Editorial: Oil spill topic timely, welcome

Whidbey Island’s Beach Watchers are doing another outstanding public service by sponsoring an oil spill training session later this month.

Each day dozens of large ships carrying tons of fuel oil pass by the pristine shores of Whidbey Island heading to and from the big ports of Everett, Seattle and Tacoma. A collision, malfunction or intentional act could send a sea of oil toward our beaches.

We’ve been spared any such disaster in recent years. Whidbey Island’s most significant oil spill occurred in the mid-’80s when about 50,000 gallons of fuel dumped from a passing ship fouled miles of the South Whidbey coastline, from Clinton to Scatchet Head, and killed hundreds of seabirds.

Vashon Island experienced a similar but smaller such incident earlier this year when a ship again dumped some oil, which washed up on that island and damaged the beaches. While not a total disaster, Vashon showed us the oil spill threat is with us constantly, and the slow response to that spill shows that we have to be better prepared for the inevitable.

That’s where Beach Watchers is stepping in. Wednesday, March 23, an all-island workshop will teach the proper way to respond to an oil spill, with presenters from the state’s Transportation Oil Spill Response Team, and members of the community response team in the San Juans.

Whidbey Island needs its own oil spill response team to react immediately to any reports of an oil spill. This is a great first step toward that goal. The all-day workshop March 23 will be held at the Race Road Fire Hall. For information about participating call 679-7391.

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