The Associated Press has conducted an exhaustive review of BP’s oil spill response plans and found them riddled with shortcomings:
Under the heading “sensitive biological resources,” the plan lists marine mammals including walruses, sea otters, sea lions and seals. None lives anywhere near the Gulf.
The names and phone numbers of several Texas A&M University marine life specialists are wrong. So are the numbers for marine mammal stranding network offices in Louisiana and Florida, which are no longer in service.
Sen. Bill Nelson told the AP he and Sen. Barbara Boxer have called for a criminal investigation into the company’s claims that it was prepared to handle such a spill.
“The AP report paints a picture of a company that was making it up as it went along, while telling regulators it had the full capability to deal with a major spill,” Nelson said in an e-mail. “We know that wasn’t true.”
Read the whole thing.
