The gulf oil crisis raises several distinct problems. There's clearly a problem with regulating the drilling, that the government has to solve before another well gets drilled. There's clearly a problem of an out-of-control wellhead that only a few drilling professionals have the tools and knowledge to plug. But there's one more problem, which is NOT a "never seen before" problem: a massive oil spill.
We had one in Valdez. There was one in the gulf 30 years ago. There was a small one a few years ago in SF bay. Oil spills in water are not rare. And they obviously don't just come from mismanaged drilling. They come from mismanaged ships. They come from collisions. And they could even come from an act of terrorism. The only thing different about this one is the size.
So what do we do when the oil hits the water? We need treat it like the invasion of a foreign enemy, 'cuz that's what it is. We need a government agency that is ready to go to work the day the next spill happens. We need a fire department for oil spills. We clearly don't have one.
A clean-up operation should have been initiated within 48 hours of the rig collapse, using plans already worked out. I don't think it has squat to do with whether it's a BP oil well or a Exxon ship wreck or a big crack in the ground that starts leaking. It's an invasion. THIS IS WAR.
Like any other war, this one needs a "general" in charge. This is one time even the Republicans would probably agree we need a czar. Let's call him Mr. Clean.
Mr. Clean immediately dispatches resources to the site. We should have skimmer boats strategically placed around the country, just like we have fire stations strategically placed. And once an incident begins, first responders should be in place in 24 hours and within a week we should be able to gather resources from everywhere in the country. THIS IS WAR.
Mr. Clean names his lieutenants. Oil spills can rapidly invade a huge amount of coastline. Management needs to be geographically dispersed so decisions can be made by people who can see with their own eyes what's needed. It is absurd to have a long chain of command. THIS IS WAR.
Mr. Clean gets stuff. If his lieutenants need more skimmers and booms, he gets them. If they need anti-dispersants, he gets it and the planes to deliver it. If they need sham-wows, he gets them. If he needs something sitting in Wal-mart warehouses, he gets the entire distribution resources of Wal-mart at his disposal.
Mr. Clean gets human resources for the lieutenants to put to work. It can be National Guard, fishermen, college students, unemployed real estate agents, or prisoners. THIS IS WAR.
All of this should be worked out in advance as part of a Federal Emergency Management Plan. I've heard one referred to as part of the gulf crisis, but it was clearly started too late, over-centralized, and not very effective. In any event, the clean-up effort needs to be completely separated from anything else. I'm tired of hearing about how the government doesn't have rovers and can't plug the leak. Well, that has nothing to do with the lack of booms, lack of skimmers, lack of people containing this tragedy. And it has nothing to do with the government's lack of knowledge about dispersants.
We need a Department of Oil Cleanup. I want them to be the best in the world at getting oil out of water before it kills everything. I want them to do research and develop new technology. I want them to have assets at their disposal. I want them to have management plans worked out and ready to go on a day's notice. This is way more important to National Security than a second engine for some jet or unworkable missile defense system.