Gov. Gregoire signs bill shifting public funding for Neah Bay response tug

For Immediate Release: March 24, 2009

OLYMPIA � Marking the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill, Gov. Chris Gregoire today signed legislation to shift funding responsibility of the emergency response tug boat at Neah Bay, which the state has funded since 1999, from the state to the maritime industry.

�The Neah Bay emergency response tug is a critical safety measure that protects our environment, our economic resources and our cultural heritage from oil spills by international vessels crossing state waters,� Gregoire said. �I believe Washington taxpayers have shouldered the burden long enough.�

The tug boat prevents disabled ships and barges from drifting onto rocks and causing oil spills in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Washington�s outer coast. The 2008�09 contract to station the tug at Neah Bay is $3.7 million. The governor has proposed spending $3.6 million to fund the boat for the 2009�10 fiscal year.

�This legislation will make our oil spill safety net stronger,� said Senator Maria Cantwell, D-WA, who sponsored federal legislation to make the tug permanent and funded year-round. �Every year, 15 billion gallons of oil navigate through the Puget Sound, bringing with it the possibility of disaster. The Neah Bay Tug is an important part of our oil spill safety net designed to prevent such a disaster, and finally it will be made a permanent, year round fixture that is funded by those that bring the risk to our waterways. Over the last decade, the tug has saved dozens of vessels and prevented countless spills, and today, we�re one step closer to ensuring it is there to help for years to come.�

�We are not asking the private sector to do any more than what the state has been funding for the past decade,� said Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-San Juan Island, who sponsored the Senate bill. �It is time for the maritime industry to step up and take over the funding of this crucial environmental protection asset.�

Ranker said the Strait of Juan de Fuca is one of the busiest commercial shipping lanes on the West Coast. Every year, oil tankers, fuel barges and large commercial cargo, fish-processing and passenger vessels make about 3,000 transits into the Strait bound for Washington ports.

Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim, who sponsored the House bill, noted that from the entrance to the Strait to Port Angeles as well as for most of Washington�s outer coast, there are no protective measures for large commercial and naval ships except the Neah Bay response tug.

�Our citizens cannot afford an oil spill in the Strait or on our outer coast. A major spill would adversely affect our shellfish and fishing industry, tribal communities, tourism and recreation � the lifeblood of our economy and culture,� Van De Wege said. �The cost to clean up such a spill could reach billions of dollars. I believe this is a relatively small investment that would pay huge dividends for the maritime industry and the public.�

Industry leaders estimate it could cost the private sector $10,000 to $20,000 per gallon of oil spilled to clean up and restore the environment fouled by oil.

In the past 10 years, the tug has stood by or assisted 42 ships either completely disabled or with reduced maneuvering ability. During nine responses, the tug attached a tow line to take the disabled vessel to a safe harbor for repairs.


# # #