Marina staff applied for Washington State oil-spill and hazmat equipment grant that could provide replacement boat

Oak Harbor marina staff told commissioners they applied for an oil-spill and hazardous-materials equipment grant through the Washington State Department of Ecology and expect to learn whether the application is approved in August.

Elise, a marina staff member, said the requested equipment is a boat “virtually the exact same thing as what we have.” She told commissioners she reached out to three aluminum work-boat manufacturers; only Munson returned a usable quote. The grant request does not include motors or a trailer — the marina intends to reuse the motors it already owns if awarded a new hull.

If the grant is awarded, staff said they will work with the city fire department to deliver required HAZWOPER in-person training to meet the grant’s employee-training requirements. "We are required to do an 8 hour in person training for that. We're gonna break it up into 4 hour blocks and we're gonna work with each shift that the fire department currently has so that we will all be on the same page," Elise said. The training plan aims to avoid sending staff to Seattle for in-person instruction, which staff said would remove employees from marina duties for extended periods.

Commissioners asked about disposition of the existing boat if the grant is awarded. Elise said the marina would return the current vessel to the Clean Vessel Act program because the Clean Vessel Act contract limits that vessel to pump-out service; the marina would retain the motors and, if necessary, could draw on $86,000 in a motor-vessel replacement fund for future engine replacement.

The grant application was submitted; no award decision had been made at the meeting. Staff said they will pivot to alternate plans if the Ecology grant is not approved.