That's the reason that I have been more visible perhaps on this. Kelso believes Exxon is on the ropes now, and he is pressing. He wants Exxon to work in the Sound through the winter. He wants the company to pick up next spring where it left off this year. He swears he won't back off until the company fulfills its responsibility to clean up the mess completely.
Scientists believe that position is naive.
By the dozens, oil spill experts have said the equipment and technology simply don't exist for Exxon to do more than a superficial cleanup, which is a lot less than will satisfy Kelso. He wants more done even though there is a growing debate about if more cleanup work will also mean more environmental damage. Don't forget, Bishop said, that it was an overdose of inattention and complacency on the parts of many people, including the agency Kelso runs that led to North America's largest oil spill. It happened when the DEC, at the urging of environmental groups and with Kelso's blessing, focused most of its attention on ensuring that Alaskans have safe drinking water, that placer mines no longer fill streams with silt, and that hazardous waste sites from leaking gasoline storage tanks to dumped PCBs are cleaned up. Kelso says his agency didn't overlook the dangers of an oil spill, but Ayers said Kelso has said privately, in passing, that he felt ambushed by the spill.