OLYMPIA — Spurred by the damaging effects of the Dec. 30 oil spill off the Edmonds waterfront, Gov. Gary Locke acted Wednesday to toughen rules on how fuel-loading operations are carried out.

Business owners, environmentalists and regulatory leaders watched as Locke signed legislation that likely would have contained the 4,700 gallons spilled during the loading of a barge at Point Wells near Edmonds.

This law is one of the "few, if only, positive outcomes of the spill," said Linda Hoffman, director of the state Department of Ecology.

She said it will help her agency plug a gap in statewide spill prevention efforts by focusing on the thousands of fuel transfers that occur each year. "Every transfer poses the risk of a spill, and drop by drop those spills add up," she said.

Rep. Mike Cooper, D-Edmonds, who sponsored the bill, said it bolsters the state’s "zero oil spill strategy. It puts the focus on prevention instead of cleanup, and that can make the difference between oil containment and oil catastrophe."

Under the new law, the Department of Ecology must, by the end of the year, detail how refueling and transfers of oil between facilities are carried out.

Then, by June 30, 2006, the department must adopt rules strengthening preventive measures such as deploying cleanup booms before transfers begin to minimize damage should a spill occur.

The law requires speedier notification of Indian tribes when oil spills threaten their lands

What caused the Point Wells spill is under investigation by Hoffman’s staff.

Those interviewed said the fuel leaked for three minutes when a Foss Maritime barge was overfilled. The spill, described by some as a small fountain, spewed enough oil from the hatch to cover the barge deck and wash equipment over the side into Puget Sound. Attempts to launch boats with booms to contain the oil failed because neither boat could be started.

Swirls of fuel crossed Puget Sound and contaminated a sensitive estuary on the Kitsap Peninsula that is a critical shellfish harvesting area for the Suquamish Tribe.

Also Wednesday, Locke signed new laws that offset the effects of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and stem the flow of polluted storm water into Puget Sound.

In signing the bills, Locke put the final touches on his two-term environmental record and praised lawmakers of both parties for delivering to him a package of legislation that will propel the state toward a "cleaner, greener" future.

Much of Wednesday’s focus was on the measure targeting emissions of carbon dioxide, considered by scientists to be a key cause of global warming.

Under the law, builders of new power plants must offset 20 percent of the facility’s carbon dioxide emissions.

To do so, owners will either pay into a fund or pay money directly to groups pursing renewable energy projects such as expanded use of vehicles powered by alternative fuels. Public meetings must be held before any of the money is spent.

The law covers plants producing 25 megawatts of power or more, meaning a proposed 20-megawatt plant in Darrington will not be subject to the law.

"These are the strongest standards in the nation for power plants," Locke said.

Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.