Those on the front lines of the U.S. Gulf Coast oil spill say they are forced to fight two battles -- one against the crude washing into lush wetlands and another against needless bureaucracy, according to Reuters. Sixty-one days after the BP Plc well began spewing crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, angry local officials blame dozens of federal agencies involved in approving response plans, a maze of regulations and poor coordination for their struggles beating back the slick. "My experience has been frustration, too much red tape, no a sense of urgency. For the state and the coastal parishes that are directly affected to put forth a plan, you have to kick and scream every step of the way to get it approved," said John Young, council chairman for Jefferson Parish in Louisiana. "The president said it's a war. I agree we're under siege, but if it was a war, we'd be occupied territory now." It is time for President Barack Obama's administration to appoint an "oil spill czar" to streamline operations for the 31,000 people fighting the worst spill in U.S. history and avoid the costly delays, Young said as he prepared to board a boat to tour his region's fouled wetlands. As a guide, many point to the arrival of U.S. Army General Russel Honore in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The tough-talking military man was credited with taking control and kick-starting the city's stalled rescue mission in the weeks after the storm. Last week, the U.S. Coast Guard shut down 16 vacuum barges that were sucking up crude from Louisiana marshes. The units, which consist of trucks and tanks on barges that suck up thousands of gallons of crude, needed to be checked for stability and if they had life jackets and fire extinguishers. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal had asked officials to inspect them quickly without bringing them back to dock. But the units sat idle for 24 hours before being allowed to travel back to oil-fouled Barataria Bay, Bay Jimmy and Pass A Loutre. After 24 hours, the barges went back to work, and according to media reports, no inspections were performed. On Friday, the Coast Guard shut down two more barges, prompting Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser to make an angry call the the White House, which ordered them back into operation, his office said. Meanwhile, the oil keeps gushing into the Gulf at a rate now estimated as high as 60,000 barrels a day. "NO STREAMLINED SYSTEM" Jindal has blasted a lack of coordination between federal departments overseeing the fight and state and local officials waging it. "It is frustrating because it doesn't seem like the left hand knows what the right hand is doing," he said recently. "There is no streamlined system here. This is why we keep stressing that we need to see more of a sense of urgency from the Coast Guard, federal officials and BP." For its part, the Coast Guard said it supported the barge project, but had to ensure their safety. The incidents followed a weeks-long effort by state and local officials to have a plan approved to construct sand berms to protect barrier islands from encroaching oil, an effort that is expected to cost $360 million. Young said he supported a military-style chain of command where someone at the top has the power the make quick decisions putting response plans into action and making sure that crews have the equipment they need. "Absolutely -- one person. Maybe they need an escrow account for that. Get one military person who knows the chain of command to get things done, because this is a war-type situation," Young said. "We can't be deciding and executing by committee because it's just not getting done."
