In The Event Of The Unthinkable: An Oil Spill in our Waters

From Marta Branch, San Juan Marine Resources Committee (MRC) Coordinator

The communities of the Northwest Straits region are keenly interested in planning for the potential of an oil spill in our marine waters. Industry groups, tribes, state, local, and federal agencies regularly conduct oil spill response drills. The average citizen, however, is not aware of what happens during an oil spill, who makes spill response decisions, how those decisions are made, and how volunteers can become involved in spill response.

Join us for a rare opportunity to hear directly from the decision makers who would be involved in responding to this type of event in San Juan County.

The Northwest Straits Foundation and the San Juan Marine Resources Committee will help community members understand the world of oil spill planning and response through a workshop to be held on September 28th.

9:00 – 9:10 Welcome and Introductions, Robyn Du Pre, Northwest Straits Foundation

9:10 – 10:00 Oil Spill Response in Local Waters (scripted scenario)
Narrator: Robyn du Pré
Scene: Incident Command Post
At Round Table:

· Capt. Scott Ferguson, U.S. Coast Guard
· Dave Byers, Department of Ecology
· Brendan Cowan, Director, San Juan County Department of Emergency Management
· Tribal spill response managers: Jeremy Freimund, Lummi Nation & Rochelle Lubbers, Tulalip Tribes
· Tim Johnson, Phillips Petroleum (invited).
Questions and Answers

10:00 – 10:35 Response Protocols and Planning: NW Area Contingency Plan and Incident Command Structure, Local Emergency Management Involvement:

· Linda Pilkey-Jarvis, Dept. of Ecology
· Brendan Cowan, San Juan County Dept. of Emergency Management

10:35-10:45 Break

10:45-11:30 Fate and Effects of Oil in the Environment
Types of oil transiting through the NW Straits, how it behaves in a spill and how it affects the environment
· Gary Shigenaka, NOAA Scientific Support Team
· Dave Byers, Ecology

11:30- 12:15 Recovery Techniques (IOSA, Ecology, Coast Guard, MSRC invited)

Recovery Techniques and equipment
Local geography and challenges for spill response

12:15-12:45 Lunch Break—(Please bring your own sack lunch)

12:45 – 1:30 Resources at Risk and Protection Priorities

· Overview: Dan Doty, WDFW and Stephanie Buffum, Friends of the San Juans to overview local resources at risk
· Break into small groups, give various scenarios and description of resources at risk and have the groups wrestle with real world decisions in weighing relative values of various environmental assets (have speakers circulating or assigned to each group to give expert advice)
· Report back and discuss the various options available in each scenario

1:30-2:00 Information Management and Communications:
How does Incident Command communicate effectively with the public, VIPs, chains of command, political leaders at all levels? Facilitated discussion with Captain Scott Ferguson

2:00-2:15 Break

2:15-2:20 Community Engagement Overview: Robyn du Pré
Opportunities for Community Volunteer Involvement
· NWSF: Oiled Wildlife and HazWOPPER trainings
· Seattle Audubon: Volunteer seabird surveys to establish baseline conditions

2:20-2:30 PIER volunteer portal: Linda Pilkey- Jarvis, Dept. of Ecology

2:30-2:45 Islands Oil Spill Association: Oiled Wildlife Trainings for San Juan County volunteers

2:45-3:00 UW Coast Program: Volunteer beached bird surveys

3:00–3:15 Closure: Final Questions and Answers, Workshop Evaluation

Come to this exciting workshop held in San Juan County: September 28, 2013, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Friday Harbor Labs Lecture Hall. (Please bring your own sack lunch)

To pre-register for this workshop: email marineresources@sanjuanco.com or contact Marta Branch, MRC Coordinator at 360-370-7592