The booms that could have prevented a 4,800-gallon oil spill at Point Wells off Edmonds in December will be in place next time, according to proposed legislation that cleared key hurdles in the state House and Senate Friday.
Versions of a bill by Rep. Mike Cooper, D-Edmonds, regarding fuel oil booms survived the deadline that kills most bills.
"We’re saving the heritage of Puget Sound," Cooper said, adding that having support in both houses is a good sign. "We’re saving the culture and the fisheries of this region by protecting clean water."
Booms are floating tubes that help contain oil spilled on the water until it can be siphoned off the surface.
In the Dec. 30 fuel oil spill by Seattle’s Foss Maritime, 4,800 gallons escaped before workers were able to get booms in place.
The fuel caused serious damage to an estuary across Puget Sound on the Kitsap Peninsula. Cleanup has cost more than $1 million and is still going on.
Cooper’s bill would require the state Department of Ecology to develop rules requiring the use of booms for almost all on-water fueling. It would cost about $100,000 to develop the rules.
A second Cooper bill that also made it out of committee would require the Ecology Department to develop rules to regulate trucks driving onto docks to fuel boats.
Cooper’s boom bill would allow the Ecology Department to make exceptions when necessary, a provision added at the request of the petroleum industry, which said booms don’t work in some situations, such as on rivers or in bad weather.
"Booming is a very good tool to have in the toolbox, but it doesn’t work everywhere," said Frank Holmes, Northwest region manager for the Western Petroleum Association. "No one wants to see oil on the water. We support the concept of a zero spill philosophy."
Bruce Wishart, policy director for People for Puget Sound, a regional environmental group, said: "We see this as a significant step forward in avoiding another Point Wells-type spill. This has been a wake-up call for all of us."
Cooper’s boom bill is Substitute House Bill 3020. It was approved Friday by the House Fisheries, Ecology and Parks Committee, of which Cooper is chairman. His refueling-by-truck bill is Substitute House Bill 3112, which was approved by the same committee.
Substitute Senate Bill 6641 — using the same language as Cooper’s boom bill — was approved by the Senate Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee.
Both versions will go before their respective appropriations committees for funding, and then before both full houses.
Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com.
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