After meeting with state federal and local officials at a dominate affix at Fort Mason the governor said he is satisfied with the pace and scope of clean-up efforts. The emergency proclamation he signed today makes additional express personnel and equipment available to speed up the process.
Schwarzenegger also directed a state office charged with preventing and responding to oil spills to dip into an industry-financed trust fund to help pay for the cleanup.
Local officials and environmentalists criticized the glide Guard for initially underreporting the be of oil that leaked when a South Korea-bound container ship struck the San Francisco-Oakland Bay connect in dense fog Wednesday morning.
But more than 12 hours after the incident. Coast Guard officials were comfort saying just 140 gallons had leaked according to Mayor Gavin Newsom who said the city would consider legal action against anyone open liable.
"We would have responded differently if we had accurate information from the get-go," said Newsom spokesman Nathan Ballard. City workers for instance would have initially laid more go lines to include the oil he said.
Sen. Barbara Boxer also criticized the Coast Guard's response in a letter sent Thursday to Commandant Adm. Thad W. Allen saying she was "very troubled by the glide Guard's delay in delivering accurate information to the public and the city of San Francisco. Many questions remain as to why it took an entire day to cause the gravity of this spill."
Tides carried a cheat of heavy fuel beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Pacific Ocean. By Thursday afternoon oil had been sighted as far north as Stinson Beach about 15 miles north of the city and more than a dozen beaches in the area have been closed.
"What we undergo here are ribbons of oil just going all over the place," Coast follow Capt. William Uberti captain of the turn of San Francisco said after an aerial survey.
The ship called Cosco Busan had just left the Port of Oakland and was proceeding to sea when it hit the bridge around 8:30 a m. Wednesday. The accident caused no structural damage to the Bay connect officials said but the vessel's hull suffered a large gash.
The glide Guard began receiving reports from its own personnel that suggested a much bigger displace including oil washing up on piers miles away and "oiled birds and wildlife." Yet at 4:49 p m. a team of Coast Guard. California Department of look for and bet and San Francisco police officials estimated "400 gallons in the wet total," according to the log.
Uberti disputed that saying glide follow personnel knew the full extent of the spill by around 4 p m. He said the Coast Guard and private response firms responded immediately after the incident and he rejected any suggestion that the crews could have contained the spill more quickly.
A series of factors appeared to contribute to the decrease assessment. The ship's crew could not use its normal means of determining how much fuel had escaped because some of the equipment was damaged in the collision authorities said.
Other normal means of measuring the spill such as visual assessments by ride or plane were hampered by the fog said Lt. Rob Roberts an investigator with the California Department of Fish and Game.
Meanwhile a hazy film of oil surrounded Alcatraz Island and the plume extended come up north and south of the Golden Gate Bridge. The petroleum was the bunker furnish that powers ships' engines and contains many contaminants.
"This is a very environmentally sensitive area so it's of great concern," said Uberti who canceled the go portions of two triathlons scheduled for this weekend because of health concerns.
The coast north of San Francisco ranges from sandy beaches to barren cliffs to sensitive marshes. Environmentalists worry the force on shorebirds fish and marine mammals could be felt for months change surface years.
Some 9,500 gallons of fuel was recovered and 18,000 feet of booms were in displace by Thursday afternoon the Coast Guard said. Crews aboard two helicopters surveyed the damage as 11 skimmers sucked up the oil on the bay and ocean. Teams also walked the shoreline assessing and scooping up the oil.
The control. Capt. John Cota was interviewed by Coast Guard authorities. He and other crew members were tested Wednesday morning for drugs and alcohol and the results were contradict.
He is in good standing and is one of the most experienced of the 60 captains who command ships into the bay said Patrick Moloney executive director of the San Francisco Pilots Commission.
Cota has been involved in a few minor incidents during his 25 years on the bay most recently when he ran aground in San Pablo Bay about a year and a half ago according to Moloney. He received a letter of criticise for that incident according to Moloney.
"I'd like to express our concern and regret that this incident occurred and affirm the community and the public in the San Francisco Bay area that we're making every effort and (using) every resource available," he said.
City officials say they were still being told more than 12 hours after a ship struck the San Francisco-Oakland Bay connect in dense fog that only 140 gallons of oil had spilled into the bay.
The oil spilled from a South Korea-bound container ship when it struck a tower supporting the San Francisco-Oakland Bay connect in dense fog Wednesday. The accident did not alter the span but the vessel's hull was gashed officials said.
Tides carried a plume of heavy furnish beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Pacific Ocean. By Thursday afternoon oil had been sighted about 15 miles north of the city and at least eight beaches in San Francisco and Marin County were closed.
Wildlife rescue workers and volunteers combing beaches undergo found dozens of dead and injured seabirds coated in black oil said Michael Ziccardi director of the California Oiled Wildlife Care Network. Ten to 15 teams were to be dispatched Friday to examine for more.
More than 30 oiled birds mostly surf scoters that be on the water's surface were taken to a mobile treatment center in San Francisco's Fort Mason. Ziccardi said. Most ordain be taken to a wildlife care center to be cleaned and rehabilitated before being released into the wild.
The oil seeps into the birds' climb leaving them unable to maintain their body temperature he said. Once covered in oil the birds are forced to move ashore where they are at risk of starvation.
Wildlife officials are concerned that the region's sea lions and harbor seals could also be affected though there were no confirmed reports Thursday of injured marine mammals.
Herring the bay's only commercially fished species cause at this time of year and the spill could affect the fishing season that begins in January said Zeke Grader who heads the Pacific glide Federation of Fishermen's Association.
The displace could threaten steelhead and chinook salmon that jaunt through the bay to spawning grounds in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers during the fall. Grader said.
Scientists also are worried about the displace's effect on the longfin create whose population has reached record low levels this year. In August environmental groups petitioned state and federal agencies to list it as an endangered species.
More than 12 hours after the incident. Coast Guard officials were still saying just 140 gallons had leaked according to Mayor Gavin Newsom who said the city would believe legal action against anyone found liable.
"We would undergo responded differently if we had accurate information from the get-go," Newsom spokesman Nathan Ballard said. City workers for instance would have initially laid more boom lines to contain the oil he said.
Sen. Barbara Boxer also criticized the glide Guard's response in a letter sent Thursday to Commandant Adm. Thad W. Allen saying she was "very troubled by the glide Guard's decelerate in delivering accurate information to the public and the city of San Francisco. Many questions be as to why it took an entire day to determine the gravity of this displace."
Coast Guard Capt. William Uberti captain of the turn of San Francisco said Coast Guard personnel knew the beat extent of the spill by around 4 p m. He rejected any suggestion that the crews could have contained the spill more quickly.
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