Washington state oil spill response upgraded
OCEAN SHORES -- The first hours after an oil spill are crucial to limiting environmental damage, so the state Department of Ecology has made new equipment available to help local law enforcement and emergency crews make an initial response until more help arrives.
Crews from all over the county took part in a training session at Ocean Shores on Tuesday.
In February, the state gave the Quinault Indian Nation a trailer that is seven feet wide and 18 feet long. It carries 800 feet of containment booms, absorbent material and responder safety equipment.
The tribe is making the trailer available to all local jurisdictions and keeping it at the marina in Ocean Shores. It is one of 30 on the coast -- part of a $1.45 million Ecology grant to improve readiness for oil spills.
"There isn't a lot of containment equipment in the Grays Harbor area, so this is a way to get more equipment available, especially in the first couple of hours after a spill," said Ron Holcomb, a specialist from Ecology's Spill Response Division.
The trailer contains enough material to give emergency responders to an oil spill a head start before larger equipment can be brought in from Seattle and Tacoma, Holcomb said.
The Quinault Nation opted to place the trailer at the marina in order to have it readily available for the county’s most vulnerable shorelines.
Tuesday’s day-long exercise, organized by Global Diving & Salvage, began with a study session in the Convention Center and moved to the marina for hands-on training.
Trainees were briefed on safety, as well as strategies for effectively combating an oil spill.
"The (Quinault) Nation’s been granted this nice piece of equipment so they want to make sure they know how to use it properly," said J.P. Hallmark, a special project trainer for Global Diving & Salvage.
Although it's maintained by the Quinault Nation, any agency in the county will have access to the spill equipment, from police departments to county emergency crews to the Port of Grays Harbor.
Trainees were also given a spreadsheet with proposed booming and collection strategies for waterways throughout the county. The spreadsheet included instructions on where to place the booms, which habitat and species are most vulnerable from a spill and how to access the spill area.
The goal is to have these trailers at more than 100 locations by June, according to Ecology spokesperson Mary-Ellen Voss.
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Oil spill response upgraded
