Steps outlined to avoid or limit oil spills

The state's new Oil Spill Advisory Council has issued its first report, calling for year-round tug protection at Neah Bay and laying groundwork for improved spill prevention and response in state waters.

The council was established by Gov. Christine Gregoire last year after a 1,000-gallon spill in Dalco Passage that took hours to respond to — due to darkness, communication lapses and a lack of nearby containment gear — and cost almost $2 million to clean up. The draft report now goes to Gregoire for any recommended changes, and the governor will use the final version in preparing her legislation and budget requests to the Legislature.

In a "lessons learned" section, the council said Wednesday that mandatory regulation — not voluntary efforts — must address the root causes of spills.

It recommended that the state departments of Ecology and Natural Resources help get rid of derelict vessels that frequently leak — perhaps by instituting an amnesty program so citizens can unload old boats before they become derelict.

And it called for a fully funded, year-round, response-rescue tugboat at Neah Bay on the Olympic Peninsula, at the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. A tug has been stationed there in winter for several years, with funding coming mostly from the state. Otherwise the nearest tug is typically 60 miles away, at Port Angeles.

"We've been trying to get full year-round support out there for some time now," said Dave Sones, vice chairman of the Makah Tribal Council at Neah Bay. During the summer, northwest winds of 25 to 35 knots could push a stricken vessel approaching the strait toward Cape Flattery and the federally protected marine sanctuary to the south.

Interest in tug protection among the Makah has grown since oil from the 1988 Nestucca oil barge washed up in area waters, followed by the sinking of the Tenyo Maru in 1991 with 450,000 gallons aboard — most of it apparently still there. Between 100,000 and 170,000 gallons were released. "We got more involved since each of those spills," Sones said, focusing mostly on prevention methods such as double-hulled tankers and a tug. Cargo ships also carry large amounts of fuel, he noted. "We'd like to have a platform out there that can tug, firefight and salvage."

The report said there are several other high-risk sites that may also warrant additional tugs.

"It's really important that we look at the waters around the San Juan Islands," prime habitat for the state's endangered killer-whale population, said council member Kathy Fletcher, of the citizens group People for Puget Sound. "That's a tough area where things can happen quickly — there are lots of things to bump into."

Oil tankers calling at the oil refineries along northeast Puget Sound have tug escorts, she noted, "But 90 percent of the traffic is not tankers."

The council said it had not completed its assessment of federal spill-prevention resources but will again focus on gaps in coverage.

Several agencies will be asked to provide assessments of their spill-response capabilities, the report said, with an assessment of the state capacity for containment and recovery to follow.

Among council goals are:

Preparing oil-spill legislation with funding options;

Making recommendations for improved prevention and faster response;

Developing partnerships with area tribes and with other organization, agencies, industry and interest groups.