It was something Fishgrease said, of course. Why weren't the coastal towns armed in advance for spills? Where was the preparedness? The throwaway comment hit me between the eyes, however; why don't towns and parishes that are under threat by oil have Volunteer Boom Departments, in the same way my town has a Volunteer Fire Department (VFD)?
The idea has been percolating in my head for about a week, and this morning I had a conversation with Bennie Long, my town's fire chief. Working from what she told me, in answer to my questions, and my own informal thoughts, I decided to write a diary and find out whether the idea is possible through feedback from the rest of Kos. I am grateful to the crew and all my fellow travelers on the Oilpocalypse Liveblog Mothership whose newborn friendship gave me the courage to publish this.
I live in landlocked Lincoln, New Mexico, 5700 feet above sea level, in a town whose population is between 50 and 60 humans and lots of domestic animals. It's a tourist town; in fact, the whole town is a state monument with at least a dozen listed buildings. Too small to incorporate, Lincoln is administered in part by the County Commission and effectively managed by the Department of Cultural Affairs, State Monuments Division. Furthermore, it is surrounded by land that is managed by the BLM, so what happens to Lincoln concerns government on local, state and federal levels.
We have a volunteer fire department. There's a fire house and a couple of trucks, lots of equipment, a free water supply from Lincoln's (all volunteer) Municipal Water Board, and a training schedule. The Lincoln Fire Department liaises with other rural VFDs and participates in periodic training meetings at the county and state level. There are procedures that Bennie called automated aid (AA) and mutual aid (MA) that spell out in advance how VFDs in the area will respond and work together in the event of fire.
Historic Lincoln is situated in a narrow valley swept almost constantly by west winds. If you google-earth Lincoln, New Mexico and stand off at 27 km you'll see what I mean. We're at the mercy of teh stupid, the tourist --or local -- who flicks a cigarette butt out the window, into a weed-choked, bone-dry ditch. Or a lightning strike from a dry thunderstorm. Nearby Capitan is, in fact, the home of the original Smokey Bear.
Bennie says that the existence of the Lincoln VFD was mandated by the county and that it receives a yearly allocation from the State Marshall's Fund. Additionally she receives a newsletter which lists approved sources of grants that she can apply for, at local, state and federal level. It's all extremely organized, even though there may never ever be another fire, and, if you believe that, we can hold a second coronation for Kimberley.
I've spelled all this out to show how the system works at the grassy root. Why can't something like this by put into operation on the Gulf coast? Fishgrease says you don't need to boom the Whole Fucking Gulf, just the vulnerable bits, the marshes, the oyster beds, the inlets. Set up volunteer boom departments. Give them boom in advance, enough to handle their geographic area of responsibility. Give them regular, periodic training. Draw up contingency plans. Figure out in advance how the boom from Town A, Parish B will marry the boom from Town X, Parish Y. Knowing nothing about booming except what I've learned here, I have no idea what further equipment is involved -- do you need dedicated boomboats? -- but more experienced hands can answer those questions.
Above all, don't let Them tell you that there will never ever be another oil spill.
How do you pay for it? I've very briefly mentioned where money comes from for volunteer fire departments, and one presumes those coffers are filled at least partly with tax dollars. Wouldn't it make sense to levy the oil companies in the region, like any company with a rig in the Gulf, to set up VBD's? I'm not certain about this, but I don't think I have ever heard any local (and the locals here are very, very red) wonder where the money came from to fund the fire department. I think this is because it's so plain how the VFD protects those red ranchers' interests.
And that, as John Cleese once said, is my idea. Thin at the ends and fat in the middle. But is it feasible?