The U.S. Coast Guard was not prepared and struggled with its crisis communications during last year’s massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to an internal review of the agency’s performance.

 

The report concluded that Coast Guard preparation for environmental disasters had “atrophied over the past decade” before the Deepwater Horizon oil platform exploded and released millions of gallons of oil. In fact, agency personnel hadn’t bothered to familiarize themselves with industry-created oil spill response plans for the Gulf, where 30% of all U.S. domestic oil production takes place.

 

The White House and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also were blamed for the Coast Guard’s struggles, which stemmed in part from multiple layers of involvement from senior administration officials trying to micromanage the crisis, and in particular the release of information to the media and the public. For example, Coast Guard officials “were not authorized to conduct media interviews, hold press conferences or send press releases without prior approval from DHS.”

 

The review was performed by a team of experts that included two retired Coast Guard admirals, officials from several federal and state agencies, and representatives from the oil industry.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Report Says Coast Guard Was Unprepared for Spill (by Campell Robertson and John Collins Rudolf, New York Times)

While Slowing BP Oil Spill, Administration Slowed Flow of Information Too, Claims Coast Guard Report (by Mike Levine, Fox News)

Incident Specific Preparedness Review (U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security) (pdf)