The Need to Strengthen State and Local Involvement

The response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster showed that state and local elected officials had not been adequately involved in oil spill contingency planning, though career responders in state government had participated extensively in such planning. Before the Deepwater Horizon spill, state and local elected officials were not regular participants in Area Committee meetings or familiar with local Area Contingency Plans. The Coast Guard and Area Committee member agencies had done little to reach out to state and local elected officials. These state and local officials were more familiar with hurricane response under the Stafford Act, in which the federal government provides funding and supports state and local governments, but does not control emergency response operations. As a result, state and local political officials had incorrect expectations about their roles. They understandably wanted to be responsive to citizens who were concerned about the spill and, regardless of the official response plans, sought state and local governmental assistance.

Unfamiliarity with, and lack of trust in, the federal response manifested itself in competing state structures and attempts to control response operations that undercut the efficiency of the response overall. Federal responders improved their relationship with state and local officials as the response progressed—but had better coordination and communication existed sooner, that relationship could have been more productive in the early days of the spill response. Moreover, increased citizen involvement before a spill occurs could create better mechanisms to utilize local citizens in response efforts, provide an additional layer of review to prevent industry and government complacency, and increase public trust in response operations.

Recommendation C3: EPA and the Coast Guard should bolster state and local involvement in oil spill contingency planning and training and create a mechanism for local involvement in spill planning and response similar to the Regional Citizens' Advisory Councils mandated by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

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¶EPA and the Coast Guard, as the chair and vice-chair of the National Response Team, should issue policies and guidance for increased state and local involvement in oil spill contingency planning and training. This guidance should provide protocols to:

Include local officials from areas at high risk for oil spills in training exercises.
Establish liaisons between the Unified Command and affected local communities at the outset of a spill response.
Add a local on-scene coordinator position to the Unified Command structure.
Provide additional clarification and guidance to federal, state, and local officials on the differences between emergency response under the Stafford Act and under the National Contingency Plan.

¶In addition, a mechanism should be created for ongoing local involvement in spill planning and response in the Gulf. In the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, Congress mandated citizens' councils for Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet. In the Gulf, such a council should broadly represent the citizens' interests in the area, such as fishing and tourism, and possibly include representation from oil and gas workers as ex-officio, non-voting members. The citizens' group could be funded by Gulf lease holders. The Commission further recommends that federal regulators be required to consult with the council on relevant issues, that operators provide the council with access to records and other information, and that entities (either in industry or in government) declining the council's advice submit their reasons to the council in writing.