A defense of the government response to the oil spill:

I have to send you this anonymously because I’m a mid level government
guy “on the inside” operating in the real world of men and machines.
I am also no fan of the Obama Administration, and while I normally
enjoy it when he catches grief, in this instance the criticism is
undeserved.
The federal and industry response to this disaster was appropriate and
timely. What you heard on FNS from the senior officials was completely
accurate. We (BP and the CG and MMS and NOAA) knew from the first day
the disaterous potential of this thing and began to respond
immediately with an appropriately huge amount of resources. As the
problem unfolded, we threw more and more resources at it.
Most people cannot appreciate the technical challenges and daily
miracles of deepwater drilling and production. It is in many respects
more difficult than manned spaceflight or planetary exploration. It’s
an endeavor on the very leading edge of human capability, and when
things go wrong, our capabilities are severely tested.
I wish the collective psyche of America would frame this as an Apollo
13 moment instead of an Exxon Valdez moment, but I know that will
never happen.
Sadly, the ignorance about drilling is matched by an ignorance about
oil spill response and cleanup. The average American does not
understand oil spill response and the oil spill liabilty and
compensation regime in this country.
Unlike the rest of the world, the US system is based on polluters
cleaning up their own messes, with government oversight. This system
has worked well in the years since the Exxon Valdez spill. OPA 90 is
one of the best pieces of legislation ever passed by our hapless
Congress. The number, frequency, and gallons of oil spilled in the US
has dropped dramatically over the last 20 years because of this law.
I also note with some dismay that there appears to be a nationwide
misconception that DOD always has a silver bullet for every sort of
contingency. That is simply not true in the world of oil spills. The
nation’s expertise for managing oil spill respose lies (in order) with
the CG, industry experts like the Obrien’s Group and MSRC, the EPA,
and NOAA.
The Department of Defense has “some” expertise, but nothing even close
to that of the USCG or industry responders. In fact, when the USS Port
Royal ran aground off of Honolulu in February of 2009, the Navy’s
Pacific Command had no clue as to how to manage the environmental
threat. CG Sector Honolulu, NOAA and industry contractor Marine Spill
Response Corporation handled that problem for the Navy.
With respect to the Air Force C-130s that are assisting with the
response, yes they are helpful assets — but they are simply augmenting
the industry aerial dispersant delivery assets that are always on
standby 24/7. The Air Force contribution is analogous to an Air Force
base loaning it’s fire trucks to help deal with a wildfire…they would
certainly be helpful, but not a game-changing silver bullet or magic
pill. They are simply a very capable dispersant delivery system.
The DOD is not going to be the group that “saves the day” on this.
Please carefully read the NOAA report I’m pasting/leaking below. It
shows that everyone involved (CG/NOAA/MMS/BP) knew of the potential
for disaster from the very beginning. Please trust me when I tell you
that those of us at the pointy end of the spear were going
balls-to-the- wall on this thing from day one, and we weren’t sitting
around waiting for “help” or “direction” or “leadership” from the
President or Secretary Napolitano.
We were working the problem.
JT
DEEPWATER HORIZON Incident, Gulf of Mexico
Subject Evening Report, 21 April 2010 2000 hrs
From *********@noaa.gov
Date Apr-21-2010 08:01 PM
Category Situation Reports
ID Incident #8220, Entry #****** Entry is PRIVATE.
The Deepwater Horizon is on fire and continues to burn, and the vessel (a
very large semisubmersible) is reported listing roughly 15 degrees and is
severely damaged to the point that the stability of the vessel had been
questioned.
Firefighting efforts have been scaled back because of a fear that the water
applied is actual contributing to the list. The vessel remains on-location
only because the riser that connects to the seafloor wellhead is acting as a
mmooring.
The regional NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator has deployed on-scene to
the USCG Command Post at Marine Safety Unit Morgan City. The RP’s Command
Post has been established at the Crisis Management Center at BP’s Houston
Office. The Regional Assistant Scientific Support Coordinator will deploy
on-scene to that location in the morning. Of the 126 crew reported aboard
the Deepwater Horizon,
115 have been accounted for (11 crew members remain missing). USCG SAR
operations are continuing, and all hope that they will be found (our
thoughts and prayers go out to the families). The effort to save lives is
the primary response priority.
There is a wild well release. The volume or rate of the release is unknown,
but thought to be significant. The USCG has requested a best guess estimate
from the RP (and I would not be surprised if that value is in the 10-20K
bbl/day range, the SSC’s best guess estimated based only on past
experiences). This was a new well that was undergoing a temporary plug and
abandonment for future production. Most of the oil is burning at the
platform generating 300 to 400 foot flames, intense heat, and black smoke.
There was oil pollution reported in the water, and the extent of the slick
was largely undelineated. Some reports suggested a slick 2 miles in length
(better overflight reporting has been identified as a priority for
tomorrow’s environmental operations). NOAA has updated the trajectory
analysis. Should there be a significant release of oil on water, the
trajectory suggests that the Northern GOM coast would be at risk, but it
would take more than three days for oil to threaten the shorelines and the
weather forecast and oceanographic currents could change. The amount of
diesel on the vessel was updated to only 700,000 gallons earlier in the day,
and what fraction of this that may have burned is also unknown. The RP has
a wide range of on-water pollution response vessel in route or already
on-scene including MSRC Response Vessels and CGA HOSS Barge skimming system.
Dispersant assets have also been restaged.
The RP is working to attempt a shut in of the well at the seafloor using a
ROV to activate the Blowout Prevention System. Two attempts earlier in the
even have failed. It is believed that crew members had activated this
system before evacuation, but there was no affect either. A third attempt
is planned for later in the night. Controlling the source of the release is
the most important operation outside of the SAR effort. Should the
semisubmersible sink or detach from the riser, it is likely that the fire
mitigation would be lost. A major oil spill would be the expected result.
Failure to shut in the well using the control system at the seafloor would
potentially create a continued release of crude oil until a relief well
could be drill (a time period characterized as several weeks). There is a
strengthening of winds and sea state predicted by Friday evening. Such
weather would put even greater stress of both the vessel and the riser.
This third attempt to shut in the well tonight is critical with respect to
preventing a major oil spill event.
NOAA has preidentified additional response personnel to support the USCG.
If the well is not secured tonight, it is likely that NOAA’s on-scene
presence will ramp up to be in a better response posture should (or more
likely when) the semisubmersible disconnects from the riser or seafloor
connection resulting in a, most likely, major oil pollution release. It has
been a long day. The situation status will be updated after the morning
brief.