Neither the state nor the federal government had in place a management system that could be implemented quickly or run smoothly during a disaster as complex and as lengthy as the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The "joint" response cobbled together with the consent of both governments was well-intentioned, but an unrealistic effort to harmonize state and federal authority.

The public, which normally had access to and influence over its government's actions, was pushed aside by the emergency and never fully returned to the process. The spiller assumed an ambiguous role - part government, part polluter, part contractor - answerable only to government "coordinators" and insulated from public accountability.

Little doubt, then, that the spill and the response have let to changes and new suggestions about how the state and federal governments, and the industry, should prepare for and implement oil spill response.