The real Gulf problem

Friday, May 28, 2010 | 2:01 a.m.

Critics have targeted the federal government’s response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, saying it should be doing more to stop the flow from BP America’s blown-out well.

That criticism comes amid a recent chorus in Washington that is driven by frustration. The well has been gushing out of control for weeks, and crude oil has been coating marine animals and the shore. Some members of Congress have suggested that the military be called in to take over if the “top kill” — an attempt to stop the spill by filling the well with drilling mud — doesn’t work.

Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, who is leading the federal government’s response to the spill, was asked this week why it hasn’t removed BP from leading the effort to stop the gushing well. A few days before, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said if BP wasn’t taking appropriate steps, the government would “push them out of the way.”

“To push BP out of the way would raise a question: to replace them with what?” Allen said.

He noted that the federal government doesn’t have the experience or expertise that BP does in dealing with underwater wellheads. As well, he said the government has “veto authority” over BP’s actions and said he can issue orders that have the effect of law. He also noted that BP is responsible for cleaning up the spill and that the government would make sure it is done.

The government has been engaged on several fronts, from Salazar ordering the inspections of other offshore oil platforms to President Barack Obama appointing Energy Secretary Steven Chu to head up a team of top-notch scientists to advise the effort.

The reality is that there is little the government can do beyond what it is doing: coordinating the cleanup and holding BP accountable. It’s not as if the government is sitting on technology to simply plug the well 5,000 feet below the ocean’s surface. It’s never been done.

Still, the public is angry, with a recent poll showing that 6 in 10 people say the government has done a poor job handling the spill. And Republicans have been trying to exploit this to damage Obama politically, which is ironic considering how hard they have been trying to protect the oil industry for decades.

People’s anger that the government isn’t doing more is misplaced. The real problem is that the government’s action is coming after the oil spill. As we have noted before, the Minerals Management Service, which oversees offshore oil drilling, took BP’s word that a blowout like this was unthinkable, and even if it happened, there were supposedly surefire ways to stop it.

It is not a surprise that the Minerals Management Service signed off on plans for this well, as it was tightly connected to the oil industry and carried with it the Bush administration’s laissez-faire attitude. Under the Bush administration, the government abdicated its regulatory responsibility.

Oil companies complained about the cost of regulation, so they were allowed largely to police themselves, and in the meantime they made astronomical profits.

Although it is vitally important that the well be plugged and the spill be cleaned up, the nation can’t lose sight of the real cause of the spill — the lack of regulation and oversight. As the country moves forward, more time should be spent on finding ways to prevent spills from ever happening.