Lawmakers press case to keep NOAA fleet in Seattle

Sen. Maria Cantwell and several other members of Washington's congressional delegation are turning up the heat over the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's plans to move its research fleet from Seattle to Newport, Ore.

In two letters this week, the federal lawmakers pressed the agency for better estimates of what the move would cost, and argued that it could undermine NOAA's research mission by separating the vessels from the Seattle-based scientists who use them for studies of fish, climate change and oceanography.

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire also added her voice to the disappointed chorus with a letter to her predecessor — former Gov. Gary Locke, now NOAA's top boss as secretary of Commerce.

But NOAA is defending its decision in a strongly worded response to appeals filed by two spurned competitors for the lease: The Lake Union property where the vessels have been based for more than 45 years; and the Port of Bellingham. Port Angeles, the other unsuccessful bidder, did not appeal.

"The acquisition process that led to the Newport award was deliberative, well-executed and extraordinarily transparent," says the NOAA response.

More than half of the documents in the lengthy response were partly or entirely blacked out. NOAA has said federal procurement rules prevent it from releasing many details about the process and the bids submitted.

In a letter to Locke on Friday, Cantwell again asked the agency for more information on the cost of the move and its impacts on the 175 NOAA employees who staff the ships and headquarters of the agency's Pacific fleet.

"I have serious doubts about whether the final award decision is truly in the best long-term interest of NOAA, its scientific mission and its employees," wrote Cantwell, who chairs the Senate subcommittee that oversees NOAA.

Four NOAA ships are based in Seattle. The agency's Pacific Marine Operations Center also supports six other vessels based in Alaska, Hawaii and California.

NOAA's present lease on the Lake Union site expires in 2011. The agency awarded the new, 20-year contract to Newport in August.

The small Oregon coastal community, home to an Oregon State University marine-sciences center, was aided in its bid by a $19.5 million state subsidy.

In their appeals, both Bellingham and the Lake Union property owners pointed out that the Newport site is in a flood plain. But NOAA's response argues that only a tiny portion of the site would be subject to possible flooding.

NOAA also disputes the rivals' claims that Newport underestimated the time it would take to construct the new homeport.

It's not clear how much longer the owners of the Lake Union site will continue their battle, said Roque Deherrera, of Seattle's Office of Economic Development. They have decided not to spend any more money on the appeal, he said.

But if bidding is reopened, the Lake Union site could be back in the running. Other waterfront property owners in Seattle also have expressed interest in competing for the homeport prize if the process starts anew, said Deherrera, who has been assisting the Lake Union owners in their bid and appeal.

NOAA's response points out that its annual lease payment at the Lake Union site, which still has not been repaired after a 2006 fire, would be nearly $6 million a year. In Newport, the lease would cost $2.5 million a year.

The Government Accountability Office is expected to rule on the appeals by early December.

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