\nKenworthy<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
There are obvious limits to how much control the federal government
\ncan exert over the frantic and so far hapless effort to stem the
\ncatastrophic oil eruption that threatens the entire Gulf of Mexico with
\necological devastation. As Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen said
\nMonday, the government does not have the equipment or technical
\nexpertise to simply shove aside BP and its industry partners a month
\nafter the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig off the coast of
\nLouisiana. “To push BP out of the way, it would raise the question, to
\nreplace them with what?” Allen said.<\/p>\n
The Obama administration’s embattled and frustrated Interior
\nSecretary Ken Salazar, who on Sunday had threatened to do the pushing,
\nrecognized the sobering reality 24 hours later. “This administration has
\n done everything we can possibly do to make sure that we push BP to stop
\n the spill and to contain the impact,” Salazar said. “We have also been
\nvery clear that there are areas where BP and the private sector are the
\nones who must continue to lead the efforts with government oversight,
\nsuch as the deployment of private sector technology 5,000 feet below the
\n ocean’s surface to kill the well.”<\/p>\n
But if government has little choice but to keep the perpetrator on
\nthe job at the immediate crime scene, it does have a choice when it
\ncomes to operations beyond the urgent task of quelling the erupting
\nwell. BP will necessarily remain in charge of plugging the hole; but the
\n federal and state governments in the gulf must take greater charge of
\ncontaining the onshore ecological impacts.<\/p>\n
This requires a greater mobilization than exists today, and
\nWashington needs to send the message that it is in full command of the
\ndisaster response with the following actions:<\/p>\n
One highly visible leader at the White House should lead the BP is required as the responsible party for this apocalyptic disaster BP’s funding should come in the form of an escrow account that draws The Center for American Progress also supports a full moratorium on Congress and the administration must meanwhile take further steps to Related Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n Obama’s finally connecting the Gulf spill and clean energy. Champagne time?<\/a><\/p>\n How would you stop the Gulf oil leak?<\/a><\/p>\n Will Obama admin allow Shell Oil to do to Arctic waters what BP did to the Gulf?<\/a><\/p>\n
\ncommand and coordination at the cabinet level between the Department
\n of Homeland Security<\/a>, the Department of the Interior, the
\nDepartment of Commerce, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
\nAdministration, the Department of Energy, the EPA, the Department of
\nJustice, the White House Office of Energy and Climate Policy, the White
\nHouse Office of Science and Technology, and the Department of Defense.
\nTwo excellent choices for this role would be Vice President Joe Biden or
\n energy advisor Carol Browner. This leader should also work directly
\nwith the affected states’ governors.
\n
\nThe Federal Emergency Management Agency should be in charge of
\nonshore coastal recovery and disaster response, assisted by the Army
\nCorps of Engineers. The National
\n Guard<\/a> should be fully deployed under the control of each state’s
\ngovernor, with Army units if necessary. The EPA, NOAA, and U.S. Fish and
\n Wildlife Service should exercise relevant oversight. And any environmental
\n and disaster response contractors<\/a> working for BP should instead
\nwork directly for the federal government.
\n
\nThe federal government should clearly be in charge of
\nsurface-water recovery and maritime disaster response. The Vessels
\n of Opportunity<\/a> and other maritime contractors now working for BP
\nshould be under contract with the federal government, including research
\n vessels. The Coast Guard with the EPA, NOAA, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife
\n Service oversight should manage dispersant
\n use<\/a> for cleanup.
\n
\nThe Environmental Protection Agency should immediately bar
\n BP from new federal contracts<\/a>-including drilling in federally
\ncontrolled oil fields-because of its repeated environmental crimes.
\n
\nThe State Department should continue to reach out to other
\nnations that have experience with disastrous oil spills to see if
\nassistance and ideas are available. This should be a
\ngovernment-to-government effort, not one undertaken by private
\ncompanies.
\n
\nClaims for damages and lost revenues should be put under the
\nauthority of the U.S. Coast Guard
\nNational Pollution Funds Center<\/a>. The scope of this disaster far
\nexceeds the NPFC’s traditional resources, and other federal, state, and
\nlocal claims processing resources must therefore be brought to bear,
\nparticularly from the Coast Guard’s sister agency FEMA.
\n
\nThe EPA, the Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service,
\nand other law enforcement branches of the federal, state, and local
\ngovernment should exercise subpoena authority to seize
\n or monitor relevant communications and data collection<\/a>, and assets
\nif necessary.
\n
\nThe EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
\nshould begin a health-monitoring program for the most at risk
\npopulations so there is a baseline from which to measure health
\ncomplications from the spill and cleanup.
\n
\nFederal agencies, not BP, should handle spill response hotlines
\nfor volunteers, technology
\n ideas<\/a>, affected wildlife, and others. Full call records need to be
\nlogged with incident reports and technology ideas presented publicly on
\ndynamic websites.<\/p>\n
\n to provide full and instant funding for the response by the federal,
\nstate, and local governments and their contractors. BP personnel and
\nequipment being used for disaster response in the Gulf should be put
\nunder governmental control during the crisis.<\/p>\n
\non BP’s $100
\n billion<\/a> in capital reserves, without limit. The federal government
\nshould require BP to use its first quarter 2010 profits—$5
\n billion<\/a>—to establish the escrow account. Congress needs to pass the
\n Big Oil Liability Bailout Prevention Act, S. 3305, to lift the
\nliability limit to $10 billion.<\/p>\n
\nnew leases or new drilling for all companies until the commission issues
\n its report and recommendations. The Department of Interior has approved
\n at least 17 new
\npermits and 19 environmental waivers<\/a> since the Deepwater Horizon rig
\n explosion.<\/p>\n
\nend our dependence on big oil. The administration should beef up federal
\n research and development efforts into how to prevent oil spills and
\nbetter contain them if they occur. The federal government should
\nestablish additional protection for continental shelf areas beyond just
\nthe three miles states can control. Congress should cut tax loopholes
\nand other handouts to big oil companies, which would save $45 billion
\nover 10 years—money that can be spent on investing in a clean energy
\neconomy instead. And clean energy legislation that caps the oil and coal
\n pollution that is heating the atmosphere and acidifying the oceans is
\nlong overdue.<\/p>\n
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