County helicopter to help find oil spills

A King County sheriff's helicopter used to search for criminals and missing persons will now be called upon to help find oil spills in Puget Sound.

A contract signed in May among the sheriff's office, the state Department of Ecology and the Coast Guard will allow the use of the Guardian One helicopter in finding spills on state waters, officials are expected to announce today.

The announcement comes after the first report earlier this month from the state Oil Spill Advisory Council, which called for increased prevention and response measures for spills throughout the state.

Locating and quickly responding to oil spills have been particularly difficult during overcast or inclement weather, said Curt Hart, a spokesman for the Department of Ecology.

"Inclement weather has kept us from having effective over-flights and being able to find out where a spill is heading to," Hart said. "Quickly locating a spill is absolutely critical to keeping spills under control."

Last year, investigators from the DOE and the Coast Guard received 3,800 reports of oil spills and conducted 2,000 cleanup operations throughout the state, Hart said.

Puget Sound's status as a prime route for oil tankers from areas such as Alaska makes the waters particularly vulnerable for spills. According to Hart, anywhere from 600 to 800 oil tankers cruise in and out of Puget Sound each year.

Lt. Cmdr. Rick Rodriguez of the Coast Guard said the helicopter will help his units quickly respond to spills in the area, particularly during bad weather.

"If we can't find the spill, we don't know there is one," Rodriguez said. "Sometimes these spills occur at night and we'll send pollution investigators out there, but we won't get a full picture until daybreak."

The helicopter is equipped with a Forward Looking Infrared system. The technology utilizes infrared beams — like those emitted from a remote control — to detect temperature differences.

Because oil will generally have a different temperature than the water it floats on, readings from the device will allow investigators to quickly find spills in conditions when the naked eye is at a disadvantage.

Guardian One won't be called out for every report of an oil spill but instead will be reserved for instances when traditional search and cleanup methods wouldn't result in a quick enough response. Life-saving or crime-fighting operations by the sheriff's office will always take precedence, said sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart.

The contract has an indefinite term and can only be terminated on a mutual agreement. Funding for the helicopter's flight time will come out of a state liability trust fund paid for through a tax on oil shippers.

Nathan Hurst: 206-464-2112 or nhurst@seattletimes.com