The North Kitsap Herald ran a story January 17 about the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe receiving an emergency oil spill response trailer from the state Department of Ecology:
After the Port Gamble Bay was hit hard by a preventable oil spill in October 2005, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe decided it never wanted to be that helpless again.
Working with the Washington State Department of Ecology, it was able to acquire a $1.25 million appropriation from the state and purchase an oil spill response trailer now parked at Point Julia.
…
The tribe was completely powerless while the October 2005 spill took place, said Tribal Chairman Ron Charles, who reiterated the trailer will be able to stop another devastating spill from hurting the area’s shellfish, beaches and ecosystems.
“We were pretty happy to hear that we received this trailer,” he said. “We kept thinking we could have helped if we had equipment. We’ve always had people working on the water. They and the trailer might turn out to make the difference in a situation like that.”
