Peninsula Daily News and news sources
Cleanup companies such as the nonprofit Marine Spill Response Corp., which has a Port Angeles location, have joined state and federal agencies to deploy workers and equipment to mop up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Marine Spill Response Corp. has already deployed 26 people from Washington state, some from its Port Angeles station, said Curt Hart, spokesman for the state Department of Ecology.
“We know other agencies have been approached, but so far the MSRC is leading with the people sent down there,” he said.
“We know that more will be sent.”
Among those with the MSRC is Art Hoffman of Port Angeles, said his brother, Dan Hoffman, Monday.
Art Hoffman has worked for the MSRC for about 10 years, his brother said, and also has assisted in cleanup efforts after hurricanes Katrina and Aaron as well as spills in New Jersey and Staten Island.
Prepared for the task
“This is what they train for 40 hours a week,” Dan Hoffman said.
“They train so that they’ll be ready when something like this happens.”
It was unclear Monday how many of the 26 workers were from the MSRC’s Port Angeles station and how many were from the Everett location, Hart said.
In addition to workers, the organization sent 15,000 gallons of chemical disbursements and about 1,400 feet of fireproof booms, he said.
From as far away as south-central Alaska — 3,100 miles from the spill — experts and easily transported materials started heading south within days after an explosion and fire destroyed the Deepwater Horizon offshore rig, spewing hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
NWFF Environmental, a small, Philomath, Ore., company that provides training, support and cleanup services, sent 10 radio and telecommunications specialists to the Gulf just four days after the April 20 explosion.
Now it’s rushing to find and train up to 200 shoreline cleanup workers, program manager Steve Finch said.
Just how many people and how much gear sent is constantly changing. So far, it’s mostly been a few key people, along with miles of containment boom and thousands of gallons of oil dispersant, Hart said.
National pact
Under a national compact, other states provide aid when one asks for help, Hart said. Louisiana made the request last week, and state and federal agencies in the Northwest and nationally have been drawing up lists of available assets.
“We anticipate other requests will come — this is only the beginning,” Hart said.
Washington’s Ecology Department has determined it could offer 11 specialists in oil spills and natural resources and 27 shoreline cleanup technicians.
Hart said that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had already deployed workers and more were likely to be sent.
The Sector Seattle Coast Guard had sent about 17 workers to the area to help with communications and other issues, but none of the workers were from the North Olympic Peninsula, the Coast Guard said.
The Navy and Coast Guard also are determining what they can spare. So far, the Coast Guard here has sent 10,000 feet of boom and four oil skimming machines.
The Exxon Valdez oil spill gave Alaskans firsthand knowledge of fighting such disasters. Washington has five refineries and scores of tankers and cargo ships plying its waters — and a populace and government leery of risking any catastrophe to fragile Puget Sound.
A problem, Hart and others said, is that the states must maintain their own spill protections as they help the Gulf states.
“The state of Washington is preparing to send about 40 people down to help with various facets,” Hart said.
“But it is important to note that we will not compromise our own preparedness.
“Although many people are going down, we won’t compromise our position in case of an emergency here.”
Global Diving and Salvage of Seattle is backfilling many of the emergency response positions for organizations that have gone to the Gulf Coast to help.
