A lack of legislation and regulations cause government to follow instead of lead.

Open thread for night owls: Dearth of official inspectors pushes volunteers to report oil spills (Click on this heading to read more)

Rss@dailykos.com (meteor Blades)
Sunday, January 26, 2014, 11:23 pm
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At The Lens, Bob Marshall writes Volunteers use airborne patrols, satellite photos to spot oil spills along Louisiana coast:
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In the last three years, after 200 surveys by air, boat and foot, Henderson has made hundreds of oil pollution reports as part of the Gulf Monitoring Consortium. In what has developed into an almost 24/7 effort, members use private boats, planes and even satellite imagery to spot and evaluate insults to Louisiana's coastal environment-all at no cost to taxpayers.
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Their effort would be noteworthy solely for its altruistic nature. But what may be more remarkable is that they are the only ones doing this work.

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No state or federal agency has cops regularly walking this beat. Instead, state and federal governments,which collect billions in royalties from the permit holders each year, rely on companies to turn themselves in for violating environmental law or the terms of their permits.