4,800-gallon oil spill hits Sound beaches

By Lynn Thompson
Times Snohomish County bureau

	HARLEY SOLTES / THE SEATTLE TIMES Oil skimmers work after sunset to retrieve oil that drifted from Point Wells across Puget Sound to Jefferson Beach in Kitsap County. Some of the oil — the cloudy water — can be seen nearing the beach.
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State and federal agencies today will continue to clean up what they call a "significant" oil spill in Puget Sound.

Nearly 4,800 gallons of heavy marine oil spilled yesterday as it was pumped onto a barge from a Chevron/Texaco loading terminal at Point Wells, near Richmond Beach.

At dusk last night, oil washed ashore near Jefferson Head, north of Indianola in Kitsap County, and drifted toward Whidbey Island. Oil also washed up along scattered beaches between Edmonds and Seattle's Carkeek Park, said Paul O'Brien, on-site coordinator for the state Department of Ecology.

Wind expected from the south today is likely to push the oil north.

	Dan Doty of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife uses a spoon to dig up sand on Richmond Beach. The sediment will be tested for effects of the oil spill.

Officials from the state and federal agencies governing fish and wildlife last night readied treatment centers for oiled birds and other wildlife. Damage-assessment crews yesterday spotted gelatinous patties of oil near the Point Wells facility and found the first birds partially coated in oil. An oily, juvenile seal was recovered but later died.

"We know we have oiled birds; we don't know how many," said Dan Doty, oil-spill damage-assessment coordinator for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The heavy fuel oil, a grade known as Bunker C, forms globules at cold temperatures, which makes it a threat to birds and marine life.

Yesterday, oil-containment booms were placed at the mouth of two salmon-spawning streams, Boeing Creek in Shoreline and Pipers Creek in North Seattle, and along an Edmonds waterfront wildlife preserve, said Department of Ecology spokesman Larry Altose.

Ecologists also were concerned about herring-spawning areas near Port Madison in Kitsap County and potential damage to surf smelt that spawn this time of year just north of Richmond Beach.

	HARLEY SOLTES / THE SEATTLE TIMES Ed and Nikki Johnson (in black) watch an oil-skimming operation in front of their home at Richmond Beach, with neighbor Andrea Massoni (center). About 40 years ago, a tanker jackknifed and spilled its load in their yard, Nikki Johnson said. Back then, the cleanup consisted of spreading sawdust on the pools of oil that flowed toward the Sound.

The cause of the spill remains under investigation. Foss Maritime, which owns the fuel barge, took responsibility. The Point Wells terminal is a transfer point for oil used in asphalt and the operation of marine equipment.

"Whatever resources necessary to clean this up, we're going to do. We'll be here as long as it takes," said Foss spokesman Joe Langjahr.

The Foss barge was taking on marine fuel just after midnight when it was overfilled, Langjahr said. He said the fueling operation was immediately shut down and the Coast Guard notified about 12:15 a.m.

An oil-containment boom also was deployed within 10 to 15 minutes, he said. About 1,200 gallons spilled onto the deck of the barge, and about 4,800 gallons poured into the water.

By midday yesterday 18 vessels, four vacuum trucks and about 240 workers were assisting in the cleanup.

Crews from the National Response Center, Marine Spill Response, Clean Sound Cooperative, and Global Diving and Salvage were participating.

Two helicopters flew up and down the Sound, directing ground crews and 14 skimmer boats as they tried to surround the drifting oil slick. Light wind and calm seas aided the effort.

"We've got very favorable recovery conditions," Altose said.

In 1990, a 4,000-gallon spill at the Point Wells facility caused an estimated $3 million in damage and sullied about 16 miles of beaches. Human error was blamed in that spill, and one Chevron employee was fired for failing to monitor gauges that showed a storage tank was overfilled, causing it to burst.

The largest spill in the state is believed to have been the 2.3 million gallons of heavy marine oil lost from a tanker near Cape Flattery in 1972. The Bellingham pipeline rupture in 1999 spilled an estimated 200,000 gallons of gasoline.

From the front yard of their Richmond Beach home, Nikki and Ed Johnson tracked the progress of cleanup crews trying to corral the streaming sheen of oil yesterday afternoon. Six skimming boats circled the waters off Richmond Beach Park, a popular park in Shoreline.

"It's been awesome. They've done well," said Nikki Johnson, who said a visible rainbow sheen on the water was almost completely removed within a few hours.

On shore, Dale Davis, a damage-assessment specialist with the state Department of Ecology, took sediment samples from the beach and water. He said it was too early to assess the extent of the oil spill or the environmental damage.

"It will be several days before the full extent is known," he said.

Lynn Thompson: 425-745-7807 or lthompson@seattletimes.com

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