Nov 19, 2007 1:20 am US/Pacific
Environment Group Questions Bay Oil Recovery Stats
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ―
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Fuel washes ashore at Fort Baker near Sausalito.
AP
The U.S. Coast Guard said over the weekend that 17,000 gallons of oil have been recovered from the recent 58,000 gallon spill in San Francisco Bay, but the local environmental group Baykeeper believes those numbers are exaggerated.
Important Phone Numbers:
To volunteer -- 800-228-4544
To report new oil sightings -- 415-398-9617
To report oiled wildlife – 415-701-2311
To file insurance claims – 866-442-9650Deb Self of Baykeeper told CBS 5 on Sunday that the government is trying to make it seem like they're making more progress than they actually are because "it's PR time." Self believes The O'Brien Group - the independent contractor representing the owners of the Cosco Busan ship which spilled the oil - is involved with misrepresenting the numbers so they won't have to spend so much money cleaning the spill up. Carlos Fonseca, of the California Department of Fish and Game's Office of Oil Prevention and Response, said the numbers are accurate and that the O'Brien Group is not involved in measuring the spill. The Department of Fish and Game does all the measuring through a process that involves segregating debris from recovered oil, said Fonseca. "The oil is skimmed, taken to a staging area, then placed into big tanks where we sort out [oil from] debris and sand," said Fonseca. Fonseca said Pier 96 in San Francisco is one of the main staging areas where oil is being sorted.
The questions about whether the Coast Guard's oil recovery numbers are accurate is the latest instance where the Guard has faced accusations during the spill saga.
The Coast Guard has been criticized for a lapse of several hours between when officials knew the spill was 58,000 gallons -- not 140 gallons as initially reported -- and when that information was made public.
Coast Guard officials acknowledged errors in communications with local officials, but insisted the Guard responded urgently to the spill.
The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating whether the Coast Guard should have done more to help guide the container ship through the bay on the foggy Nov. 7 morning when it struck a Bay Bridge tower triggering the spill. Investigators disclosed the vessel wasn't warned moments before it crashed.
But a Coast Guard spokesman defended the agency saying its' radars could not have clearly shown the cargo ship was dangerously close to the Bay Bridge.
Capt. Jim McPherson said the Coast Guard's Vessel Traffic Service had radioed the Cosco Busan's pilot to question his course, but had not advised him the ship was in trouble.
The VTS questioned the ship's course and intentions three times prior to the collision, according to another federal official with knowledge of the investigation.
According to McPherson, radar at the VTS operates on a 12-mile scale and does not have the level of detail to show the protective fenders on the bridge supports like the one sideswiped by the Cosco Busan.
"The resolution on the radar is such that you can't tell with certainty it's going to occur," McPherson said. "We had no way of knowing, on the type of scale it is."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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