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Air Agency Cites Smoking Ship: Russian Vessel Could Face Penalties of Up to $10,000 Per Day

Posted on: Tuesday, 14 February 2006, 12:00 CST

By Jim Szymanski, The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.

Feb. 14--OLYMPIA -- The Olympic Regional Clean Air Agency has cited a Russian ship visiting the Port of Olympia for violating air quality standards.

The Akaban arrived Thursday to unload aluminum for shipment to West Coast manufacturers. It remained at the port Monday.

Port Executive Director Ed Galligan reported the citation at Monday evening's port commission meeting.

Galligan said ship personnel have 30 days to meet with the agency to resolve the matter. He said the company that owns the ship faces daily fines of up to $10,000 for the alleged violation.

Galligan and other port officials Monday complained of excessive black smoke coming from the ship's smokestack.

Neither Galligan nor Jim Amador, the port's marine terminal director, said they knew what fuel the ship was burning. Amador said the ship's crew was cooperating in trying to make its fuel burn cleaner.

"Hopefully, we will not see this occur again," Galligan said at the meeting. "Why was it smoking like that? I want to get the answer to that."

ORCAA is one of seven regional air pollution-control agencies in the state. It was established in 1968 after passage of the Clean Air Washington Act. The agency enforces federal, state and local air pollution standards and governs air pollution emissions from new and existing sources.

An ORCAA representative could not be reached for comment Monday night.

Keith Bausch, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 47, said he had never seen a ship at the port emit so much smoke in more than 20 years.

Shared database

In other business, Amador announced the port is sharing a computer database with Olympia police and fire departments and the Thurston County Sheriff's office in hopes of speeding decisions in an emergency at the 60-acre marine terminal area.

The system lists tactical response plans, hazardous chemical inventories, floor plans and utility shutoff locations. Authorized law enforcement personnel have access to the data on laptop computers, Amador said.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.

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