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Department of Ecology News Release - July 25, 2006
06-135
OLYMPIA - Road-clearing activity will start this week on the sand spit at Damon Point State Park at Ocean Shores to allow construction equipment to reach the shipwreck Catala found in June to hold thousands of gallons of oil.
The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) spill-response program is overseeing the project. Ecology quickly obtained all necessary environmental permits after designating the project an emergency threat to the environment. The agency will pay for the effort using funds from the state's Oil Spill Response Account. The account comes from a tax on oil that passes through Washington marine terminals.
In early August, cleanup contractors hired by Ecology will bring in cranes and start constructing vertical metal sheet piling walls around the three seaward sides of the ship. These containment walls will allow workers to remove sand and water from deeply buried portions of the ship. The walls also will contain any oil that may be released during the cleanup activity and minimize possible harm to the environment.
The project plan calls for workers to cut away structures of the ship to expose the tops of oil tanks so oil can be removed. Since the oil is old, it may need to be heated.
Ecology received an assessment report in June that estimated the ship has 4,500 gallons of oil in two of its five tanks. The report said three other inaccessible tanks may also contain oil.
The state is timing the oil removal and cleanup project to minimize any disturbance to threatened and endangered birds that may be nesting on the Damon Point sand spit. Ecology is consulting with state and federal biologists to track where Western Snowy Plovers and Streaked Horned Larks are located in the Damon Point area.
The state has not made a determination if the shipwreck will be removed from the beach, according to Jim Sachet of Ecology's spill response program, who is managing the project. The funding Ecology has obtained can only pay for work necessary to remove oil and contaminated sand, dispose of it and assure that the old hull is clean, he said.
Washington's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is trying to identify the owner of the vessel, and is looking for funding to remove the rest of the hulk from the beach. DNR is steward of 2.4 million acres of state-owned aquatic lands, of which the Damon Point sand spit is a part.
Sachet asked beach walkers to respect construction signs and stay away from the area, which will be unsafe for the public. Ecology will be keeping its Web site updated with Catala progress. The public may access it by visiting the Department of Ecology home page at www.ecy.wa.gov and looking under "Spotlight."
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Contact: Sandy Howard, public information manager, 360-407-6239
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
