Governor slated to sign oil spill prevention act.

Posted on March 22, 2018 by Al Bergstein
Some positive news on the oil spill protection front.
SB 6269-S2.E – DIGEST
Addresses oil transportation safety. Finds that the department of ecology’s oil spill program faces a critical funding gap due to the lack of adequate revenue to fully fund the prevention and preparedness services required by state law, including the 2015 oil transportation safety act.
Declares an intent to: (1) Provide adequate revenue to fully fund prevention and preparedness services required by state law;
(2) Direct the department of ecology to specifically address the risks of oils submerging and sinking; and (3) More extensively coordinate with our Canadian
partners in order to protect the state’s economy and its shared resources.
Requires the department of ecology to: (1) Establish the Salish Sea shared waters forum to address common issues in the cross-boundary waterways between Washington state and British Columbia such as: Enhancing efforts to reduce oil spill risk, addressing navigational safety, and promoting data sharing; and (2) In consultation with the Puget Sound partnership and the pilotage commission, complete a report of vessel traffic
and vessel traffic safety within the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound area that includes the San Juan archipelago, its connected waterways, Haro Strait, Boundary Pass, Rosario
Strait, and the waters south of Admiralty Inlet.
Provides a July 1, 2021, expiration date for the Salish Sea shared waters forum.

Filed under: Environmental Law, Environmental Protection, Puget Sound | Tagged: , , |

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2 Responses

  1. Al B., on March 22, 2018 at 2:45 pm said:

    Jim, with all due respect, you should do some research on this. There’s plenty out there. Just Google the bill and the topic of oil spill prevention in Washington State. The local Marine Resource Committees have held public training on oil spill cleanup for years as well, to educate the public on the topic.

    It has nothing to do with “oil bubbling up from the ocean” and everything to do with “refined oil spills”.

  2. Jim Knight, on March 22, 2018 at 2:25 pm said:

    Curious why taxpayers should be billed for this? Costs should be billed back to the source. Also, considering crude oil has been bubbling up in the oceans for hundreds of years and gradually absorbed back into a nutrient source (via bacterial action), it seems to me the main concerns should be refined oil spills and overload of nature with crude oil spills.

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