Report Says Coast Guard Was Unprepared for Spill

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

NEW ORLEANS — An internal review of the Coast Guard’s performance during the BP oil spill cleanup last year has concluded that the agency was caught badly unprepared and that the response operation was dogged from the beginning by significant planning failures.

The report, which was commissioned by the Coast Guard, found that the agency’s preparedness for environmental crises had “atrophied over the past decade” as the guard confronted its expanded security responsibilities in the post-9/11 world. This resulted in significant coordination and communication problems during the spill response as well as a lack of familiarity with long-established procedures among many of the response workers.

The review, completed in January, was quietly made public by the Coast Guard last month. It was prepared by a team of experts that included two retired Coast Guard admirals as well as officials from several federal and state agencies, with substantial involvement from representatives from the oil industry, the spill response industry and the environmental community.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/09/us/09spill.html

[HankyDubs]

1. Well this is good news!

It's the Coast Guard's fault! I'm guessing no bonuses for them, right? :sarcasm:

[kickysnana]

2. +1

[freshwest]

8. Got it in one! Note the involvement of the oil industry in assigning blame to government employees.

No conflict of interest there, huh?

Might wanna check the bank accounts of the retired admirals, as well.

No, I'm not gonna be fair. I am sick of this shit.

[Fearless]

3. How much money did this internal review cost taxpayers.

Ask the dolphins next time. They work for fish and not dying from pollution.

[No Elephants]

4. LOL! Please remind me: Who or what WAS prepared for the spill?

If our federal government were effective, Republicans would probably never get more than 15% of the vote.

[FLPanhandle]

5. Hard to be prepared for something that big

However, I'm still pissed at the Coast Guards overall performance during this.

They were nothing but BP's shills during the entire time (and it's not over yet).

The Coast Guard should be ashamed of themselves for what little they did and, even worse, how they obstructed others who were trying to pickup their slack.

Living on the Gulf Coast, I'm still :mad:

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

6. Is it their job to manage uncontrollable oil gushers?

Catch smugglers, rescue hapless boaters, what more do we expect from the Coast Guard during peacetime?

[freshwest]

9. Of course not! BP was doing such a great job at containment, the CG screwed that up.

:sarcasm:

[Turbineguy]

7. Semper Paratus

costs money.