OLYMPIA — After two hours of testimony Thursday on the Dec. 30 Point Wells oil spill near Edmonds, legislators weren’t convinced that the maritime industry is doing everything it can to prevent such tragedies.
"I’m still not satisfied. I think it could have been done faster, and I think they know that — they just aren’t ready to say it out loud," said Rep. Mike Cooper, D-Edmonds, chairman of the state House’s fisheries, ecology and parks committee.
Seattle’s Foss Maritime has taken responsibility for 4,800 gallons of oil it spilled into Puget Sound. Foss will pay for cleanup, which already totals $2 million.
Despite that, Cooper plans to take legislative action to try to avoid similar problems in the future. He will submit a bill next week mandating the use of booms — a floating barrier — to capture and keep oil from spreading, preventing environmental damage. Cooper’s bill would require the positioning of booms during oil transfer.
Even as Foss CEO Steve Scalzo offered an apology for the spill that ended up polluting the Kitsap County shoreline from Point Jefferson to Indianola, what troubled legislators at the hearing was Foss’ reluctance to say how quickly it put out booms.
Foss is waiting for its own internal investigation to be complete before declaring whether its response time was legal. No one seemed to know Thursday what the time limit would be in this case.
"I’m not willing to wait for an investigation to be complete," Cooper said. "Every day we wait, there’s risk."
Maritime representatives argue that booms offer only a partial prevention measure.
"When you look at the cost of booming a barge or tanker versus having oil spilled, booming is a very cheap way of adding a level of protection," said Stuart Downer, an elected official of the Inland Boatman’s Union.
"However, it is the union’s opinion is that there should be two persons in charge on a barge whenever they are moving oil on and off."
Coast Guard standards require only one certified person in charge to be on the vessel during oil transfer.
Patrick Grennan, a union tanker man, pointed to the lack of experience required for oil transporters as a concern.
"In today’s industry, you are now required to have only 10 loads and 10 discharges in order to get a license to do our job," Grennan said. "That means right now we’re having deckhands being licensed to fill these positions on one- and two-man barges in the Puget Sound."
Downer added there are some instances — such as rough weather or being at anchor — when booming would not be useful.
Still, Rep. Phil Rockefeller, D-Bainbridge Island, argued that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to oil spills.
"Prevention is far, far better than post-incident efforts," Rockefeller said. "Those efforts are costly and never fully satisfactory. The costs to Foss Maritime company are going to be enormous."
So far, 10 birds and two seals have died in the oil spill, and cleanup efforts continue on the Doe-Keg-Wats Marsh, a critical shellfish harvesting area for the Suquamish Tribe.
Civil litigation could spell additional economic woes for Foss, Cooper added.
"When you really think about the devastating loss to the Suquamish — how do you put a value on a loss to a culture in a tribal area?" Cooper asked.
"Add to that the crabs, the clams and the geoduck beds — some of which are managed by the state — that’s gonna mount up in a hurry."
Reps. Rockefeller; Maralyn Chase, D-Shoreline; Ruth Kagi, D-Lake Forest; and Brian Sullivan, D-Mukilteo, are expected to be among the bill’s cosponsors, Cooper said.
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