Should the US Coast Guard Take Over the Deepwater Horizon Response Operation from BP? Canadian vs. U.S. Law

In numerous press reports of late, it has been suggested that the United States Coast Guard take over the Deepwater Horizon response operation in the Gulf of Mexico because of a widespread perception that BP's performance has not been up to scratch. However, the general view appears to be that U.S. law, which makes the polluter the party responsible for cleanup, does not permit this kind of takeover.

Here in Canada, the legal situation is somewhat different. The relevant Canadian oil spill law stipulates that in the case of a marine oil spill incident, although the polluter is in principle responsible for spill cleanup, the Canadian Coast Guard ( CCG ) takes on the role of Federal Monitoring Officer ( FMO ). If the FMO determines at any time that the polluter ( aka the Responsible Party ) is either unwilling or unable to respond to the incident, then the CCG can take over the entire operation. This law was introduced after the Exxon Valdez spill, on the recommendation of a panel I worked for full-time for nine months- the so-called Tanker Safety Panel. It is generally assumed that if an incident similar to the Deepwater Horizon one in nature and scale were to occur anywhere in Canadian waters, Coast Guard would take over the responsibility right away, assuming command, commandeering whatever resources were necessary to combat the spill, and sending the bill to the polluter.

Which spill response regime do you think is better, the Canadian or the American one? Is this something you think the Presidential panel POTUS announced this morning should look into, perhaps? I'd like to know. Feel free to comment below in the space below.