NOAA signs Newport, Ore., lease; Cantwell requests briefing

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Friday signed a lease with the Port of Newport agreeing to move its research fleet from Seattle to the small town on Oregon's coast.

Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, who pledged to fight the move, is requesting a full briefing from NOAA.

Cantwell is drafting a letter to former Gov. Gary Locke, head of the Department of Commerce and NOAA's top boss, and Jane Lubchenco, the former Oregon State University marine biologist who now leads NOAA.

"We are trying to ascertain more details as to what evaluation criteria NOAA used in coming to this decision," said Cantwell's press secretary Ciaran Clayton.

Formal protest ahead?

The city of Seattle also is working with the owners of NOAA's current facility on Lake Union to explore a formal protest, said Alex Fryer, spokesman for Mayor Greg Nickels.

University of Washington Provost Phyllis Wise said the move could impair the types of scientific collaborations that are increasingly important for studying complex topics like climate change, which is one of NOAA's priorities.

The UW has one of the country's leading climate-research groups, and those scientists work closely with NOAA colleagues, she said. "So many times, synergies are created by co-location of two groups."

NOAA's decision earlier this week to move its research fleet came as a surprise to both Seattle and Newport. Port Angeles and Bellingham were also competing for the 20-year lease.

The federal agency that studies the earth's oceans, atmosphere and weather has based ships in Lake Union since 1916. Its Pacific Marine Operations Center has been housed at the same facility on the lake since 1963. The lease on that site expires in June 2011.

"Everybody I know was fairly surprised by hearing about Newport," said David Butterfield, an oceanographer at the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Oceans, a collaboration between the UW and NOAA.

The Puget Sound region is home to many of the researchers who use the NOAA ships for fisheries surveys and other research, said Butterfield, who rarely sails on the vessels himself. There's also more infrastructure in Seattle for ship repair and parts.

"Newport is a three-hour drive from Portland," he said. "They don't have all the machine shops and all of the industry. It's a little bit of a tougher place to take care of ships."

Newport is home to a large Oregon State University marine-science lab and about 120 NOAA employees and contractors.

Capt. Michele Bullock, commander of the fleet, said the 175 NOAA employees who will be affected by the move were briefed this week. Reaction was mixed, she said, with some folks reluctant to leave Seattle.

4 ships in Seattle

Four ships are berthed at the Seattle facility, which also services an additional six NOAA ships based in Alaska, Hawaii and California.

The Port of Newport and the state of Oregon pledged to issue up to $44 million in bonds to build a new facility for the ships.

The site on Lake Union was damaged by a fire in 2006, and since then NOAA has been forced to dock its ships in the Port of Seattle and at a local shipyard.

The move will occur in 2011.

NOAA's other operations in Seattle, which employ about 1,200 scientists and support staff in laboratories at Sand Point and near Montlake, will not be affected.

Sandi Doughton: 206-464-2491 or sdoughton@seattletimes.com