What crowdsourcing activity has there been?  A blog post that has a pretty good analysis of the idea.

http://oilspill.labucketbrigade.org/ -- allows one to track and report incidents -- based on the Ushahidi platform.

http://oilreporter.org/ -- Android + iPhone apps to report where oil spill is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill is not a bad place to start a deep dive.

Trying to get the real scoop, I am inclined to trust ProPublica, which has published a FAQ list:

CrisisCommons: http://wiki.crisiscommons.org/wiki/Oil_Spill_Response

Had no idea that the official site of the Deepwater Horizon Command is http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com If you have a good idea, you might try calling: TECH/SUGGESTIONS (281) 366-5511