Dale Jensen News

Ecology issues $112,500 penalty for sunken vessel. American Gold Seafoods faces a $112,500 penalty for an oil spill caused by the accidental sinking of its vessel, the Clam Digger, in July 2013 near Anacortes. The Washington Department of Ecology investigated the cause of the sinking and spill and determined that negligence was a key factor. When the Clam Digger left Anacortes on July 10, the boat encountered high waves, began taking on water, and eventually sank. AGS immediately initiated appropriate response protocols. Divers recovered the boat six days later, but during the recovery efforts 315 gallons of oil spilled. "This spill was preventable," said Dale Jensen, who manages Ecology’s Spill Prevention, Preparedness and Response Program.

Polar Tankers Inc., a subsidiary of ConocoPhillips Co., has agreed to pay $588,000 to help compensate the public for environmental harm caused by the October 2004 crude oil spill into Puget Sound’s Dalco Passage near Tacoma. The payment would come under a proposed settlement agreement or consent decree filed this week in U.S. District Court, Western Washington Division involving Polar Tankers and the United States, state of Washington, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and Puyallup Tribe of Indians. A consent decree in federal court makes no finding of guilt or innocence. The U.S. Attorney General’s action was made at the request of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S.

Representatives from Washington Department of Ecology and the oil tank vessel industry met in Seattle on July 29 to award Polar Tankers with Ecology’s Exceptional Compliance Program (ECOPRO) Award. The award was given to the subsidiary of ConocoPhillips Co. for achieving excellence in marine safety and environmental stewardship. Polar Tankers operates U.S.-flagged crude oil tankers on the West Coast including Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Hawaii and Canada. Its five modern, Endeavour Class tankers are specifically designed to carry crude oil in an environmentally safe manner.

In September 2006, state lawmakers directed Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) to adopt stringent oil transfer rules after 4,700 gallons of heavy fuel oil spilled during an oil transfer operation at Chevron-Texaco's Richmond Beach fuel terminal in December 2003. Swift currents drove the oil ashore on the Suquamish Tribe shellfish beds at Doe-kag-wats beach and salt marsh at Indianola in Kitsap County. In 2008, nearly 15 billion gallons of oil were transferred over Washington waters by ship, fueling facility, tank truck or rail, according to Ecology reports. That equals 1.7 million gallons an hour. Since the rules went into effect, Ecology has seen reductions in the amount of oil spilled. In 2008, only about 158 gallons were spilled to Washington waters during fuel transfers.

The Department of Ecology (Ecology) has fined owners of the Gaz Diamond propane tanker $75,500 for spilling oil into the Port Angeles harbor in May 2002. The Gaz Diamond is owned by the Naftomar Shipping and Trading Company Ltd., based in Greece. The ship spilled 1,188 gallons of fuel oil when its tanks overfilled while refueling. The oil washed up on nearby beaches and docks along the southern shore of the Ediz Hook peninsula near the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station. Cleanup efforts lasted five days and involved oil skimming vessels, thousands of feet of oil containment boom and hundreds of oil snares staked along the shore. Oil collected in nearby commercial fish pens, on docks, log booms, private boats, the public boat launch, a U.S. Coast Guard vessel, and the Puget Sound Pilot Station.

spilling oil into the Port Angeles harbor in May 2002. Ltd., based in Greece. while refueling. U.S. Coast Guard Air Station. shore. private boats, the public boat launch, a U.S. Coast Guard vessel, and the Puget Sound Pilot Station. reported to be covered in oil. beds, which are an essential habitat for a variety of marine species. Ecology. environment. That assessment has been paid.

More than 33 oil spills from nine dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers have prompted the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) to take enforcement action against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Ecology issued a notice of violation today that lists the state oil spill and clean-water laws that have been violated. It also cites the Corps for insufficiently training and preparing staff to respond to oil spills, and it describes the potential that exists for further spills from the nine hydropower dams the Corps operates on the river system. Spills were reported for the following dams from 1999 to 2004: Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, Chief Joseph, McNary, Lower Monumental, Ice Harbor, Little Goose and Lower Granite.

Four oil-handling facilities in Washington had unannounced spill drills sprung on them last week by the state Department of Ecology and all four passed. The four facilities that participated in the simultaneous drills were the BP Cherry Point Refinery in Ferndale, Shore Terminal in Tacoma, Tesoro Terminal in Port Angeles and ConocoPhillips-Yellowstone Pipeline in Spokane. Beginning around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 9, staff from Ecology, the U.S. Coast Guard and the federal Environmental Protection Agency arrived at the facilities and presented scenarios that called for the companies to notify appropriate officials, organize a command center, and assess what type of spill response was needed to protect the public, the environment and workers.

On August 1, the Subcommittee on Fisheries and Coast Guard of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation conducted a field hearing in Seattle on Reducing the Risk of Future Oil Spills. Among the various witnesses, Captain Myles Boothe, USCG testified that the majority of oil entering waters of the United States comes from land-based sources and the majority of vessel-based oil spills in the Pacific Northwest comes from recreational and fishing vessels. Mr. Dale Jensen, Washington State Department of Ecology, testified that state and regional agencies should be allowed to establish higher vessel pollution prevention standards than those utilized by the federal government. Dr.

The Department of Ecology (Ecology) and Crowley Maritime Corp. agreed to continue a contract stationing a company rescue tug at Neah Bay from October 2007 through mid-March 2008. A rescue tug has been stationed at Neah Bay since spring 1999. The tug has stood by or assisted 33 ships that were disabled or had reduced maneuvering or propulsion capability while transiting along the coast and through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The actions helped ensure the ships didn't drift onto rocks and spill oil. "The Neah Bay area is sacred to the Makah Tribe and Washington's coast is a world-class treasure," said Gov. Chris Gregoire. "Flanked by the Olympic National Park along the coast and the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary where thousands of ships…

Changes to state environmental regulations proposed by the state Department of Ecology (Ecology) should reduce the risk of oil spills into Washington's waters during oil transfers. Aiming for a goal of zero oil spills, Ecology developed the draft "rules" with a special advisory committee made up of the oil industry and other citizen advocates. Changes in state oil-transfer regulations were requested by the 2004 Legislature following the Dec. 30, 2003, spill of 4,700 gallons of heavy oil into Puget Sound while a tank barge was receiving oil cargo from a Richmond Beach oil-storage facility near Seattle. "We believe these new standards can make a significant difference in the amount of oil that is both catastrophically and cumulatively dripped…

The Thirteenth U.S. Coast Guard District and Washington state (Ecology) have formalized protocols for improved coordination of their oil pollution prevention and response efforts in Washington state waters. Capt. Myles Boothe, Chief, 13th Coast Guard District Marine Safety Division; and Dale Jensen, Ecology’s spills program manager, signed the protocols last Friday at the 13th Coast Guard District office. In May 2001, Governor Gary Locke and USCG Rear Adm. Erroll M. Brown signed a Memorandum of Agreement to work together to achieve a coordinated and efficient working relationship. The new protocols for Washington waters apply to all oil spill incidents and include information sharing…

Alaska Tanker Company was fined $25,000 by the state for allowing an estimated 462 gallons of crude oil to spill from the tanker, Prince William Sound, into Port Angeles harbor. The spill partly stained two miles of beach inside Ediz Hook. The state Department of Ecology's investigation found that the tanker's crew allowed a deck-drain system to fail because there was no check valve in place to prevent it from overflowing in Port Angeles Harbor on a journey from Valdez, Alaska, to Cherry Point. It was carrying a full load of Alaska North Slope crude oil. "The shipping company cooperated fully with the emergency spill response, but nonetheless, the spill was preventable and jeopardized a valuable marine environment," said Dale Jensen, manager of Ecology's spill prevention program.

A division of Crowley Maritime Corp. received the Department of Ecology's (Ecology) highest award today for excellence in tank-vessel marine safety and environmental stewardship. The Exceptional Compliance Program (ECOPRO) Award recognizes Crowley's Marine Transport Corp. subsidiary for its fleet of four articulated tug barges (ATBs). A specially equipped tug locks into a notch in the double-hulled barge's stern to create a single, hinged vessel. The set-up reduces the chances of the barge breaking loose and spilling oil, and provides a higher overall level of safety, reliability and efficiency. The voluntary spill-prevention program for tanker and tank-barge fleets requires member companies to meet 26 marine safety standards, among the world's most stringent.