11/15/2007 GAAS:914:07 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version | Email / Share
Governor Schwarzenegger Launches Comprehensive State Investigation into San Francisco Bay Oil Spill
In response to the 58,000 gallon oil spill into the San Francisco Bay on Nov. 7, Governor Schwarzenegger today launched a full state investigation into the causes of the spill.
U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and Governor Schwarzenegger committed to work together in this investigation and find ways to prevent this from happening again. Yesterday, U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein convened a briefing in the U.S. Senate where they raised questions into federal response to the oil spill.
“As we’ve delved into what happened on the Bay that day, we’ve learned that serious mistakes were made in the response to the oil spill. There apparently was a plan in place, but that plan wasn’t followed. It’s critical that the investigations go forward and find out what actually took place. I’m committed to working with Governor Schwarzenegger, Senator Boxer and other state, federal and local leaders to get to the bottom of what happened. We will examine whether the plans are adequate and if we need to change the law to prevent something like this from happening again,” said Senator Feinstein.
“Clearly, something went terribly wrong in the response to this oil spill. It was not handled the way it should have been handled and now our beautiful bay and our wildlife and birds are suffering the consequences. It is going to take time before we know exactly what happened, but I will continue to work closely with Senator Feinstein, the Governor, the Mayor and other officials to ensure that we learn from the mistakes that were made and take action to prevent future incidents. There is so much at stake—the beauty of our bay, our economy, our ecosystem—it’s our job to see that these things are protected,” Senator Boxer said.
Additionally, the Governor sent a letter to state legislative leaders announcing the investigation and calling upon lawmakers to start looking at possible policy changes to prevent this from occurring in the future, similar to what was done during the recent Southern California wildfires.
“Any delays that hamper response and cleanup efforts are completely unacceptable,” Governor Schwarzenegger said. “I am committed to working with Senators Feinstein and Boxer to investigate the full breadth of the incident and get all of the answers. I want to assure all Californians that we will take the appropriate actions to prevent this from ever happening again.”
Governor Schwarzenegger directed his Department of Fish and Game (DFG), Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) and Office of Emergency Services (OES) to conduct an aggressive, coordinated investigation into the causes of and response to the oil spill. He has also offered the state’s full cooperation with any federal investigations regarding this emergency.
The Governor’s investigation will be led by OSPR in coordination with DFG and OES. The investigation will identify civil and criminal liability and review procedures including preparation, response, notification and cleanup; assess natural resource damage and the associated economic impact to fishermen, small businesses and state and local economies; assess environmental damage to water and beaches; identify the best ways to return the environment to its natural state; and identify areas for improvement in response, notification and clean up.
Specifically, the investigation will analyze:
- Operational issues with vessels entering and leaving the San Francisco Bay. Why did this vessel collide with the fender of the Bay Bridge?
- Issues that will be examined include speed limit restriction, tugboat escorts, inclement weather sailing conditions and limits and crew staffing requirements during these conditions.
- Navigational Tools and Vessel Communication. What were the mechanical/human failures?
- Issues that will be examined include all communications and navigational equipment associated with vessel traffic, such as the Vessel Traffic Service System and the Physical Oceanographic Real Time System (PORTS).
- Communication Response. Why were there delays in communications and a failure to properly notify all impacted areas?
- Issues that will be examined include rapid response communication, inter-governmental communications, notifications with local communities and the general public.
- Cleanup and Rapid Response Capabilities; Integrating Volunteers. Were there sufficient and adequate resources available and deployed to properly manage a spill of this magnitude? How can we promptly utilize volunteers, while also ensuring the safety of these individuals?
- Issues that will be examined include how quickly federal, state and local resources were deployed to deal with the spill, how resource needs were determined based upon initial and subsequent assessment of the quantity of oil spilled and how quickly additional resources were notified to handle wildlife and marine life issues.
The attached fact sheet details how state agencies and departments responded immediately to the oil spill and how the state continues to support containment and cleanup efforts in the Bay.
The full text of the letter to state legislative leaders is also attached.
