Interesting case of where the law and the plan are written too narrowly to cover a deadly substance killing wildlife. See: No emergency response plan for mysterious material.
SAN FRANCISCO — The deaths of birds from a sticky goo on San Francisco Bay this past week signaled an environmental emergency, but the network of skilled government agencies trained to swiftly respond to bay disasters was nowhere to be found.
That’s because the multiagency response that would have immediately mobilized containment and cleanup to prevent further damage is usually triggered only if the substance on bay waters is petroleum-based and reported by a company or ship.
Recovery Diva 
One of the unintended consequences of our bureaucratization of the environment is that while we do well in handling the normal, we do a poor job of handling surprises. Government bureaucracies seldom are “learning organizations.” In fact, failure to have contingencies in place for handling the downed timber after Katrina cost BILLIONS in lost revenues and led directly to a spate of forest fires the next summer in MS.