Peninsula Daily News and The Associated Press
PORT ANGELES — A federal oversight agency’s request Wednesday that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reconsider a plan to move its research fleet from Seattle’s Lake Union to Newport, Ore., was welcome news at the Port of Port Angeles.
But whether the decision could reopen the bidding process for the NOAA fleet, and whether Port Angeles officials will get another shot at getting the fleet, remains unclear.
The decision by the Government Accountability Office itself was a mixed bag.
The GAO said Wednesday it upheld an appeal by the Port of Bellingham, which also made a bid for the fleet and its support facilities along with the Port of Port Angeles, Port of Seattle and Port of Newport.
A GAO spokesman said the ruling does not overturn NOAA’s decision to base the fleet at Newport, about 130 miles southwest of Portland — but does force the agency to document whether there is a practical alternative among the three other bidders to Newport’s offer.
The process could lead to plan revisions or, at the extreme, could result in the bidding process being reopened and the facility being awarded to another port.
Flood plain
The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, asked NOAA to reassess its decision because the Newport site is at odds with NOAA’s own requirements.
The site is within the 100-year flood plain at the mouth of the Yaquina River, the GAO said.
The GAO, which previously dismissed an appeal from the Lake Union property owners, can only make recommendations and can’t force NOAA to select another bidder.
A NOAA spokesman declined to comment Wednesday, pending review of the nine-page ruling. It has 60 days to officially respond.
NOAA plans to base four research ships and up to two visiting ships at Newport beginning in 2011.
The vessels have been based in Seattle for 45 years, but the agency in August awarded a new 20-year lease to Newport.
The base in Seattle currently has about 175 employees, including 110 officers and crew assigned to the ships.
The economic impact is estimated at $19 million a year.
‘Too early to tell’
Port of Port Angeles Executive Director Jeff Robb said he supports the GAO’s decision but “it’s too early for us to tell what’s going to happen.
“If there is a positive outcome to this,” he added, “it [the bid process] would start over.”
Robb said the port will pay close attention to what happens next.
“We will stand by and certainly watch this as it unfolds and develops,” he said.
Port of Port Angeles staff voiced opposition to NOAA’s decision made in August to move the fleet from Lake Union in Seattle to Newport in 2011, but decided not to file an appeal.
Fred Seeger, interim executive director for the Port of Bellingham, said he was pleased by the GAO ruling, although disappointed that the decision did not recommend a complete restart of the process.
“We didn’t get the full win, but this is a pretty big step for us to have the GAO rule in favor of the Port of Bellingham and against the move to Newport,” Seeger said.
He and other Bellingham officials said they remain hopeful that NOAA will locate its fleet there.
“All we know at this point for certain is that it means all the legal appeal costs will be paid” by NOAA, said Port of Bellingham spokeswoman Carolyn Casey.
Casey said those costs total about $200,000.
She said Port of Bellingham attorneys will have a better idea of what the next step will be in a few days.
NOAA’s source evaluation board found the Port of Newport’s bid to be the “most technically sound” followed by the bid from the Port of Bellingham, according to the GAO.
Bellingham officials had accused the state of Oregon of providing a $19 million subsidy to Newport for its bid.
Bellingham has estimated the full cost of the facility at about $32 million.
In a written statement, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell said the NOAA choice of Newport should be revoked and the federal Department of Commerce, which oversees NOAA, should restart its decision-making process.
“NOAA should keep its Marine Operations Center in Puget Sound — the proximity of employees and oceans research centers makes Puget Sound the logical choice,” said Cantwell. D-Mountlake Terrace.
“With today’s announcement, Bellingham’s case for keeping NOAA’s Pacific fleet in Puget Sound can now get a full and fair hearing.”
No ‘panic’ in Newport
Port of Newport General Manager Don Mann said he’s not overly concerned.
The port is moving ahead with engineering, design and other pre-construction work on the $35 million project, he said.
“We have a contract with NOAA,” he said. “Nobody’s told us yet to stop. It’s not panic time.”
Newport, well known as a vacation and fishing spot on the central Oregon coast, has developed in recent years as a research center, with Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center and the nearby Oregon Coast Aquarium on the south side of Yaquina Bay.
The port is building a 5-acre complex at Newport’s South Beach that will include an administrative building, a 1,950-foot-long pier, a small boat dock, a workshop and parking.
Mann said Bellingham’s flood plain complaint is unfounded.
He maintained that Newport’s plan took the flood plain into account.
“We don’t see that as an issue,” he said.
“We will not be in the flood plain. All piers are in the flood plain before you build them. The elevation of the piers takes them out of the flood plain.”
