South Bend, Washington – The Pacific County Emergency Management Agency (PCEMA) is offering a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training course in Raymond. Training is scheduled as follows:
 
Thursday, May 4, 2017 - 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Friday, May 5, 2017 - 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 6, 2017 - 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 7, 2017 - 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

The course will be held at the Grays Harbor College Riverview Center 600 Washington Avenue in Raymond. Pre-registration is required and is limited to 24 participants.
​
The CERT program is an all-risk, all-hazard training. This valuable course is designed to help you protect yourself, your family, your neighbors, and your neighborhood in an emergency situation. CERT members receive 29 hours of initial training provided free of charge. The course is taught with classroom instruction for the first three days and practical exercises during the last day. Participants under the age of 18 must have parent/guardian permission to attend.
 
To register or for more information, contact Jeffrey Davis at (360) 875-9300 extension 2548 or email AmeriCorps@co.pacific.wa.us.  

​South Bend, Washington –  On April 12, 2017 the Pacific County Emergency Management Agency and the Washington Emergency Management Division will be conducting an Earthquake and Tsunami Roadshow. The presentations include earthquake and tsunami risk, actions you can take to be prepared (including tsunami evacuation planning), and information about whole community notifications. Interpretation services will be available for residents who speak Spanish.
 
Presenters will include, Dr. Brian Atwater from the USGS, Ted Buehner, from the National Weather Service, Tim Walsh, Assistant State Geologist, Washington DNR, Corina Forson, Chief Hazard Geologist, Washington DNR, and Maximilian Dixon, Earthquake/Tsunami Program Manager, WA EMD.
 
There will be two opportunities to attend the roadshow. The first will be in Ilwaco, at the Ilwaco Community Center, 158 1st Ave North (US 101), Ilwaco, WA 98624. That event will begin at 1:30 p.m. and last until 3:30 p.m. The second event will be held at Peninsula Senior Center, 21603 Pacific Way, Ocean Park, WA 98640 from 6pm-8:30pm. This should be a fun and interactive event. We encourage everyone to attend! For additional information please contact AmeriCorps Service Member Jeffrey Davis at AmeriCorps@co.pacific.wa.us or at (360)642 or 875-9300 extension 2548.
 

Why was a boom to capture oil never placed around the vessel?
The current in the area where the Hero sank moves quite fast, and reverses flow as the tide changes. Diesel is very thin and difficult to recover with a boom. In this instance, the boom would have interfered with navigation, would have needed constant monitoring, and still would have been ineffective as the oil would have gone under, over, and through the boom.
 
Why does it appear nothing is being done?
This could not be further from the truth. The Pacific County Emergency Management Agency notified the State Emergency Operations Officer about the sinking as soon as it happened. The State Emergency Operations Officer notified all appropriate agencies including the United States Coast Guard and the Washington State Department of Ecology and Department of Natural Resources. Since that time, PCEMA, DOE, and the USCG have been visiting the scene daily. The United States Coast Guard opened their Oil Pollution fund and hired a contractor, Global Diving and Salvage, to mitigate the pollution. Crews successfully removed all accessible petroleum product from the vessel earlier this week, but significant hazards and the inability to safely position divers to access tanks that are underwater has hindered a full accounting of the hazardous material. A full accounting will not be possible until the salvage and recovery operations begin. The Department of Natural Resources is currently evaluating removal options and working to identify possible funding for the operation.
 
Activity at the scene is driven by tidal conditions. In addition to the oil recovery operations an investigation is taking place to determine ownership of the boat and to determine what enforcement actions are appropriate.
 
Why hasn’t the ship been refloated or removed?
The ship is too damaged to refloat. The costs for removal of the ship are anticipated to approach $1 million. The authority having jurisdiction in terms of removing the ship is the Department of Natural Resources. They do not have the money in their budget to cover this $1 million expense. The DOE, USCG and DNR are working to develop a plan both to remove the vessel and to fund the removal of the vessel. A funding request has been submitted to the Washington State Legislature
 
 
How long will the sheen continue?
The number 1 priority surrounding all work being done around the ship is personnel safety. One tank cannot be safely accessed, however, evidence indicates there is minimal to no oil in the tank. There is still a steady rainbow sheen coming off of the vessel and a palpable odor of diesel in the air. Testing done yesterday confirms that the product causing the sheen is indeed diesel. DOE and the USCG believe that there is only residual diesel left on the vessel. However, they also indicated that the vessel will continue to sheen as long as it remains in the water. They do believe that over the next several days the sheening will reduce significantly.

South Bend, Washington –  On Saturday March 4th at 12:48 pm the Pacific County Emergency Management Agency (PCEMA) was notified that the research vessel Hero was sinking at its moorage on the Palix River near Bay Center. PCEMA Director Scott McDougall immediately contacted the Washington State Emergency Operations Officer and reported the sinking and asked that all appropriate notifications be made. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) are the “authorities having jurisdiction” over this type of incident. On March 4th, Director McDougall had direct contact with DOE and DOE stated they would keep PCEMA informed.
 
On Monday, March 6th Director McDougall, after visiting the scene, found that there was a significant sheen from the vessel, and made contact with the Department of Ecology. DOE stated they were working with the US Coast Guard and with the Department of Natural Resources to develop a strategy to mitigate the situation. The Department of Ecology has created a webpage specifically devoted to this incident to allow the public to track its progress.  http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/spills/incidents/HeroSinkingBayCenter/
 
On March 6, the USCG opened a federal fund for spill response and clean-up and hired a contractor to respond to the scene and remove petroleum products on-board the vessel and mitigate the environmental hazard. That contractor was on scene March 7.
 
The following information was supplied by DOE:
 

• The contractor hired by the US Coast Guard, Global Diving & Salvage, determined that they would not put divers into the water due to the condition of the HERO (list, debris, stability, current, etc.). We were able to gain access onto the HERO via the port side of the vessel. 

 

• All accessible fill ports and vents were measured. Once it was verified that no fuel/oil was in a “port,” they were either shut and sealed, or plugged. As the tide dropped, more vents/ports became accessible and the same technique was used to close them off.

 

• While continuing the assessment, it became apparent that most of the sheen was originating from a mid-ship vault. We decided the best way to minimize that release was to deploy absorbent sweep and boom around the inside of the vessel’s deck, at which point the sheen coming from there dropped 50-75%. Further investigation uncovered a hydraulic system (pump, tank and lines) with approx. 30-35 gallons of pure product, of which all was removed.

 
 

• At approximately 3:00 p.m., the weather worsened and operations were shut down. Global removed and replaced all of the absorbent sweeps/booms before disembarking the Hero.

 

• The plan now is to leave the sweep/boom in place for a couple days and then return to remove/replace until product is no longer being recovered by the absorbents. The USCG will be checking on the vessel each day.

 

• A note of caution:  A total of 60-70 gallons of petroleum products were removed, but there is still potential for more to be aboard. Some of the vents/ports were not accessible and would not be unless the vessel is refloated or removed from the water.

 
PCEMA would like to stress that Pacific County does not have the statutory authority to respond to or direct an incident of this nature, however, PCEMA will continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates as they become available. Questions may be directed to  PCEMA Director Scott McDougall at smcdougall@co.pacific.wa.us or (360) 875-9338.

On Saturday March 4th at 12:48 pm the Pacific County Emergency Management Agency was notified that the research vessel Hero was sinking at its moorage on the Palix River near Bay Center. PCEMA Director Scott McDougall immediately contacted the Washington State Emergency Operations Officer and reported the sinking and asked that all appropriate notifications be made. Director McDougall discussed the issue with the Department of Ecology and the DOE stated that they would keep PCEMA informed. Subsequent to that discussion, at 1:59 p.m., the National Response Center issued a report that indicated that the vessel had been surrounded by a boom to contain any potential oil release and that there had been no release.

On Sunday, March 5th a second National Response Center report indicated that there was a sheen coming from the vessel. Department of Ecology and Coast Guard personnel responded to the scene. The report issued on Saturday was in error and no boom had been placed around the vessel. Department of Ecology and Coast Guard responders did determine at that time that it would not be practical or effective to place such a boom around the ship.

On Monday, March 6th Director McDougall, after visiting the scene, made contact with the Department of Ecology. The DOE is working with the Department of Natural Resources and with the US Coast Guard to develop a strategy to mitigate the situation. The Department of Ecology will be developing a webpage specifically devoted to this incident to allow the public to track its progress.
​
The vessel was last inspected by DOE in 2013 and at that time it was determined that there were 25 gallons of engine lubricating oil and 5 gallons of diesel on board the vessel. PCEMA will be publishing updates as they become available and will publish a link to the incident webpage as soon as it is operational.