Spills Program

1
Spills Program

• Oil Spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment
  (NRDA)

2
Oil Spill Response Background

• Ecology works with the Unified Command to mount a
  rapid and aggressive response to contain and
  remove oil, and clean shorelines.
• After clean-up is complete, the Spills Program
  may take 4 complimentary actions
• Investigate and determine if enforcement is
  appropriate
• Recover state clean-up costs
• Assess and recover value of damaged natural
  resources
• Invest recovered monies into restoration or
  habitat enhancement projects.
• Third party private party damages are on a
  separate track.

3
History

• 1970s 80s - Ecology conducted case-by-case
  NRDAs based on field quantification studies.
• 1986 - Arco Anchorage 239,000 gallon oil spill in
  Port Angeles - state spent 230k to recover 33k.
• 1989 - Legislature directs Ecology to develop a
  Compensation Schedule.
• 1992 - Ecology adopts Oil Spill Compensation
  Schedule rule (first in nation).

4
Compensation ScheduleChapter 173-183 WAC (99
pages!)

• Applies a formula to calculate value of resource
  damages based upon the following factors
• Oil volume spilled to state surface waters
• Oil type
• Sensitivity of impacted habitat and other natural
  resources
• Assigns value in the range of 1 to 50/ gallon

5
NRDA Process Choices

• 18 Million to date Federal/State/Tribal
  Council.
• 1.8 Million to date 378 Compensation Schedule
  claims, each taking 1-6 months to complete.
• 13 of Compensation Schedule claims not recovered
  valued at 189,700.
• USACE claims make up 96,000 of the unpaid claims.

6
Compensation ScheduleDamage Assessments
Number of oil spills to state waters over 25
gallons
Cash paid into the Coastal Protection Fund
7
RESTORATION

• DIRECT RESTORATION
• Resulting from Oil Spill Resource Damage
  Assessments
• Total Value of over 18 million

• COASTAL PROTECTION FUND
• Resource Enhancement Expenditures
• Total Expenditures of 2,752,214

8
Program Cost Effectiveness

• Program cost effectiveness over 12 years
• 100k/ year cost to operate Ecology program
• 20.8 Million invested in restoration and habitat
  enhancement
• Includes 1.2 Million from penalty money
• 17 recovered invested for every 1 spent
• 87 Compensation Schedule claim success

9
Policy Issues

• Legislative Fix Increase maximum per gallon
  authority to ensure full and fair compensation
• Rule Fix Freshwater compensation table
  adjustments
• Rule Fix Incorporate oil recovery credit as an
  incentive for RP to mount a rapid and aggressive
  response
• Press Army Corps of Engineers to pay damages
• Submit unpaid claims to the federal Oil Spill
  Liability Trust Fund

10
Program Success

• 226k gallons of gasoline into Whatcom Creek
• 12 acres of timber were burned
• Stream was sterilized

• Olympic Pipe Line oil spill and explosion

11
Olympic Pipeline Restoration 5 years later
9 acre addition to Whatcom Park
New Park Corridor trail
Replanting of burned area
Creation of new fish rearing habitat
12
Program Success

• Marbled Murrelet nesting habitat protection
• 200 yr timber harvest easement on 919 acres of
  old growth forest
• Makah Tribe / State / Federal Agreement
• Tenyo Maru oil spill settlement -
  4.6 Million

Anderson Point
13
Program Success

• West Milton Creek TacomaLarge Woody Debris
  placement3 acres of wetland and 2000 feet of
  stream restoration - Coho now spawning

West Milton Creek Tacoma 180K Habitat
Improvement - Channel Reconstruction Friends of
the Hylebos Waterway
14
Nicks Lagoon - Partnership of State, NOAA and
Kitsap County Parks Seabeck Bay (35 acres -
150K)
Nick Holm
15
Spills Program

• Thank You!

16

• Monies Deposited into Coastal Protection Fund
• RCW 90.48.390Coastal protection fund --
  Established -- Moneys credited to -- Use. The
  coastal protection fund is established to be used
  by the department as a revolving fund for
  carrying out the purposes of restoration of
  natural resources under this chapter and chapter
  90.56 RCW. To this fund there shall be credited
  penalties, fees, damages, charges received
  pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and
  chapter 90.56 RCW, compensation for damages
  received under this chapter and chapter 90.56
  RCW, and an amount equivalent to one cent per
  gallon from each marine use refund claim under
  RCW 82.36.330.

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• Authorized Uses of Coastal Protection Fund
• RCW 90.48.400Coastal protection fund --
  Disbursal of moneys from. (1) Moneys in the
  coastal protection fund shall be disbursed for
  the following purposes and no others     (a)
  Environmental restoration and enhancement
  projects intended to restore or enhance
  environmental, recreational, archaeological, or
  aesthetic resources for the benefit of
  Washington's citizens     (b) Investigations
  of the long-term effects of oil spills and    
  (c) Development and implementation of an aquatic
  land geographic information system.     (2) The
  director may allocate a portion of the fund to be
  devoted to research and development in the
  causes, effects, and removal of pollution caused
  by the discharge of oil or other hazardous
  substances.     (3) A steering committee
  consisting of representatives of the departments
  of ecology, fish and wildlife, and natural
  resources, and the parks and recreation
  commission shall authorize the expenditure of the
  moneys collected under RCW 90.48.366 through
  90.48.368, after consulting impacted local
  agencies and local and tribal governments.    
  (4) Agencies may not be reimbursed from the
  coastal protection fund for the salaries and
  benefits of permanent employees for routine
  operational support. Agencies may only be
  reimbursed under this section if money for
  reconnaissance and damage assessment activities
  is unavailable from other sources.