House Bill 1186 clears Senate today; House concurrence expected soon
OLYMPIA – The Senate today passed a bill designed to prevent catastrophic oil spills and improve spill-response efforts in Washington waters. Sponsored by Rep. Christine Rolfes, the bill now awaits concurrence in the House of Representatives and then the expected approval of the governor in the coming days. Sen. Kevin Ranker sponsored the companion bill in the Senate.
“This month is the one-year anniversary of the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Each year 4,000 tankers deliver 15 billion gallons of oil via Washington waterways, so we’re exposed to a lot of risk here as well,” said Rolfes, D-Bainbridge Island. “With this legislation, we’re applying the lessons learned so that a major oil spill doesn’t wreck our economy, quality of life, and natural environment in Washington.”
HB 1186 puts a series of expanded and new responsibilities on oil companies that operate in Puget Sound, the Columbia River, coastal waters and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. They will need to take greater responsibility, at their own expense, for the safe travel of oil tankers, with updated contingency plans and proper equipment in place for a swift, effective response in the event of a spill.
“After the terrible oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last summer our constituents raised the bar on their expectations for our state’s preparedness,” said co-sponsor Rep. Zack Hudgins, D-Tukwila. “I am glad we passed this bill that will build on the great work we already do; it will help what is currently in place. We will have new standards that better meet the expectations of people back home.”
Unlike the Gulf of Mexico, Puget Sound is a confined body of water, meaning an oil spill here cannot easily disperse into the open ocean. A large spill would stop marine traffic up and down the Sound. With the Puget Sound ports in Seattle and Tacoma forming the second-largest harbor in the country for container traffic, the economic ramifications could be severe.
“Our lives and livelihoods are so intertwined with our agricultural lands, forests, rivers, Sound and ocean that it’s no wonder estimated impacts are so high,“ said Ranker, D-San Juan Island. “Estimated impact from a major spill exceeds $10 billion and could affect over 165,000 jobs. We cannot afford to leave our livelihood and our future so unprotected.”
“Unfortunately a large oil spill in Washington waters is almost inevitable. This bill will help better prepare the state to protect our shorelines, orca whales and other wildlife, as well as the businesses that depend on clean water, such as shellfish growers,” said Bruce Wishart, policy director at People for Puget Sound.
Rolfes originally introduced the bill the same week in January that the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill released its final report, shedding light on the breakdowns that led to the spill and weak response efforts afterward. One chapter of the report found that the spill was not the result of exceptional circumstances, “… rather, the root causes are systemic, and absent significant reform in both industry practices and government policies, might well recur.”
More information about HB 1186 is available here; and a video with Rolfes, Hudgins and Rep. Dave Upthegrove, D-Des Moines, is available below: