Baykeeper Oil Spill Update, December 10

December 10
Baykeeper Oil Spill Update

The Cosco Busan crash spilled 58,000 gallons of oil into the San Francisco Bay over a month ago. Hundreds of workers are still out on our coastlines. Oiled birds are still washing up dead on our shores. And Baykeeper is still at work making sure a disaster like this doesn't happen again.

Baykeeper’s Oil Response Activities Update
Baykeeper is working actively with the Bay Area Assembly Members on an oil spill legislative package. The joint legislative effort was convened by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, who chairs the Natural Resources Committee, and included Assembly Members Mark Leno, Sally Lieber, Jared Huffman, Lois Wolk and Ira Ruskin. The new bills would facilitate better use of volunteers, increase funding for spill preparedness, fund research into cutting-edge oil containment technologies, increase response efforts in environmentally sensitive areas like Bolinas Lagoon, and expand wildlife rehabilitation programs. We also are working with Senator Barbara Boxer to develop federal legislation to effectively harness volunteer services in future spill disaster response and to improve the authority of the Coast Guard's Vessel Traffic Systems.

Focus on Marin County
Baykeeper is analyzing how well booming and oil recovery strategies in the Area Contingency Plan worked in protecting sensitive areas like Bolinas Lagoon. Baykeeper and Assemblyman Jared Huffman will hold a town hall meeting this Sunday, December 16 from 2-4 pm at the Stinson Beach Community Center. We want to hear testimony from Marin County residents and officials who took part in efforts to respond to the oil spill – including attempts to boom Bolinas Lagoon. We also hope to hear your stories if you witnessed official containment and clean up efforts and wish to comment on their timeliness and effectiveness. Please contact volunteer [at] baykeeper.org if you have special accessibility concerns or need an interpreter at the event.

Natural Resources Damage Assessment Update
We are happy to report that scientists have been allowed back out onto the shorelines in order to assess the damage caused to rocky intertidal areas by the oil spill. A lack of safety plans and HAZWOPER training seem to have been the primary obstacles in initiating this critical inventory of ecological damages. Over the weekend, Baykeeper took researchers out by boat to heavily hit areas of Angel Island to study the oiled shoreline.

How You Can Help
We need your help to document oil sightings in your area so that we ensure a full response to areas that remain oiled. If you see oil, please call the California Office of Emergency Services at 800-852-7550 and tell them you are reporting oil from the Cosco Busan. Then, please alert Baykeeper of what you have seen (how much, where, and when – include photos if you have any) to volunteer [at] baykeeper.org. We will continue following up on cleanup efforts. Please be careful to not harm marine habitat during low tide and keep a distance from birds, which are still under stress from the oil spill. We also recommend that you refrain from walking your dog along the shoreline for now.

You can also help directly by becoming a member of Baykeeper. The more members we have, the more sway we have in legal and policy making proceedings. You can join by making a donation of $15 or more to Baykeeper on our website at http://www.baykeeper.org/donate/index.html. Responding to the oil spill is not something we planned for in this year’s budget, so your financial contribution helps us pay for the thousand plus hours of staff time we have already spent responding to this emergency. Thanks to all of you who have already joined!