H-3624              _______________________________________________

                                           HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 4026

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1990 Regular Session

By Representatives Phillips, Sayan, Rust, D. Sommers, G. Fisher, Walker, Fraser, Valle, Spanel, Sprenkle, Jones, Brekke, Jacobsen, Pruitt, Wood, Wineberry, Dellwo, Ferguson, P. King, Wang and Rasmussen

Read first time 1/12/90 and referred to Committee on Environmental Affairs.

TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD:

          We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

          WHEREAS, Washington state is a state defined by its natural resources, its marine economy, and its environmental quality; and

          WHEREAS, Washington state strives to protect the bounty of its natural resources, and maintain and enhance its environmental quality; and

          WHEREAS, The state of Washington possesses a wealth of coastal and inland waters which provide economic and environmental benefits to the state and to the nation; and

          WHEREAS, Maintaining a high level of water quality and preserving and protecting the natural resources of these waters and adjacent shorelines is one of the highest environmental priorities of this state; and

          WHEREAS, Spills of oil and other hazardous substances to these waters from marine vessels pose significant threat to water quality and its associated natural resources; and

          WHEREAS, An oil spill of only five thousand barrels off the Washington coast in 1988 resulted in the deaths of thousands of birds and animals and spoiled the coastline from Oregon to British Columbia; and

          WHEREAS, There are over seven hundred oil tanker trips in Washington state waters each year; and

          WHEREAS, A significant percentage of the oil entering Washington state waters is carried by foreign flag tankers; and

          WHEREAS, Court decisions have limited the power of Washington state and other states to adopt standards relating to the design and operation of oil tankers; and

          WHEREAS, International Protocols not yet adopted by the United States governing the maximum liability for an oil spill caused by a tanker accident set the maximum liability for damage at sixty million dollars; and

          WHEREAS, Exxon spent over one billion dollars responding to the Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska; and

          WHEREAS, The Coast Guard, as the federal agency responsible for assuring the safety of marine traffic in navigable waters of Washington state and all other states, is not receiving sufficient funding to adequately protect Washington state's environment and property; and

          WHEREAS, The Vessel Traffic Safety system for Puget Sound is voluntary, and is outdated and does not cover all parts of Puget Sound; and

          WHEREAS, The Coast Guard has permitted significant reductions in the manning standards on oil tankers so that the crew is barely sufficient to operate the ship under normal conditions; and

          WHEREAS, Both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate have passed bills improving the federal response to oil spill prevention;

          NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that:

          (1) Congress require all tankers, both foreign and domestic, to have double hulls; and

          (2) Congress act to clarify federal law to ensure that no federal law or doctrine will prevent states from exercising their state laws and remedies to recover the full measure of costs and damages incurred as a result of spills of oil and other hazardous substances to waters within their jurisdiction; and

          (3) Congress should not adopt the international protocols that will preempt both state and federal liability limits for oil spills; and

          (4) Congress should allow the states to set appropriate standards for the operation and design of vessels which enter state waters; and

          (5) Congress should appropriate sufficient funds to the Coast Guard so that it may fulfill its responsibilities with respect to marine safety; and

          (6) Congress should appropriate funds to upgrade the Vessel Traffic Safety system in Puget Sound and Congress should require all vessels entering an area covered by a Vessel Traffic Safety system to use the system; and

          (7) Congress should direct the Coast Guard to study the manning standards on oil tankers and adopt standards that will assure the safe operation of those vessels in other than normal conditions.

          BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George Bush, President of the United States, the United States Coast Guard, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.