GRP – Oil Spills 101

GRP Quarterly Newsletter – April 2024

Posted on April 1, 2024 by David Prater

What are Geographic Response Plans?

Oil spills pose a risk to sensitive environmental, cultural, and economic resources. One important tool in our planning toolbox is the Geographic Response Plan (GRP). GRPs contain pre-identified strategies for specific areas of the state at risk from oil spills. These are pre-approved plans that guide early response actions during oil spills. A list of all Washington State GRPs, including those open for comprehensive updates, can be found online at OilSpills101.wa.gov.

GRP Updates: Comprehensive vs. Interim

GRPs Open for Comprehensive Updates

GRPs currently open for comprehensive updates are listed below, along with the contact information if you have questions or want to participate. Included are any comprehensive GRP updates published in 2024.

Lake Washington – Comprehensive Update Published April 2024!
Outer Coast – David Prater at David.Prater@ecy.wa.gov
Middle Columbia River-Bonneville Pool – Max Gordon at Max.Gordon@ecy.wa.gov
South Puget Sound – Kaitlin Lebon at Kaitlin.Lebon@ecy.wa.gov
Lower Columbia River – Max Gordon at Max.Gordon@ecy.wa.gov
Strait of Juan de Fuca – Wendy Buffett at Wendy.Buffett@ecy.wa.gov
Snake River: Lower Monumental Pool, Little Goose Pool, Lower Granite Pool – Scott Zimmerman at Scott.Zimmerman@ecy.wa.gov
Admiralty Inlet – Sabrina Floudaras at Sabrina.floudaras@ecy.wa.gov
Green/Duwamish River and Upper Green River – Nora Haider at Nora.Haider@ecy.wa.gov

Interim GRP Updates during Winter 2024

Because a lot can change in a GRP planning area between comprehensive updates, Ecology is committed to conducting interim GRP updates when necessary. Examples of interim updates include improvements to response strategies resulting from lessons learned during oil spill drills or actual spills, updated contact information, changes to driving directions, and other response-enhancing edits. Ecology publishes interim updates to GRPs on a quarterly basis. Interim updates completed this quarter include the following:

Grays Harbor – GRSC–0.1
Hood Canal – Economic Resources at Risk (pdf)
North Puget Sound – Economic Resources at Risk (pdf), NPS-03, new Notification Strategy ELZ-1-N
Central Puget Sound – CPS-160a and CPS-160b, new Notification Strategy CPS-160-N

Everyone has a Role in Improving the State’s GRPs

Oil industry regularly exercises oil spill contingency plans to ensure their readiness to respond to an oil spill. These exercises often involve the deployment of GRP strategies. Each deployment is an opportunity to validate a response strategy’s effectiveness, and to make improvements if it is necessary.

GRPs also rely on feedback from professional oil spill responders, natural resource agencies, tribes, and the public. This valuable feedback is reflected in either a comprehensive update or the interim update process.

If you have information or ideas that can make GRP’s even more effective, Ecology wants to know! Please email GRP feedback to GRPs@ecy.wa.gov. If you are visiting a response strategy site, you can use our new GRP Strategy Assessment Form to help document your assessment. We thank you in advance for helping the Northwest Area Committee maintain a high level of readiness to respond to oil spills.

Grays Harbor GRP: Full Update Published!

Posted on July 27, 2023 by David Prater

The Washington Department of Ecology is happy to announce the comprehensive update to the Grays Harbor Geographic Response Plan (GRP) is complete and the updated GRP is now published online. This update was a collaborative process and Ecology appreciates the work of all involved, including spill management and response experts, the oil industry, local, state, tribal, and federal governments, and the public.

View the draft GRP sections here: https://www.oilspills101.wa.gov/northwest-area-contingency-plan/geographic-response-plans-grps/grays-harbor-grp/

Description of the Planning Area

The area covered includes shorelines of the Pacific Coast adjacent to Grays Harbor, the Grays Harbor entrance, Oyhut Sink, Grays Harbor, North Bay, South Bay, Bowerman Basin, and the rivers and creeks in the area that drain into Grays Harbor. The communities of Aberdeen, Cosmopolis, Hoquiam, Ocean Shores, and Westport are located within this planning area, as well as portions of Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties. Grays Harbor is within the usual and accustomed territories of several American Indian Tribes. The reservation of the Quinault Indian Nation is north of the City of Ocean Shores. The reservation of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe is south of the City of Westport. The Chehalis Confederated Tribes may have interest in the area’s resources as well.

What are Geographic Response Plans?

GRPs are used to guide early response actions in the event of an oil spill. Ecology develops and updates GRPs in collaboration with state, local and federal agencies and tribes. Each GRP is written for a specific area (for example a river, a lake, or section of Puget Sound), and includes tactical response strategies tailored to a particular shore or waterway at risk of injury from oil.

GRPs have two main objectives:

Identify sensitive natural, cultural or significant economic resources at risk of injury from oil spills.
Describe and prioritize response strategies in an effort to reduce injury to sensitive natural, cultural, and certain economic resources at risk from oil spills.

More Information
• Learn more about GRPs.
• See GRPs for Washington State.

Questions

Max Gordon
Oil Spill Preparedness Planner
Max.Gordon@ecy.wa.gov
360-972-4890

Lake Washington GRP – Public Comment Opportunity!

Posted on July 24, 2023July 24, 2023 by David Prater

What’s going on?

My name is Sabrina Floudaras, I’m an oil spill preparedness planner with the Washington Department of Ecology, and I’m so excited to announce the Lake Washington (LKWA) Geographic Response Plan is now open for public comment!

Geographic Response Plans (GRPs) aim to protect sensitive natural, cultural, and economic resources at risk from an oil spill in a specified geographic area. A key part of this process is gathering input from the people who work, live, and play in this community. I hope to hear from you during this public comment period (July 24^th–August 25^th, 2023).

I was privileged to work on the first Lake Washington GRP back in 2014. A lot has changed since in the area since then, which is why we opened the GRP for a full update in June 2020. As the world began to emerge from the pandemic, coordination with the community, tribes, and other local, state, and federal partners became my central focus to help expedite needed fieldwork and narrative updates completed, and it worked! The draft plan, now available for public comment, is something we can all be proud of.

Familiarize yourself!

This area densely populated also has abundant natural areas, public spaces, and culturally rich and diverse communities. On the shores of the lake sit Boeing manufacturing, the University of Washington campus with Botanical Gardens and an Arboretum, and the NOAA HQ Northwest Fisheries Science Center Montlake Laboratory. Adjacent to Warren Magnuson Park is NOAA’s Western Regional Center, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, and many parks supporting natural and economic resources. Importantly floating bridges, I-90 east and west bridges and 520 run across Lake Washington, and I-405 along the east side of the Lake bypasses I-5 through Seattle, crosses waterways that flow westward from eastern uplands.

Risks from oil spills in this area come from multiple sources. Aside from the bridges and recreational boating, there are two smaller oil holding facilities on the lake that store marine fuel, the Olympic Pipeline that carries refined petroleum product crosses the Sammamish River to the north, natural gas pipelines, and a large shore-side terminal with a worst case spill potential of over 2,000,000 gallons.

What has changed?

Overall I updated 20 GRP response strategies with contractor suggested changes, revised most response strategy Implementation Details to include more succinct information in support of a rapid, aggressive, and well-coordinated response, updated driving directions, photos, verified contacts, and coordinated with local officials to improve information on all the Boat Launches and Staging Areas. Additional improvements were made thanks to important feedback from the City of Seattle, Seattle PUD, Seattle Parks & Rec Dept, King County, City of Kirkland, Kirkland Parks, City of Bellevue, homeowners, and more.

Review the draft GRP: https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/ezshare/sppr/Preparedness/LKWA-Public/LKWACoverPage.pdf

Comment online:

Use our online comment form: https://sppr.ecology.commentinput.com/?id=TgZfF9Hpx2

Comment by mail:

Sabrina Floudaras
Department of Ecology, Spills Program
PO Box 47600
Olympia, WA 98504-7600

GRP Quarterly Newsletter – October, 2022

Posted on October 3, 2022October 3, 2022 by David Prater

What are Geographic Response Plans?

GRP Updates: Comprehensive vs. Interim

GRPs are periodically updated to ensure the information is relevant and up-to-date. These comprehensive updates require a lot of work and often take a year or two to complete. Work is coordinated with other state and federal agencies, tribes, industry partners, oil spill response professionals, and communities. GRPs currently open for comprehensive updates are listed below, along with the contact information if you have questions or want to participate.

WRIA-7 (Snohomish Basin) – Nora Haider at Nora.Haider@ecy.wa.gov
South Puget Sound – Kaitlin Lebon at Kaitlin.Lebon@ecy.wa.gov
Lake Chelan – Kaitlin Lebon at Kaitlin.Lebon@ecy.wa.gov
Lake Washington – Sabrina Floudaras at Sabrina.Floudaras@ecy.wa.gov
Lower Columbia River – Darcy Bird at Darcy.Bird@ecy.wa.gov
Strait of Juan de Fuca – Wendy Buffett at Wendy.Buffett@ecy.wa.gov
Snake River: Lower Monumental Pool, Little Goose Pool, Lower Granite Pool – Scott Zimmerman at Scott.Zimmerman@ecy.wa.gov
Grays Harbor – Max Gordon at Max.Gordon@ecy.wa.gov

Because a lot can change in a GRP planning area between comprehensive updates, Ecology is committed to conducting interim GRP updates when necessary. Examples of interim updates include improvements to response strategies resulting from lessons learned during drills or real spills, updated contact information, changes to driving directions after roadwork, and other response-enhancing edits. Ecology publishes interim updates to GRPs on a quarterly basis.

Interim GRP Updates for Spring 2022

Grays Harbor GRP: LKAB-0.0-N & WEST 0.0-N & CHER-0.15-N.

Central Puget Sound GRP: CPS-150; CPS-40; GRD-0.6.

Middle Columbia River – McNary Pool GRP: M-328.0L; M-326.5L.

Everyone has a Role in Improving the State’s GRPs

The oil industry regularly exercises oil spill contingency plans to ensure their readiness to respond to an oil spill. These exercises often involve the deployment of GRP strategies. Each deployment is an opportunity to validate a response strategy’s effectiveness, and to make improvements if it is necessary.

GRPs also rely on feedback from professional oil spill responders, natural resource agencies, tribes, and the public. This valuable feedback is often reflected in a comprehensive update, or through the interim update process.

If you have information or ideas that can make GRP’s even more effective, Ecology wants to know! Please email GRP feedback to GRPs@ecy.wa.gov. If you are visiting a response strategy site, you can use our new GRP Strategy Assessment Form to help document your assessment. We thank you in advance for helping the Northwest Regional Contingency Plan and the Area Plans maintain a high level of readiness to respond to oil spills.

Updates to Washington’s GRPs

Posted on April 26, 2022April 26, 2022 by David Prater

What are Geographic Response Plans?

GRP Updates: Comprehensive vs. Interim

WRIA-7 (Snohomish Basin) – Nora Haider at Nora.Haider@ecy.wa.gov
South Puget Sound – Kaitlin Lebon at Kaitlin.Lebon@ecy.wa.gov
Lake Chelan – Kaitlin Lebon at Kaitlin.Lebon@ecy.wa.gov
Lake Washington – Sabrina Floudaras at Sabrina.Floudaras@ecy.wa.gov
Lower Columbia River – Darcy Bird at Darcy.Bird@ecy.wa.gov
San Juan Islands – Max Gordon at Max.Gordon@ecy.wa.gov
Clark, Cowlitz, Southwest Lewis – Max Gordon at Max.Gordon@ecy.wa.gov
Strait of Juan de Fuca – Wendy Buffett at Wendy.Buffett@ecy.wa.gov
Snake River: Lower Monumental Pool, Little Goose Pool, Lower Granite Pool – Scott Zimmerman at Scott.Zimmerman@ecy.wa.gov
Grays Harbor – Max Gordon at Max.Gordon@ecy.wa.gov
Outer Coast – Scott Zimmerman at Scott.Zimmerman@ecy.wa.gov

Because a lot can change in a GRP planning area between comprehensive updates, Ecology is committed to conducting interim GRP updates when necessary. Examples of interim updates include improvements to response strategies resulting from lessons learned during drills or real spills, updated contact information, changes to driving directions after roadwork, and other response-enhancing edits. Ecology publishes interim updates to GRPs on a quarterly basis.

Interim GRP Updates for Spring 2022

Grays Harbor GRP: new information provided by NRCES from a site visit resulted in updates to CHRC-0.1 (site access, site safety, and land owner contact information) and NSKC-0.2 (site access and safety information).

Central Puget Sound GRP: during a recent spill in Elliott Bay, notification strategy CPS-31-N was utilized. New contact information for this strategy has been added.

North Puget Sound GRP: We updated NPS-75, NPS-74, and NPS-73 to remove references to the old refinery name; and updated contact and access information for NPS-07.

Moses Lake/Crab Creek GRP: after lessons learned from a GRP deployment exercise, we moved the location of MOLK-39.3 slightly east so that it is further away from a dam gate and allows for better access, monitoring, and boom maintenance.

Strait of Juan de Fuca GRP: A lot of good work and collaboration with tribes and other stakeholders has been done on this GRP. Equipment, boom, and/or location information has been updated for the following strategies while the rest of the plan is undergoing a comprehensive update: STR-01, STR-02, STR-03, STR-04, STR-05, STR-06, STR-07, and STR-11.

Everyone has a Role in Improving the State’s GRPs

If you have information or ideas that can make GRP’s even more effective, Ecology wants to know! Please email GRP feedback to GRPs@ecy.wa.gov. If you are visiting a response strategy site, you can use our new GRP Strategy Assessment Form to help document your assessment. We thank you in advance for helping the Northwest Regional Contingency Plan and the Area Plans maintain a high level of readiness to respond to oil spills.

GRP Progress Report: January 2022

Posted on January 13, 2022February 18, 2022 by David Prater

We are writing to update you on the status of the 11 Geographic Response Plans (GRPs) currently open for updates in Washington. GRPs are planning documents for specific areas of the state at risk from oil spills. They contain contact information, site descriptions, resources at risk, and other response considerations. Each GRP includes pre-designed response strategies that guide early actions during an oil spill. These strategies are designed to minimize impacts to sensitive environmental, cultural, and economic resources. GRPs are part of the Northwest Area Contingency Plan and are co-managed by the EPA, the USCG, and the state.

In addition to the GRP updates described below, Ecology has spent the last year updating all GRPs that may be at risk from spills of non-floating oils (NFOs). This includes the addition of a Non-floating Oil Response Options and Considerations section. More information on the NFO update to GRPs can be found at our NFO Blog here: https://www.oilspills101.wa.gov/blog/

Below you will find a brief status update for the 11 open GRPs. For more information on a specific GRP, please contact the Preparedness Planner noted at the end of each overview. For general information on GRPs, please visit https://www.oilspills101.wa.gov/northwest-area-contingency-plan/geographic-response-plans-grps/

GRPs Open for Update

WRIA 7 (Snohomish Basin)

After meeting with tribes, trustee agencies, oil spill response contractors, and other stakeholders, fieldwork and data entry are complete. Ecology completed an internal review of proposed changes in December 2021. Additional consultation with stakeholders will occur in early 2022. Significant updates to this GRP include changing the name to the Snohomish Basin GRP (a more common term used to describe the planning area), an expansion of the planning area to include the Snoqualmie River, and the creation of new strategies to protect the recent restoration work in the Snohomish Estuary. Look for this GRP to be up for public comment period in spring 2022. It is our goal to finalize these updates and publish the new plan in the summer 2022. For more information on this GRP, please reach out to Nora Haider at nora.haider@ecy.wa.gov.

South Puget Sound

Work on the South Puget Sound GRP continues. Initial land-based fieldwork has been conducted. Additional fieldwork and stakeholder consultation are needed. Keep an eye out for future updates in 2022. For more information on this GRP, please reach out to Kaitlin Lebon at Kaitlin.lebon@ecy.wa.gov.

Lake Chelan

The Lake Chelan GRP opened for a full review in the summer of 2021. Initial fieldwork was conducted in July 2021, with additional fieldwork planned for spring and late summer 2022. A major goal of this update will be to assess strategies for both high and low water scenarios in Lake Chelan. For more information on this GRP, please reach out to Kaitlin Lebon at Kaitlin.lebon@ecy.wa.gov.

Lake Washington

Planning for fieldwork is underway. Coordination with federal, tribal, state, and local partners continues. For more information on this GRP, please reach out to Sabrina Floudaras at Sabrina.Floudaras@ecy.wa.gov.

Lower Columbia River

This GRP update began in 2020 with a meeting between Washington State ECY, Oregon DEQ and USCG Sector Columbia River. A kick-off message was sent to stakeholders shortly after this initial meeting. We began fieldwork in the Lower Columbia River GRP area in late 2020; this work is ongoing. Fieldwork will continue on the Washington side of the river into 2022. Any interested parties can contact Darcy Bird at darcy.bird@ecy.wa.gov for more information or to coordinate collaboration on this important project.

San Juan Islands

This GRP was created when the formerly combined San Juan Islands/North Puget Sound GRP was divided into two separate plans. The final version of the updated North Puget Sound plan was published separately in June 2021. A draft of the San Juan Islands GRP was posted for a public comment period in early 2021, and valuable feedback created an opportunity to make the plan even better. We are currently working on incorporating the feedback into the plan. The estimated publication date is summer 2022. For more information on this GRP, please reach out to Max Gordon at max.gordon@ecy.wa.gov.

Clark Cowlitz Southwest Lewis

The last of the fieldwork was completed in June 2021. Ecology is now conducting an internal review of the proposed changes to the plan. Following our internal review of the draft update, the GRP will be posted for public comment. The estimated publication date is summer 2022. For more information on this GRP, please reach out to Max Gordon at max.gordon@ecy.wa.gov.

Strait of Juan de Fuca

Fieldwork is nearly complete. We are currently working with local tribes and resource agencies to finalize fieldwork and gather additional information to update remaining strategies. A blog was posted recently with more details on this GRP update: https://www.oilspills101.wa.gov/strait-of-juan-de-fuca-grp-update-progress. For more information on this GRP, please reach out to Wendy Buffett at Wendy.Buffett@ecy.wa.gov.

Snake River GRPs: Lower Monumental Pool, Little Goose Pool, Lower Granite Pool

Fieldwork for the three Snake River GRPs is complete and data entry is underway. Ecology is now conducting an internal review of the proposed changes to the plan. Following our internal panel review of the draft update, the GRP will be posted for public comment. For more information on these GRPs, please reach out to Scott Zimmerman at Scott.Zimmerman@ecy.wa.gov.

Grays Harbor

Work on this plan will begin in late 2022. There is no estimated timeline for publication of this plan at this time. For more information on this GRP, please reach out to Max Gordon at max.gordon@ecy.wa.gov.

Outer Coast

Work on this plan will begin in late 2022. There is no estimated timeline for publication of this plan at this time. For more information on this GRP, please reach out to Scott Zimmerman at Scott.Zimmerman@ecy.wa.gov.

Thank you for your continued support and collaboration

The success of a GRP requires the active engagement of the spill response community in the development, maintenance, and review of these documents. With your help, we are dedicated to ensuring the accuracy and effectiveness of our state’s GRPs – protecting the region’s environmental, cultural, and economic resources in the event of a large oil spill.

We greatly appreciate all of our partners – tribes, trustees, the regulated community, oil spill response organizations, and citizens of the state – who help make this work happen.

Strait of Juan de Fuca GRP Update Progress

Posted on January 12, 2022January 12, 2022 by Wendy Buffett

Background

The Strait of Juan de Fuca Geographic Response Plan (GRP) had its last full-update and review in March, 2003. Since then, the plan has seen interim updates and recently, the addition of a new section concerning the risks posed by spills of non-floating oil.

Update Timeline for the Strait of Juan de Fuca GRP

The Strait of Juan de Fuca GRP was opened for a full update in January of 2018, followed by 14 months of fieldwork and meetings with tribes, ports, federal, state and local agencies, landowners, contractors, and many other interested parties. Fieldwork was conducted on nearly every response strategy in the plan, and proposed updates were designed and drafted. An Ecology review panel in March of 2019 identified the need for further discussions and fieldwork before the plan would be ready to publish. In April 2019, staff turnover paused the update while the plan was reassigned to me, Wendy Buffett.

Ecology conducting fieldwork with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe. Near Sequim Bay, November 2018.

In February of 2020, the process continued with meetings between Ecology and representatives of the Makah Tribe, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, and Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe to discuss next steps. A day of field visits was planned for later that spring. On March 13, 2020 the COVID-19 lockdown started and all field work was canceled while both Ecology and the tribes pivoted to supporting emergency COVID response and began working from home. In the meantime, non-floating oil response information was created and added to several GRPs, including the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to meet a legislative mandate.

NWIFC and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe discussing GRP strategies with Ecology, MSRC, Andeavor, and the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe. Elwha River estuary, May 2021.

In May 2021, a small group met at the mouth of the Elwha River to discuss issues that had come up during a virtual Worst-Case Drill a few weeks before. Staff from Ecology, Andeavor Port Angeles Terminal, MSRC, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission redesigned draft strategies on the Elwha and discussed next steps for the plan. I also began converting the old plan to the new web format, to allow incremental updates both before and after the full publication. Since vaccinations had eased several group’s safety restrictions, field work was restarted. In July 2021, I conducted a day of field visits with representatives from the Makah and MSRC Neah Bay. A second visit two weeks later was cancelled due to a local COVID outbreak, followed by the tightening of Ecology’s safety protocols in response to the delta variant surge.

Members of the Makah Tribe, who work as oil spill response contractors at MSRC’s Neah Bay office, in the field with a timber company representative and Ecology staff. Near the Pysht River estuary, July 2021.

Current Status

Ecology is currently updating strategies based on recent in-person and virtual consultations with the Makah tribe. Additional consultations with other tribes, agencies, and interested parties will occur over the next several months until all parties are happy with the updated strategies. Some field visits may occur as needed and when possible. During this time, I will continue the GRP update process and some updated strategies will overwrite their older versions in the online plan. Eventually, all older sections of the plan will be replaced with new versions, and the fully updated plan will be posted for a 30 day public comment period. After final edits, the plan will be published.

Questions and Requests for Meetings

If you have questions, or wish to request a virtual meeting, please reach out to me at wendy.buffett@ecy.wa.gov or 360-791-4325 and I will be happy to talk with you or your group.

North Puget Sound GRP has been updated!

Posted on June 14, 2021 by David Prater

The updated North Puget Sound Geographic Response Plan (GRP) has been updated and is also available in our new online format!

In 2019, the Northwest Area Committee convened a task force to study plan accessibility by finding out more about users and ways in which GRP documents are used. The task force developed a survey that generated valuable feedback around best practices, types of users, and ways to improve the development and publication process. A key outcome is the new GRP format hosted on this website. This change was important to address efficiency and sustainability today and into the future.

The new online format allows users to easily scroll through text-heavy narrative sections like Site Description and Resources at Risk, while also maintaining the valuable PDF format of the response-oriented sections like Response Options and Considerations and Response Strategies and Priorities.

Also included in this update are special non-floating oil (NFO) considerations, including a new section on Non-Floating Oil Response Options and Considerations and updates to the standard Resources at Risk section.

We believe this format addresses many of the accessibility concerns of the response community, but we would love to hear your ideas on how we can make it better. Please submit your comments, questions, and suggestions for improvement to GRPs@ecy.wa.gov.

You can access the updated North Puget Sound GRP here: https://www.oilspills101.wa.gov/northwest-area-contingency-plan/geographic-response-plans-grps/north-puget-sound-grp/

New Update for Central Puget Sound GRP

Posted on February 16, 2021 by Wendy Buffett

The updated Central Puget Sound Geographic Response Plan (GRP) is now available in our new online format!

Also included in this update are special non-floating oil (NFO) considerations, including a new section on Non-Floating Oil Response Options and Considerations and updates to the standard Resources at Risk section.

You can access the updated Central Puget Sound GRP here: https://www.oilspills101.wa.gov/northwest-area-contingency-plan/geographic-response-plans-grps/central-puget-sound-grp/

North Puget Sound GRP – Closed for Comments!

Posted on December 21, 2020July 18, 2022 by David Prater

Howdy, OilSpills101 Blog Reader!

Darcy Bird surveying GRPs in Samish Bay aboard a WDFW airboat. Photo Credit: Brian MacDonald, WDFW

It is Darcy Bird again! I am excited to announce another plan I updated, the North Puget Sound (NPS) Geographic Response Plan (GRP), is now open for public comment!

GRPs aim to protect the sensitive natural, cultural, and economic resources in a specified geographic area. The geographic areas in Washington State with GRPs have associated risks from oil spills; industry may transport, store, refine, or transfer oil in these regions. The NPS GRP, encompassing the marine waters between the San Juan Islands to the east, mainland Washington to the west, Fidalgo Island to the south and the Canadian Border to the north, has unique risks, logistical concerns, and sensitive resources that I researched, conducted fieldwork on, and updated the strategies for during the plan update. A key part of this process is gathering input from the people who work, live, and play in this community. I hope to hear from you during this public comment period (December 21– February 15, 2021)!

Ecology last updated the North Puget Sound GRP in 2011 and much had changed in the region since then. For instance, research provided by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife determined that the location of an oil collection strategy on Samish Island was critical waterfowl habitat. We revised this strategy to exclude oil from beach habitat, rather than collect oil on the beach, an important change to protecting sensitive resources in Washington State. Our partners with the Lummi Indian Nation’s Oil Spill Response Team also provided important updates to GRPs on the Lummi Reservation. Through meticulous review of strategies, regular drilling of those strategies, and extensive fieldwork, the Lummi Nation Oil Spill Response Team have improved the many GRPs on the Lummi Reservation. Additionally, workshop attendees identified critical resources at risk at the unique and sensitive Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Scientists from the reserve identified research stations previously absent from the plan, critical habitat to prioritize and protect, and access points to strategies not easily navigate to by boat. These updates improved the response strategies in Padilla Bay enormously. A plan is only as good as the maintenance of that plan, which is why Ecology tries to regularly update GRPs.

Eelgrass beds in Samish Bay. Photo Credit: Darcy Bird

I grew up in Anacortes, WA, within this planning area, and many of the sites I visited in the course of my fieldwork were beaches and boat launches I had visited regularly as a child, teen, and places I regularly visit as an adult. As a teen, I participated in eelgrass replanting efforts in the region and learned about Marine Biology on the docks of Cap Sante Marina. Updating this GRP allowed me to view an area I had grown up in through a different lens and to help protect resources I love dearly. The maintenance of these geographic response plans are vital to our state’s preparedness in the event of an oil spill. Please follow the links below to review the draft of the updated GRP or provide comments. You may also submit comments by mail or email. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns at darcy.bird@ecy.wa.gov or 360-480-2084.

Review the draft GRP: https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/ezshare/sppr/Preparedness/NPS-GRP/NPS_PublicReviewCoverPage.pdf

Comment online:

Use our online comment form http://sppr.ecology.commentinput.com/?id=NVpi7

Comment by mail:

Darcy Bird
Department of Ecology, Spills Program
PO Box 47600
Olympia, WA 98504-7600