The scenario; begining at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, June 2, a caller reported the presence of numerous “blobs” of heavy oil comming ashore at Fourth of July Beach on San Juan Island, at 4:50 p.m. a report of black oil washing up on Davis Bay, on the south end of Lopez, is received. At 5 p.m., the Port of Friday Harbor contacted the Islands’ Oil Spill Association to report numerous “oiled areas” on Jackson’s Beach, and at 6 p.m., IOSA staff confirmed the reports on Lopez and San Juan, deployed a vessel to the area and reported a number of encounters with recoverable heavy oil floating on the surface between Cattle, Turn and Iceberg points. There were no reports of vessel accidents in the region. U.S. Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Control reported no vessels in the vicinity that would be likely sources of pollution. At 6:45 p.m., IOSA reported finding several seabirds that appeared to be oiled, including one deceased bird.
Now, two and a half hours after the original report, the Washington Department of Ecology, the U.S. Coast Guard, the San Juan County Department of Emergency Management and IOSA meet for an initial coordination call.
Fortunately, this scenario was a drill, and only a drill, thought up by IOSA director Elaina Thompson in order to bring local, state and federal and tribal agencies together. The event lasted for two days, starting June 3, at IOSA’s new headquarters near the airport. Representatives from the Coast Guard, Washington State Department of Ecology, San Juan Department of Emergency Management, San Juan County Council, and Lummi and Swinomish tribal nations were just some of the groups present.
“My goal was to grow IOSA’s knowledge, practice deployment with industry staff so they can have eyes on us and make sure we are being safe,” Thompson said, adding, “Location is one of our biggest challenges; we are remote with limited access to resources.”
Some challenges had been discovered after the F/V Aleutian Isle sank off the Westside of San Juan Island, spilling 2,500 gallons of diesel on Aug. 13, 2022. Occurring in peak summer, a lack of housing for responders and volunteers was immediately noticed. The new IOSA headquarters has a bunker that, according to Thompson, could alleviate some housing needs. The Aleutian Isle incident was also the first time a coordinated effort was developed to deter the Southern Resident Killer Whales and other local marine mammals away from the spill. Oikomi pipes, hollow metal pipes, were used to create an acoustic disturbance by banging on the side of the boats, encouraging the animals to travel away from the area.
During the workshop June 3, groups were broken down in to committees – those that kept track of the financies, those that worked on wildlife response; volunteer corrdination, including transportation to and from the ferry as well as providing food and water; develop a medical plan conntecting with three different hospitals and poison control; coordinating drone deployment and ensuring private drone opperators refrained from flying their own drones in the area; which involves working with a public informations officer in order to disseminate information out to the public quickly.
“The most important thing is to make sure a spill never happens,” Brendan Cowan, Department of Emergency Director, said. “But if it does happen, we want to make sure we have done all we can.”
Cowan gave a shout out to the many islanders who made an appearance, saying, “I am grateful to see so many here. It’s a partnership. It’s the only way to make sure we are prepared.”
Cowan also noted that IOSA is currently in a great place, “It’s such a load off me knowing they are there and are doing such great work. There is nothing like IOSA anywhere.”
At noon June 3, committees gave reports about what they were able to achieve and where issues might arise. One immediate challenge was from the committee developing a Radio Communication Plan, as they discovered they did not have enough radios to go around. Others discovered their assignment was more complex than originally anticipated, realizing, for example, that shifting weather and tides needed to be factored in.
June 4 was the big test; going out into the field. This was no ordinary sunny day at Jackson’s Beach. It was time to put everything discussed during the workshop into action. An ambulance and paramedics were at the ready in the parking lot, and tents with food and beverages were set up.
On the beach, volunteers deployed miles of bright yellow oil booms while the Coast Guard practiced with their drone. One Coast Guard member said they were at the F/V Aleutian Isle spill and drones were used to get a better view of the area, how big the spill stretched, could see the boat under the water. The use of drones cuts down on response time as a result. Drones also have proved helpful spotting oil leaking under the boom, one Coast Guard member told the Journal, “They have really been a game changer.”
Out in the water, some vessels deployed oil booms, while others had Oikomi pipes to deter wildlife. Breco buoys were also staged. A large boat, MSRC Shearwater, was at the ready, and afterward, the crew provided tours of the vessel.
“Half of this is relationship building,” Thompson explained. “Ideally, we would do something like this every few years so responders already know each other if and when something happens.”
