No criminal charges in oil spill near Tacoma

Federal prosecutors in Seattle have decided not to pursue criminal charges against the company thought to be behind a 1,000 gallon oil spill near Tacoma.

U.S. Attorney John McKay's office is offering few details about why its not pursuing a case against ConocoPhillips, the company whose oil tanker was identified by the U.S. Coast Guard as the source of the spill.

"We are not able to say anything beyond we have declined to prosecute criminally," said Emily Langlie, spokeswoman for the Western Washington office headed by McKay. "We don't want to get into the reason at this point because there still is ongoing negotiations."

The company involved is negotiating with the Department of Justice's civil division as well as the state, she said.

The Oct. 14, 2005 spill at Dalco Passage, which occurred at night, soiled 21 miles of beach. It also prompted the state and the Coast Guard to reform how they handle oil spills in the Sound, amid criticism that the response was too slow and too small at first.

No one has publicly admitted to causing the spill. The Coast Guard has said oil from the spill matched the distinctive chemical fingerprint of crude oil from the ConocoPhillips oil tanker Polar Texas. Shortly before the spill, the tanker was in Tacoma transferring oil at a refinery.

The company has said the tanker couldn't be the source of the spill.