PORT ANGELES — The Port of Port Angeles is considering challenging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s decision to move its research fleet from Seattle to Newport, Ore.
Staff members are considering whether the Port of Newport had an unfair advantage and if a formal protest can be justified, said port interim Executive Director Bill James.
NOAA announced Tuesday that it had chosen Newport as the new home of its Pacific-based fleet — over Port Angeles, Seattle and Bellingham.
The fleet will make the move from Lake Union in Seattle, where it has been since 1916, in 2011.
James said the port will file a formal protest with NOAA if it feels that the allocation of $19.5 million from the state of Oregon to help build the new facility — something Washington state is prohibited from doing by its constitution — created an “unlevel playing field” or if it finds that the NOAA chief’s role as a marine biologist at Oregon State University played a part.
Newport is home to OSU research vessels, according to the News Times of Newport.
Rear Adm. Jonathan Bailey told TheSeattle Times that the site was picked by NOAA’s “source selection specialist” and that the agency’s chief, Jane Lubchenco, didn’t have a say in the decision.
“I can assure you this was a very clean and fair process,” he told the newspaper.
Capt. Michele Bullock, commanding officer of the Pacific Marine Operations Center, told the Peninsula Daily News that finances and the quality of life for the staff in the location were weighed when the decision was made.
Any further details can’t be released until a lease is signed.
Meeting today in PA
In the meantime, the port plans a meeting with officials from the city of Port Angeles and Clallam County — all of which contributed funds to the port’s proposal to NOAA — today to discuss the agency’s decision and possible courses of action.
James said the port can file a protest with NOAA, the Government Accountability Office or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
The time line for submitting a complaint is 10 days for NOAA and the GAO, and six years for the federal claims court.
He said the port’s attorney is looking into when the time line begins — since the port hasn’t received an official notification from NOAA about its decision — and what would happen after a protest is filed.
County administrator skeptical
Clallam County Administrator Jim Jones was skeptical about whether a formal protest can be justified unless NOAA didn’t follow its own rules.
“Quite frankly, I don’t know if there is a whole lot to do,” he said.
Jones added that he doesn’t see much of a difference between the funds the Seattle Times and News Times reported that Oregon offered and the $75,000 that Clallam County and Port Angeles provided to help pay for the port’s proposal, which cost a total of $129,000.
“Our state didn’t come up with the $20 million; their state did,” he said.
“Well, money talks.
“I still think we came up with a better proposal.”
Port Commissioner Jim McEntire agreed that the port needs to determine that it has a legitimate grievance before challenging the decision.
“I’m not too terribly inclined, unless we think we have got a real good case where NOAA didn’t follow their own procedures,” he said.
“And I don’t truly expect that to be the case.”
James said the port has requested a briefing from NOAA on its decision to shed light on its concerns.
But he didn’t rule out filing a protest with the agency beforehand if it can’t hold the meeting prior to the closing of the 10-day window.
“We are very aware of the deadline,” James said. “If we should choose to file a protest, we will meet the deadline.”
James said the port staff and commissioners will meet in executive session Monday to discuss the issue.
Port staff and commissioners aren’t the only people questioning NOAA’s decision.
Many questions
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Mountlake Terrace — chairwoman of the Oceans, Atmosphere and Fisheries and Coast Guard subcommittee — said in a written statement Tuesday that she plans to fight it.
“As chair of the Senate subcommittee that oversees NOAA, I’m not confident that all options have been thoroughly reviewed through this process,” she said in the statement.
Her spokeswoman, Ciaran Clayton, said Wednesday that Cantwell and her staff are trying to determine what can be done at the federal level.
Port Angeles City Manager Kent Myers said the city — which provided $50,000 for the port’s proposal — has not come to a decision on what it will do if the port protests NOAA’s move.
But, he added, the city wants to ensure that its money wasn’t wasted if the decision “wasn’t handled in a fair process.”
If that is not the case, City Council member Karen Rogers said at Tuesday’s council meeting, she would like the city to be reimbursed for the money it spent.
She could not be reached Wednesday to clarify who she thinks should reimburse the city.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
