Scientists and environmentalists are criticizing a presidential decree issued last month that creates a contingency plan for responding to major oil spills, calling the initiative vague, tardy and politically opportunistic. The decree, issued by President Dilma Rousseff on Oct. 22, classifies a major spill as one requiring action by government agencies because it overwhelms the containment and cleanup efforts of the company that caused it. The decree delegates responsibility for major-oil-spill response to the National Oil Agency (ANP) in the case of offshore drilling rigs or oil production platforms; the Navy in the case of marine spills not caused by rigs or platforms, such as refinery spills into bays; and Ibama, the enforcement arm of the Environment Ministry, in the case of onshore... [Log in to read more]