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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 9, 1997
97-192
CONTACT: Jeri Sevier, Special Assistant (360) 407-7460
Curt Hart, (360) 407-6973
Oil-Spill Advisory Committee to Meet December 12
OLYMPIA, WA - The Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Committee
will conduct its first meeting from 9 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 12, at
the West Coast SeaTac Hotel, 18220 Pacific Highway S., in SeaTac.
The Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Committee was created under
the same 1997 law that folded the former state Office of Marine Safety (OMS)
into the Department of Ecology on July 1. The combined programs form a
comprehensive spill prevention, preparedness and response program.
The law also created an 11-member advisory committee representing various
government, industry and environmental sectors that will report back to the
state Legislature on the effectiveness of the merger in December 1998. The
members include:
- Sens. Karen Fraser and Gary Strannigan, representing the
Washington State Senate;
- Reps. Gary Chandler and Mike Cooper, representing the
Washington State House of Representatives;
- Marc Bayer, Port Captain-West Coast, British Petroleum Oil Shipping
Co., representing marine oil transportation;
- Bill Bock, president of Puget Sound Pilots, representing
state-licensed pilots;
- Bill Dewey, the project-development and public relations director of
Taylor United, representing the shellfish industry;
- Kathy Fletcher, executive director of People for Puget Sound,
representing environmentalists;
- Leslie Hughes, executive director of North Pacific Fishing Vessel
Owners Association, representing the fishing industry;
- Harry Hutchins, executive director of Puget Sound Steamship Operators
Association, representing marine cargo transporters; and
- Joe Stohr, program manager of Ecology's Spill Prevention,
Preparedness, and Response Program, representing the Washington Department of
Ecology.
Agenda items for the Dec. 12 meeting include:
- An overview of merged Office of Marine Safety core functions, such as
tank-vessel spill-prevention plans, vessel screening, inspections and incident
investigations, and education and outreach activities
- Discussion of merger effectiveness
- Committee objectives and expectations
- Timeline for 1998 legislative report
- Public comment
For more information, please contact Ecology's staff representative Jeri
Sevier at (360) 407-7460 e-mail: jsev461@ecy.wa.gov)
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
