Lawmakers grill admiral over oil spill

Lawmakers grill admiral over oil spill
By Scott Lindlaw - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Nov 20, 2007 10:23:03 EST

SAN FRANCISCO — Members of Congress demanded answers Monday on the Coast Guard's response to an oil spill that dumped 58,000 gallons of toxic fuel into San Francisco Bay, but the lawmakers left unsatisfied and pledged to open another federal investigation.

A high-ranking admiral countered that the blame rested squarely with the operators of the container ship that rammed a tower of San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on Nov. 7. The collision opened a gash in the vessel's hull, leaking the fuel that spread inside and outside the Golden Gate, contaminating miles of coastline and killing hundreds of birds.

“Something tragic must have taken place onboard the ship,” Coast Guard Rear Adm. Craig Bone said. If the pilot and master “had carried out their responsibilities, we wouldn't be sitting here today.”

In a three-hour congressional field hearing within sight of the bay, 10 lawmakers took turns grilling Bone about why the service did not do more to warn the Cosco Busan it was in trouble, why it waited hours to inform city officials of the spill, and why it did not press fishermen and volunteers into service sooner.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the chairman of the subcommittee that convened the hearing, said the Coast Guard's responses left him wanting.

“Something is missing,” Cummings said. “We've got to find out what it is that is missing. It's not just about San Francisco. This is about our country, and this is about making sure this type of thing doesn't happen again.”


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/11/ap_cgoilspill_071120/