State considers tighter oil-spill regulations
Better oversight of load transfers sought
In the wake of oil spills that fouled Puget Sound and shook public confidence in Washington's spill-prevention efforts, state officials took steps Monday to beef up regulations governing ships loading or unloading oil.
Floating oil-containment curtains designed to corral spilled oil would be required in many circumstances. Currently the devices, known as "boom," do not have to be set up ahead of an oil transfer.
The draft rules proposed by Department of Ecology staff also would impose additional requirements for training and spill-response equipment for the growing number of trucks that refuel ships. Increasingly, these mobile units are taking the place of large stationary marine gas stations that are required to have lots of spill-response equipment on hand.
One of Ecology's most-persistent critics said that at first blush, the new rules look like a big improvement.
"In general, I think it's a good thing," said Fred Felleman of the Ocean Advocates environmental group. "It's unfortunate that it takes an oil spill to get a regulation, but at least they're moving in the right direction."
The impetus for the proposed rules came a few minutes after midnight Dec. 30, 2003, when a fuel barge being filled near Edmonds overflowed.
A tragicomedy of errors ensued -- two boats supposedly on hand to tow boom into place malfunctioned, along with overflow alarms on the barge, among other problems -- and the oil escaped to pollute shellfishing grounds clear across Puget Sound.
Then late last year, a mystery oil spill that Coast Guard officials later pinned on an errant release from an oil tanker stained the beaches of Vashon and Maury islands, and surrounding shorelines. More recently, a tug sank at Port Gamble, discharging oil that briefly closed tribal shellfishing beds.
The proposed rules "are very comprehensive," said Linda Pilkey-Jarvis, Ecology's spill-preparedness manager. "We're aiming for safeguards at the upper end, the crude (oil-carrying tankers) and the bigger facilities, but it reaches all the way down to the level of marinas that fuel commercial vessels."
The rules were sent Monday to members of an Ecology advisory committee representing shipping interests, environmentalists, oil companies and others. They will debate the tentative proposal for several months before a final proposal is released for public comment.
The rules are required by law to be in place by the end of June 2006.
Continue reading this story from the Seattle P-I:
State considers tighter oil-spill regulations
