Dec 4, 2007 2:57 pm US/Pacific
Pelosi Wants Probe Of SF Bay Oil Spill Response
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ―
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote to the Homeland Security Department's inspector general Tuesday requesting an investigation of preparation for and response to last month's oil spill in the San Francisco Bay.
The San Francisco Democrat outlined more than a dozen issues she wants Inspector General Richard Skinner to examine related to the Nov. 7 incident in which the cargo ship Cosco Busan collided with a support of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in dense fog, spilling 58,000 gallons of toxic fuel.
Among them:
_Should the Coast Guard's Vessel Traffic Service have additional authority over ship movements in the San Francisco Bay? Presently, the VTS plays a mostly advisory role.
_Did the hours-long delay in notifying the public about the magnitude of the spill adversely impact the response? The morning of the spill local officials were told it was 140 gallons; hours passed before they learned it was many times that.
_Was drug and alcohol testing conducted according to Coast Guard regulations? The agency has said that some of the crew were tested outside of legal time limits.
Pelosi wants Skinner to brief her on his findings by Feb. 1 and follow up with a written report 60 days later. She signed her letter jointly with Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., who chairs a congressional subcommittee on the Coast Guard and maritime transportation that held a hearing on the spill last month.
Skinner's spokeswoman, Tamara Faulkner, said the inspector general's office was reviewing the letter and had no immediate comment.
Other investigations are already under way, including one by the National Transportation Safety Board and a criminal probe by the Justice Department.
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