The state Department of Ecology today announced a subsidiary of ConocoPhillips will pay $588,000 to compensate the public for the environmental harm caused by the October 2004 crude oil spill into Puget Sound’s Dalco Passage near Tacoma.

In a press release issued today, the department said the payment by Polar Tankers Inc. was secured under a proposed settlement agreement filed in federal court. The agreement, or consent decree, involves the firm and the federal government, state government, and the Muckleshoot and Puyallup tribes.

This sum is in addition to the $540,000 fine levied against the company in 2006 which was the largest penalty the department ever issued for an oil

spill from a vessel to Washington marine waters.

The money is intended to be spent on three proposed environmental restoration

projects. According to the press release, these are:

* Dockton shoreline restoration – This proposed project would

re-establish a salt marsh at Dockton County Park by re-grading the

shoreline and removing 350 feet of bulkheads to help restore the natural

shoreline. The proposal also includes removal of boat houses, creosote

pilings and other debris in the intertidal zone. The project would

benefit salmon, forage fish, birds, and shellfish and offer new

recreational opportunities and public access to the Sound.

* Vashon riparian habitat restoration – This proposed project would help

recover and restore near-shore vegetation at various shoreline locations

within and adjacent to the Maury Island Aquatic Reserve. The project

would benefit juvenile salmon and spawning bait fish species. In

addition, there are 10 sites where invasive plants – including Scotch

broom, cat’s ear, tansy ragwort, blackberry and pampas grass – have

crowded out native species. Landowners have agreed to replace these

plants with native vegetation.

* Piner Point restoration – A previous Washington State Recreation and

Conservation Office Salmon Recovery Funding Board grant, has protected

more than 1,500 feet of environmentally-valuable shoreline in the Piner

Point Natural Area on Maury Island. Consent decree funds would remove

225 feet of wooden creosote-treated bulkhead at the northern tip of

Piner Point and replace it with natural vegetation. This proposed

project would help ensure that the shoreline sediments are naturally

replenished, providing critical habitat for a wide range of critical

fish and wildlife species. Piner Point was in the area most directly

affected by the Polar Texas oil spill.

The proposed projects would be undertaken under a partnership

agreement with King County.