Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - November 4, 2004
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Alt Contact:  U.S. Coast Guard, 206-220-7237; Department of Ecology, 360-407-7004

Gov. Gary Locke, Admiral Jeffrey Garrett Announce Oil Spill Early Action Task Force Members

OLYMPIA – Nov. 4, 2004 – Gov. Gary Locke and U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Jeffrey Garrett today announced the members of a task force formed to examine new ways to respond to oil spills.

On Oct. 22, Locke and Garrett called for the creation of the Oil Spill Early Action Task Force to explore possible system improvements to prepare and respond to oil spills. The task force will specifically focus on actions to be taken during the early stages of oil spills that occur during bad weather.

The task force will prepare a report with recommendations to enhance notification procedures, improve response policies and employ improved response technologies. The Department of Ecology and the Coast Guard, who currently share the responsibility for responding to oil spills in Washington’s coastal waters, will co-convene the task force.

“I want the task force to devise ways to overcome conditions like darkness and fog to respond quickly to an oil spill,” Locke said.

“The Coast Guard has a long tradition of protecting Washington’s marine environment. As in any mission we do, we look for ways to continually improve our processes and public service,” Garrett said.

The task force will meet this month and next with a goal of finishing a draft report by mid-December. A final report is expected in January. An independent professional facilitator will mediate the task force’s evaluation process. The final report will be sent to Locke and Garrett, as well as to the Region Ten Regional Response Team and the Northwest Area Committee, multi-jurisdictional oversight groups that are mandated to test and maintain the region’s response contingency plan.

The panel will consist of the following members:

· Kathy Fletcher of People for Puget Sound
· Jim English of the Vashon-Maury Island Community Council
· Mike Doherty, Clallam County Commissioner
· Bobbi Wallace, representing King County Parks & Recreation
· Dave Sonnes, vice chairman of the Makah Tribal Council, coordinating with the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission
· Julie Knight of Island Oil Spill Association
· Bill Dewey of the Puget Sound Council
· Eric Johnson of the Washington Public Ports Association
· Mike Moore of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
· Richard Wright from Clean Sound Oil Spill Response Cooperative
· Mike Latorre from Marine Spill Response Corporation
· Dave Sawicki from the Western States Petroleum Association
· Dale Jensen, spill-prevention and response manager for the Department of Ecology
· Captain Chip Boothe, U.S. Coast Guard, District 13

Other state and federal agencies that are part of the Regional Response Team and the Northwest Area Committee will also participate in the process, including the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Idaho Bureau of Hazardous Materials, Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Public comment periods will be provided at each meeting.

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