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.
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