The Pacific States/British Columbia

Oil Spill Task Force Combining Resources to Protect the Pacific Marine Environment

Quarterly Report to our StakeholdersFourth Quarter 2003

Tom Fitzsimmons Receives OutstandingService Award

On December 8th Tom Fitzsimmons waspresented the Oil Spill Task Force’s OutstandingService Award for his contributions asWashington’s Task Force Member from 1996 to2003. Tom was recognized for his “exceptionalleadership as expressed by ongoing support forthe Task Force’s endeavors and foresight inshaping our vision of the future.” Jean Cameron,the Task Force Executive Coordinator,specifically cited Tom’s support for Task Forceefforts to facilitate regional partnerships, thesupport for Task Force activities provided byEcology staff, plus Ecology’s financial andcontract management support. She furthernoted that Tom had participated in five AnnualMeetings and two Strategic Planning sessions,providing leadership and guidance on everyoccasion.

Tom served as Washington’s Task ForceMember during his tenure as Director of theWashington Department of Ecology. OnSeptember 24th, Washington Governor GaryLocke announced that Tom would serve as hisnew Chief of Staff. After presenting the Award,Jean noted that Tom’s leadership “would bemissed, but knowing that you’ll provide wiseguidance to the entire state of Washington givesme confidence that the Task Force will continueto benefit from that leadership.”

Task Force to Sponsor RoundtableDiscussion on Preventing Pollution fromCruise Ships

In response to a significant increase incruise ship traffic in our member jurisdictionsover the past few years, the Task Force willsponsor a forum focused on prevention of oilspills and other waste streams from cruise ships.This Roundtable will be held on January 21, 2004at the Hilton Hotel in San Diego; please see thenotice posted on our website for more details onlocation and time.

Mike Conway, who directed Alaska’sCruise Ship Initiative, will moderate theRoundtable. Carlton Moore, our California TaskForce Member, will keynote the event. JackGeck, a member of California’s Cruise Ship TaskForce, will review potential waste streams, andTom Dow, representing the International Councilof Cruise Lines (ICCL), will describe what stepsthe cruise ship industry is taking to reduce andeliminate those wastes. A second panel willaddress whether regulations or voluntaryagreements are most effective. Speaking to thisissue will be Tom Dow, Kira Schmidt of theBluewater Network, Curtis Martin of the HawaiiDepartment of Health, Dr. Elizabeth Kim of EPA,and CDR Jeff Brager of the US Coast Guard.Since this is a Roundtable, audience members willbe encouraged to join in the discussion. Thisevent is open to the public and there is no fee,

but we do request that you contact JeanCameron at the phone number or email addresslisted below to register.

Oregon DEQ to host 2004 Annual MeetingThe Oregon Department of EnvironmentalQuality will host the Pacific States/BritishColumbia Oil Spill Task Force’s 2004 AnnualMeeting in Portland, Oregon on July 20, 2004.Track further announcements regarding eventlocation, theme, and agenda on our website atwww.oilspilltaskforce.org

Project Updates Places of Refuge: The Project Co-Chairs -Linda Pilkey-Jarvis, Manager of thePreparedness Section of the Spills Program atthe Washington Department of Ecology, andCAPT Rob Lorigan, Chief of the Marine SafetyDivision of the US Coast Guard Pacific Area –have been working with Jean Cameron to confirmWorkgroup Membership. Representatives fromUS Coast Guard Districts 17, 13, 14, and 11 willbe participating, as will representatives fromeach Task Force Member agency.Representatives from Transport Canada, theCanadian Coast Guard, and Environment Canadahave also agreed to participate. Industry groupsrepresented will include the British ColumbiaChamber of Shipping, the Council of MarineCarriers (tow boat operators in BC), theAmerican Waterways Operator, Pacific Region,TeeKay Shipping for INTERTANKO, and theWestern States Petroleum Association MarineCommittee, which includes the TAPS tradetanker operators. Non-tank vessels will berepresented by steamship operator associationsfrom Puget Sound, California, and the ColumbiaRiver. Both the Cook Inlet and the Prince WilliamSound Regional Citizen Advisory Councils will beWorkgroup members, as will the David SuzukiFoundation office in BC. People for Puget Sound,the Bluewater Network, and the Pacific MarineConservation Council have also been invited toparticipate but have not yet confirmed. TheWorkgroup will hold their first meeting in earlyFebruary in the Seattle area. Observers fromOttawa and Washington DC will be invited, and

the Workgroup will discuss which experts toinvolve in this project in an advisory capacity. Best Industry Spill Prevention Practices forLarge Commercial Vessels and Tank Barges:MARAD has agreed to host a panel discussionaddressing this issue on March 3rd at theirHouston meeting of the Ship OperationsCooperative Program. Stan Norman of theWashington Department of Ecology willmoderate the panel, and representatives fromSeaRiver Maritime, Moran Towing, and HorizonLines have been invited as panelists. For moreinformation on this event, contact Jean Cameron(contact info below) or Todd Ripley at MARAD.Todd’s phone number is 202-366-2625 and hisemail address is Todd.Ripley@marad.dot.gov. 2002 Regional Spill Data: The DatabaseProject Workgroup has compiled spill data forthe first six months of 2003. It indicates similartrends to those noted in the 2002 data, but withmore detail. To summarize:• By product spilled, diesel is still largest by

volume on a regional basis, followed by“other” and crude oil.

• By spill source, facilities still dominate,followed by “other.” In Washington, Alaska,and California, the facility type responsiblefor most spills is “commercial/industrial.” InOregon, it’s residential fuel tanks.

• Equipment failure still dominates causalfactors on a regional basis, followed byHuman Error, External Conditions, and“unknown.” One Data Project Workgroupmember has noted that “the more thoroughthe investigation the more likely human errorcomes in. The more sketchy the facts themore likely it ends with an equipment failurecause.” We’re working to improveinvestigation data.

Strategic Planning: The Task ForceCoordinating Committee discussed developmentof a new Strategic Plan during their October2003 quarterly meeting. They agreed that thenext Strategic Plan will be a five-year plan,subject to biennial review. They revised theMission Statement to focus on oil spills as ourcore mission, and the current Goals andObjectives were retained with minor edits. The

Coordinating Committee also updated the tasklist from their 2002 Long Range PlanningRetreat. These changes will be reflected in afirst draft which they will review at theirWinter Quarterly meeting in January 2004. Thefinal draft 2004-2009 Strategic Plan will beposted on our website this Spring for publiccomment. The Task Force Members areexpected to adopt the final plan at their 2004Annual Meeting.

Task Force and Member Agency Activities On December 9th, the WashingtonDepartment of Ecology awarded theirExceptional Compliance Program (Ecopro) awardto M.T.M. Ship Management Private Ltd. ofSingapore. Companies must meet or exceedEcology’s 31 voluntary tanker standards toreceive the award, and M.T.M. is only the thirdtanker operator to win the award and the firstnon-US flag company to do so. For more details,visit Ecology’s Spills Program website athttp://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/spills/spills.html

Ecology Director Linda Hoffman presenting theEcopro Award to M.T.M. Ship Mgmt of Singapore atthe Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center. M.T.M.'s

CAPT Don Carroll is on the left and TechnicalDirector, Duncan Findlay is on the right.

After attending the Ecopro Award ceremony,Task Force Executive Coordinator Jean Cameronattended the US Coast Guard’s public hearing ontheir proposed rule regarding AIS carriagerequirements. The Task Force has submitted

comments on this draft rule; these are availableon our website. Jean Cameron joined Heather Taylor andStafford Reid from the BC Ministry of Water,Land, and Air Protection on December 10th asthey met in Vancouver, BC with representativesfrom the Canadian Coast Guard, EnvironmentCanada, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Jeanalso met with a Transport Canada official. Thefull Coordinating Committee will meet withrepresentatives from the US Coast GuardMarine Safety offices in the Pacific Area onJanuary 21st. These meetings provide importantopportunities for collaboration and coordination. The Task Force Coordinating Committee willhold their winter 2004 quarterly meeting in SanDiego 1/22-1/23. This is an executive session,but summary notes will be posted on our website.

THE TASK FORCE MEMBER AGENCIES

The Alaska Department of EnvironmentalConservation

Contact Larry Dietrick at 907-465-5255The British Columbia Ministry of Water, Land,

and Air ProtectionContact Heather Taylor at 250-356-8174

The Office of Spill Prevention and Response,California Department of Fish and Game

Contact Scott Schaefer at 916-445-9326The Office of Hazards Evaluation andEmergency Response in the Hawaii

Department of Environmental Health;Contact Curtis Martin at 808-586-4249

The Oregon Department of EnvironmentalQuality

Contact Mike Zollitsch at 503-229-6931The Washington Department of Ecology

Contact Stan Norman at 360-407-7465

Task Force member agency web sites can beaccessed through the Task Force web site

For more information regarding topics covered inthis newsletter, please contact Jean Cameron, Task

Force Executive Coordinator, at 503-392-5860(phone/fax) or by email at:

JeanRCameron@oregoncoast.com.Mailing Address: PO Box 1032, Neskowin, OR

97149-1032