blame in the wrong place. It's not the role of government to handle such disasters. This is all on BP w/the federal goverment providing oversight toward capping the well, the cleanup effort and ensuring that those who have legitimate claims against BP to be paid.
In the mind of some, I guess the government was suppose to set aside emergency equipment and keep it on standby for every private company who dedices to take the risk of drilling in deep water and put the coastal environment in danger such a disaster happen. I'm I reading the pundits correctly?
The government was suppose to keep hundreds if not thousands of miles of boom onhand in the event of such a disaster; this isn't the job of those private oil companies who have decided to take the risk and drill for oil off-shore.
The government was suppose to set up berms along coastal/island areas and water inlets in anticipation of such a disaster.
The government was suppose to have hundreds of skimmers vessels waiting off the Gulf coast for just such a catastrophy.
The government is suppose to add to this man-made environmental disaster by burning oil off the Gulf coast and further risk tourism along LA, MS, AL, FL beachfront areas.
The government, NOT BP, has killed jobs along the Gulf coast because it was they and not BP who caused this oil leak?
This is the exact same government that only a few months ago was saying "stay out of the affairs of private business", right?
Sidenote: There is still a country to run. The man doesn't need to be their 24/7. That's what delegating responsiblity is all about. He's done that. IMO, the best move he has made was releaving the female Coast Guard officers who was initially overseeing the cleanup effort and coordinating events w/Commodore Allen. This man is getting the job done!!!
Rev,
Point 1 - As I listen to the news (daily I might add), those inidividuals within political circles who are speaking the loudest in opposition of how the Obama Administration has handled this oil spill are Republicans/Conservatives. Just turn on your TV and watch. I'm by no means saying that others aren't equally upset about it, but the loudest voices are (obviously) Republicans.
Point 2 - As of July 1, 2006 in accordance with the EPA's National Contingency Plan (Title 40, chap. 1, part 109.5) that covers oil spills, it is the responsibility of state, local and reginal government agencies to ensure the necessary equipment for oil spill containment and cleanup are readily available when called upon. (You can also review the 1994 EPA NCP guidelines here.)
Point 3 - So, what you're saying is protecting the environment was more important than a search and rescue of human lives? Save the shrimp, but leave bodies floating in the water. (Okay, so I'm being sarcastic, but that's pretty much how I viewed your response to my paragraph #2 above.)
Point 4 - See times lines linked below:
Timeline A (Day-to-day tracking of events from April 20 - May 24, 2010; note Obama Administration's direct involvement from April 20 - May 1)
Timeline B (shorter timeline from 20-30 April from DeepSea News)
Point 5 - Looks like those environmental wackos were right..to a degree. Granted, an oil spill of this size may have stood a better chance of being capped/shut-off in shallower waters, but as the President said and as the 1994 EPA NCP guidelines state, each oil drilling company is suppose to file a Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) certificate w/the federal government that outlines exactly how they would respond to such a disaster. Obviously, BP/Deepwater Horizon were not prepared for a disaster of this magnitude! (Note: I haven't been able to find BP's SPCC to determine what their contingency plans were prior to the spill; if I find it I'll post it here.)
Point 6 - Obvious reason for not buring the oil can be read here.
Point 7 - (See point #2)
Point 8 - Not all off-shore drilling has been shut down; just permits for new deep water drilling, as well as most (if not all) deep water drilling per Pres. Obama's interview on the Today Show (6/8/10; a series of videos can be selected here - first 3 are germaine to the President's frustrations w/the spill, oil companies and government regulations)
Point 9 - You're over simplifying the proposed drawdown of the Coast Guard's role here. It's no different than the military as a whole conducting base realignments in an effort to streamline resources and maximize their ability to be more affective in performing their duties. Nothing new here, but yeah. I'd be alittle concerned if the drawdown was too narrow and hampered the Coast Guard's effectiveness to respond to national disasters like this.
Originally Posted by Objective Voice
What I think is so interesting about polls and/or threads like this one is that these are the same people (Conservatives) who continue to state the government should stay out of the business of private enterprise. But the moment private enterprise screws up suddenly everyone's calling for the head of "big government" to step up and do something. Really...what do you expect the man or his Administration to do exactly? What more could the White House possibly do in a situation like this?
This is a strawman.
FAIL
BULL****.
It describes your hyper-partisan obsession with Katrina vs Oil Spill to a friggin' T.
You scream and cry about BIG GOVERNMENT getting out of way of BIG BUSINESSES...
However, since the oil spill you've been laughingly hypocritical.... Where's my nanny-state?!! Where's my President?!!
But it's not about Katrina or the oil spill, it's just about you posting another attack on Obama, finding fault with your President not matter how hypocritical you look... If only the Feds were as transparent as you are.
OV described you to a T. -- So, the FAIL (epic or otherwise) is all yours, buddy.:2wave::2wave:
BULL****.
It describes your hyper-partisan obsession with Katrina vs Oil Spill to a friggin' T.
You scream and cry about BIG GOVERNMENT getting out of way of BIG BUSINESSES...
However, since the oil spill you've been laughingly hypocritical.... Where's my nanny-state?!! Where's my President?!!
But it's not about Katrina or the oil spill, it's just about you posting another attack on Obama, finding fault with your President not matter how hypocritical you look... If only the Feds were as transparent as you are.
OV described you to a T. -- So, the FAIL (epic or otherwise) is all yours, buddy.:2wave::2wave:
Well, considering this is a man made disaster for which BP is solely responsible, i'm not surprised. The Katrina comparisons kind of fall flat, a natural disaster has different implications then one made by a global corporation.
The implications are the same... respond accordingly. People are no more blaming Obama for creating the oil spill than they blamed Bush for creating a hurricane.Well, considering this is a man made disaster for which BP is solely responsible, i'm not surprised. The Katrina comparisons kind of fall flat, a natural disaster has different implications then one made by a global corporation.
TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
CHAPTER I--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED)
PART 109_CRITERIA FOR STATE, LOCAL AND REGIONAL OIL REMOVAL CONTINGENCY
PLANS--Table of Contents
Sec. 109.5 Development and implementation criteria for State, local and regional oil removal contingency plans. Criteria for the development and implementation of State, local and regional oil removal contingency plans are:
(a) Definition of the authorities, responsibilities and duties of all persons, organizations or agencies which are to be involved or could be involved in planning or directing oil removal operations, with particular care to clearly define the authorities, responsibilities and duties of State and local governmental agencies to avoid unnecessary duplication of contingency planning activities and to minimize the potential for conflict and confusion that could be generated in an emergency situation as a result of such duplications.
(b) Establishment of notification procedures for the purpose of early detection and timely notification of an oil discharge including:
(1) The identification of critical water use areas to facilitate the reporting of and response to oil discharges.
(2) A current list of names, telephone numbers and addresses of the responsible persons and alternates on call to receive notification of an oil discharge as well as the names, telephone numbers and addresses of the organizations and agencies to be notified when an oil discharge is discovered.
(3) Provisions for access to a reliable communications system for timely notification of an oil discharge and incorporation in the communications system of the capability for interconnection with the communications systems established under related oil removal contingency plans, particularly State and National plans.
(4) An established, prearranged procedure for requesting assistance during a major disaster or when the situation exceeds the response capability of the State, local or regional authority.
(c) Provisions to assure that full resource capability is known and can be committed during an oil discharge situation including:
(1) The identification and inventory of applicable equipment, materials and supplies which are available locally and regionally.
(2) An estimate of the equipment, materials and supplies which would be required to remove the maximum oil discharge to be anticipated.
(3) Development of agreements and arrangements in advance of an oil discharge for the acquisition of equipment, materials and supplies to be used in responding to such a discharge.
The point to my opening remarks in my initial post herein (post #3) was simply to illustrate the hypocrisy, that the very same people who cry "government, stay out of private affairs" are the same people who all but demand government involvement in situations like this. The fact of the matter is yes, government does have a role to play in such disastererous situations whether naturally occuring (i.e., tornado, flood, hurricane, earth quake, volcanic eruption over populated area, etc.) or man-made such as this oil spill. This issue here is how much of a role should they play?
If you look at the NCP where local, state and regional governments responsibilities are, you'll see that local, state and regional governments (as well as the private business entity according to their SPCC on file w/the federal government) are to act as "first responders" to such crisis and that the federal government steps in only when it has been determined that local, state and regional governments and/or private enterprise can't handle the situation.
So, Rev, you are correct...from a certain point of view. The federal government is responsible for this cleanup effort, but only after it has been determined that neither the private entity nor the local, state or regional governments can handle it. Furthermore, nowhere have I read in the NCP where the federal government is responsible for ensuring that equipment is on-hand for handling the capping or cleanup efforts of a major oil spill of this magnitude. However, it's clear that the oil drilling company and the state are suppose to have all necessary equipment on hand to handle such a catatrophy. It could easily be argued that BP and perhaps even the state of LA wasn't prepared for this. Still, all entities - private, state and federal governments - have a role to play here. But for what it's worth, I don't blame the government in how they've handled this situation to date according to the law as outlined above. I blame BP!!!
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), top Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released documents Thursday night showing the Coast Guard recorded on April 21 -- less than 24 hours after the Deepwater Horizon explosion -- the magnitude of the oil leak disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
“Potential environmental threat is 700,000 gallons of diesel on board the Deepwater Horizon and estimated potential of 8,000 barrels per day of crude oil, if the well were to completely blowout,” the Coast Guard reported in a log of events from the immediate aftermath of the April 20 explosion -- shedding new information on the first days of the disaster.
“These documents raise new questions about whether the White House was slow to respond to an incident that was quickly recognized by the Coast Guard as a potentially catastrophic threat to the environment,” Issa said upon release of the documents. “It appears as if this administration would rather tell a half-truth if the full-truth doesn’t fit the story they want to tell.”
BULL****.
It describes your hyper-partisan obsession with Katrina vs Oil Spill to a friggin' T.
You scream and cry about BIG GOVERNMENT getting out of way of BIG BUSINESSES...
However, since the oil spill you've been laughingly hypocritical.... Where's my nanny-state?!! Where's my President?!!
But it's not about Katrina or the oil spill, it's just about you posting another attack on Obama, finding fault with your President not matter how hypocritical you look... If only the Feds were as transparent as you are.
OV described you to a T. -- So, the FAIL (epic or otherwise) is all yours, buddy.:2wave::2wave:
The point to my opening remarks in my initial post herein (post #3) was simply to illustrate the hypocrisy, that the very same people who cry "government, stay out of private affairs" are the same people who all but demand government involvement in situations like this. The fact of the matter is yes, government does have a role to play in such disastererous situations whether naturally occuring (i.e., tornado, flood, hurricane, earth quake, volcanic eruption over populated area, etc.) or man-made such as this oil spill. The issue here is how much of a role should they play?
If you look at the NCP where local, state and regional governments responsibilities are, you'll see that they (as well as the private business entity according to their SPCC on file w/the federal government) are to act as "first responders" to such crisis and that the federal government steps in only when it has been determined that local, state and regional governments and/or private enterprise can't handle the situation.
So, Rev, you are correct...from a certain point of view. The federal government is responsible for this cleanup effort, but only after it has been determined that neither the private entity nor the local, state or regional governments can handle it. Furthermore, nowhere have I read in the NCP where the federal government is responsible for ensuring that equipment is on-hand for handling the capping or cleanup efforts of a major oil spill of this magnitude. However, it's clear that the oil drilling company and the state are suppose to have all necessary equipment on hand to handle such a catatrophy. It could easily be argued that BP and perhaps even the state of LA wasn't prepared for this. Still, all entities - private, state and federal governments - have a role to play here. But for what it's worth, I don't blame the government in how they've handled this situation to date according to the law as outlined above. I blame BP!!!
LinkTitle 40: Protection of Environment
PART 109—CRITERIA FOR STATE, LOCAL AND REGIONAL OIL REMOVAL CONTINGENCY PLANS
Browse Next
§ 109.1 Applicability.
The criteria in this part are provided to assist State, local and regional agencies in the development of oil removal contingency plans for the inland navigable waters of the United States and all areas other than the high seas, coastal and contiguous zone waters, coastal and Great Lakes ports and harbors and such other areas as may be agreed upon between the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation in accordance with section 11(j)(1)(B) of the Federal Act, Executive Order No. 11548 dated July 20, 1970 (35 FR 11677) and §306.2 of the National Oil and Hazardous Materials Pollution Contingency Plan (35 FR 8511).
Crunch,
All that shows is that the CG/White House were still brainstorming trying to determine the size and scope of exactly what they were dealing with. It falls directly inline with RADM Landrey's initial comments while assessment of the situation from day-1. Everyone at the federal level including BP believed that residual oil was leaking from the oil rig and not the well-head. It wasn't until day-3 when they got ROVs down to the seabed did anyone know for sure that the problem was worse than expected. Just look at Timeline A.
Rev,
Unless I've misread the NCP, it's not the fed's responsibility to be logistically ready to tackle this issue. That's the role of the state and the private oil company conducting the drilling. Think about it...
Who would be the first line of defense in a national disaster? Local authority? State government? The fed? I look at this situation in much the same way as I viewed 9/11. NYPD & NYFD along with local medical crews were the first responders and rightfully so. It's their city, their state. The fed stepped in when it became apparent that this was a national emergency. Until then, it was NYC's problem. Same thing here. NY's Port Authority was the command and control center on the ground while the FAA handled air traffic control. Eventually, the EPA and other federal agencies came in and took charge but until then local/state authority was initially in charge and handled the logistics for their emergency situation. Same thing here.
LinkNational Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP)
Sec. 300.105 -- General organization concepts.
(a) Federal agencies should:
(1) Plan for emergencies and develop procedures for addressing oil discharges and releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants;
(2) Coordinate their planning, preparedness, and response activities with one another;
(3) Coordinate their planning, preparedness, and response activities with affected states, local governments, and private entities; and
(4) Make available those facilities or resources that may be useful in a response situation, consistent with agency authorities and capabilities.
(b) Three fundamental kinds of activities are performed pursuant to the NCP:
(1) Preparedness planning and coordination for response to a discharge of oil or release of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant;
(2) Notification and communications; and
(3) Response operations at the scene of a discharge or release.
(c) The organizational elements created to perform these activities are:
(1) The NRT, responsible for national response and preparedness planning, for coordinating regional planning, and for providing policy guidance and support to the Regional Response Teams(RRTs). NRT membership consists of representatives from the agencies specified inSec. 300.175(b).
(2) RRTs, responsible for regional planning and preparedness activities before response actions, and for providing advice and support to the OSC or RPM when activated during a response. RRT membership consists of designated representatives from each federal agency participating in the NRT together with state and(as agreed upon by the states) local government representatives.
(3) The OSC and the RPM, primarily responsible for directing response efforts and coordinating all other efforts at the scene of a discharge or release. The other responsibilities of OSCs and RPMs are described in Sec. 300.135.
(4) Area Committees, responsible for developing, under direction of the OSC, ACPs for each area designated by the President. Responsibilities of area Committees are described inSec. 300.205(c).
(d) The basic framework for the response management structure is a system(e.g., a unified command system) that brings together the functions of the Federal Government, the state government, and the responsible party to achieve an effective and efficient response, where the OSC maintains authority.
The point to my opening remarks in my initial post herein (post #3) was simply to illustrate the hypocrisy, that the very same people who cry "government, stay out of private affairs" are the same people who all but demand government involvement in situations like this. The fact of the matter is yes, government does have a role to play in such disastererous situations whether naturally occuring (i.e., tornado, flood, hurricane, earth quake, volcanic eruption over populated area, etc.) or man-made such as this oil spill. The issue here is how much of a role should they play?
If you look at the NCP where local, state and regional governments responsibilities are, you'll see that they (as well as the private business entity according to their SPCC on file w/the federal government) are to act as "first responders" to such crisis and that the federal government steps in only when it has been determined that local, state and regional governments and/or private enterprise can't handle the situation.
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