Alabama governor criticizes Coast Guard boom plan, decisions in Gulf oil spill crisis

Ala. governor faults Coast Guard boom plan

MOBILE, Ala. — Alabama Gov. Bob Riley is angry about U.S. Coast Guard decisions he says have left parts of the Gulf Coast vulnerable to pollution from the oil spill.

Riley told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the Coast Guard wrongly decided to remove oil barriers from the Alabama and Mississippi coasts and take them to Louisiana when oil began hitting that state.

The governor says that decision means Alabama and Mississippi are now more vulnerable to the oil that’s beginning to hit their shores.

Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said earlier Wednesday the threat of oil was shifting east and that protective boom was being shipped there. He also says skimmer vessels would be working offshore to intercept as much oil as possible before it hits land.