In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico three bills will be introduced to the state legislature to help prepare Washington state for the worst.
The bills would require that oil companies buy new equipment to use in case of spill, train volunteers and pay a fee to fund spill prevention.
Rep. Christine Rolfes, D-Bainbridge Island, introduced the first bill, House Bill 1186, to the House of Representatives.
“We may not have offshore drilling here, but we do have 4,000 tankers delivering 15 billion gallons of oil on Washington’s waterways each year,” Rolfes said in a news release. “We can take lessons learned from today’s report to protect our economy and environment.”
Bruce Wishart has been working to get all three bills to the legislature. Wishart is the policy director at People for Puget Sound, a nonprofit group working to protect and restore the health of Puget Sound.
“We are determined to move this bill through the process,” Wishart said. “I think all of us were witnesses to the tragedy in the Gulf. We view it as a wake-up call for all of us here in Washington.”
In 2009, the Oil Spill Advisory Council for Washington State did an extensive study to determine whether Washington was prepared for a large spill. Wishart said their conclusion was that Washington was not prepared.
“Our systems are outdated and we need better technology,” Neil Beaver said, a lobbyist for Washington AudubonSociety, an organization that educates citizens about birds and habitat conservation.
One gap that was identified in the study, which Beaver and Wishart are hoping to address in the bill, is the ability of the state to respond to an oil spill in rough water with larger waves and fast currents. Beaver said there is a need for boats capable of handling the heavy sea while simultaneously collecting spilled oil.
“Everyone agrees we need the equipment, but how we pay for it is going to be the tough sell,” Beaver said. “We are not looking for new costs to the state.”
The first bill seeks to better prepare Washington for an oil spill by updating the current law. Wishart said the current law is that oil companies must have a contingency plan, meaning they must be prepared for the worst-case oil spill — but they aren’t.
The bill requires oil companies to stockpile state-of-the-art equipment that can be dispersed quickly at any time of the day and can perform in strong currents and large waves. The bill also proposes training to local volunteers and fishermen so they are better prepared to help respond during an oil spill.
The second proposed bill would establish an oil transfer fee that oil companies would pay, which would help fund spill prevention and preparedness.
“Any kind of a spill in Puget Sound can cause a lot of damage because it immediately comes to shore and hits the shoreline, having dramatic impacts on wildlife and the economy,” Beaver said.
Wishart said the Washington State Department of Ecology did a study in 2004 that estimated that if a large oil-spill occurred in Washington we would experience about $10 billion in economic damage alone and 165,000 jobs would be potentially lost.
“This is about protecting our state’s economic interests,” Rolfes said.“We need a healthy Puget Sound for economic success, tourism and recreation. In many ways, it defines our way of life here.”
“The state’s Oil Spill Preparedness and Response programs are facing the same budget difficulties as the rest of the state,” Rep. Zack Hudgins said, D-Tukwila, who co-sponsored both measures. “It’s time for the industry to step up to the plate and be part of the solution.”
Wishart said he anticipates that Sen. Kevin Ranker will introduce a third bill to the Washington State Senate this week.
