History of the Team
Governor's Request To
The Team
Team Members and Bios
Meeting Dates
- Team
- Public
- Subcommittees
Meeting Summaries
- Team
- Public
- Subcommittees
Final Report and Recommendations
History of the Team
On June 10, 1999 a pipeline carrying gasoline through Bellingham's
Whatcom Falls Park began leaking hundreds of thousands of gallons of
gasoline. The spilled fuel ignited, and three young people died. In
addition, the explosion destroyed a one mile stretch of the banks of
Whatcom Creek.
When he visited the scene, Governor Locke noted that the accident highlighted
the need for close scrutiny and extreme caution in constructing, operating
and maintaining fuel-related facilities in Washington. He also pointed
out that since nothing can be risk-free, the state must ensure that
we are prepared and informed about how to react in the event of a major
accident. The Governor announced the establishment of a Fuel Accident
Prevention and Response Team to evaluate our state's current status
and make recommendations if shortcomings are revealed.
He asked the seven team members to analyze current requirements and
performance by federal, state and local agencies and report back to
him by the end of the year.
Governor's Request
To the Team
I hope this group will deliver a report and recommendations by the
end of the year that will:
- clarify responsibilities for oversight of the fuel transportation
and storage industry to ascertain if there are gaps or deficiencies
in federal and state responsibilities that we should fill;
- determine whether or not local first responders should update their
response plans;
- evaluate whether or not we should set up Regional Incident Command
Teams that could be on the scene of a major accident within a few
hours to support local authorities; and
- consider the costs of any changes and the funding sources needed
to meet those costs.
For information about this web page, please contact Carol Jolly
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