Answers Sought After Oil Spill Lowball
The Coast Guard first reported just 140 gallons of oil had leaked into S.F. bay.
Nov. 10, 2007— -- More than 58,000 gallons of oil, unleashed Wednesday morning when the tanker Cosco Busan collided with the Bay Bridge, continued to interrupt marine life and leisure activities in San Francisco on Saturday.
As of Saturday afternoon, a crew of 500 people, 11 oil skimmers, and a 38,000 foot boom, deployed to soak up the spill, had removed 20,500 gallons of oil and water from the Bay.
The Coast Guard has also enlisted 40 vessels belonging to volunteer fisherman in order stage to operation. The damaged oil tanker, which was leaving the San Francisco Bay in a shroud of thick fog when it struck the bridge, was removed from the scene and is currently moored in Oakland.
In spite of some progress in scrubbing the infected water, the city announced new closures and is still coping with the fallout of the spill, which shut down 20 beaches and jettisoned the swim competition of the annual Treasure Island Triathlon. Authorities are still investigating what caused the ruinous accident.
On the fourth day of clean-up, Coast Guard investigators were focusing on the possibility that a lapse in communication is to blame for the tanker's failure to avoid contact with the base of a Bay Bridge tower. The morning weather was responsible for poor visibility, but would not necessarily have been the cause because the ship is equipped with radar and a Global Positioning System, among other instruments that would facilitate navigation in foggy conditions.
Coast Guard personnel recorded the accident as early as 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, initially reporting that the tanker had leaked just 140 gallons.
Twelve hours later, they corrected that number, reporting that, in fact, 58,000 gallons of oil had escaped the Cosco Basan.
The spill is significantly larger than the last notable accident, which sent 40,000 gallons of oil into Northern California waters in 1996.
Coast Guard Capt. William Uberti, captain of the Port of San Francisco, doesn't believe a delay in reporting the severity of the incident to the public caused clean-up crews to lose ground. "We mobilized as if it was a big spill right away," said Uberti.
But San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom disagrees. "We would have responded differently if we had accurate information from the get-go," said Nathan Ballard, a spokesman for Mayor Gavin Newsom.
U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen will travel to San Francisco to tour the accident in person Sunday, in advance of Nancy Pelosi, who is scheduled to visit Monday.
"The oil spill in San Francisco Bay is a cause for grave concern by all who value the resources of our marvelous Bay and Pacific coastline," Pelosi said.
In a letter to Allen, U.S. Sen. Babara Boxer also expressed concern over the tardy delivery of accurate information about the hazardous collision. "Many questions remain as to why it took an entire day to determine the gravity of this spill," she wrote.
The Coast Guards delay in providing an accurate picture of the extent of the spill has riled California legislators, and politicians are promising an independent investigation and legal action if the inquiry produces evidence of negligence.
California Department of Fish and Game is also investigating the spill. Wildlife specialists aided by two hundred volunteers have received 94 live birds to clean at a rescue center in Cordelia. An additional 250 volunteers are being trained to care for the sick birds.
So far the spill has killed 24 birds. The discovery of dead and sick wildlife is expected to stretch out over the next several weeks. Water fowl die when their oil-coated feathers prevent them from swimming and staying warm.
"It's really bad," said California State Parks biologist, Cyndy Shafer. "We won't know for, for a while the full impact of the oil spill."
Shafer says the numbers of tainted birds will grow because migration patterns cause their populations in the area to peak this time of year. The majority of infected birds are surf scoters.
Patty Donald of the University of California at Berkeley's Shorebird Nature Center reported seeing oil onshore oil patches as large as a man hole in affected areas.
"It makes me really, deeply sad that one person's mistake can have such an impact on so many animals," Donald said.