Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - February 12, 1999
Contact:  Ron Langley, Washington Department of Ecology, 206-663-1785 (pager)
Alt Contact:  Chuck Bolland, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife at 360-902-2255 , or Susan Zemek, Washington State Parks, 360-902-8562

Washington state agencies continue readiness for oil spill

OLYMPIA — State oil-spill responders will monitor Washington beaches over the weekend and stand ready to protect sensitive areas from any oil that may migrate from the New Carissa shipwreck off the coast of Coos Bay, Oregon.

As of late Friday afternoon, no oil had been reported on any of Washington's beaches.

The Washington Department of Ecology, the state's lead oil-spill responder, has people, equipment and cleanup contractors on standby for possible beach cleanups.

Rangers from the Washington State Parks will be the state's oil sentinels. They will regularly patrol southwest Washington beaches for the next several days, searching for evidence of oil from the ship. Any sightings will immediately be reported to the Department of Ecology.

In addition, park rangers are busy identifying and cataloging sensitive areas, such as bird habitat, wetlands and archeological sites. The information they gather will bolster efforts by the Department of Fish and Wildlife to identify areas that would need special protection if oil were to invade Washington waters.

Department of Fish and Wildlife scientists are also removing dead birds naturally found on coastal beaches so they won't be confused with any that would be found if oil washes ashore during the next few days. Beach visitors can report oiled birds 24 hours a day by calling
(360) 902-2614.

The Washington Department of Emergency Management is working with local governments to provide any state assistance that may be required.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Status updates will be issued at 2 p.m. daily throughout the weekend and will be posted on the Department of Ecology's Web site: http://www.wa.gov/ecology. Reporters can page a public information officer at (360) 786-4908 with inquiries over the weekend.

If you wish to photograph park rangers on their patrols, contact Susan Zemek at (360) 902-8562 and leave a message. She will automatically be paged and will help you arrange an interview.

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