Clallam County Marine Resources Committee members reviewed training gaps and recruitment challenges for oil-spill and hazardous-materials response, and discussed opportunities to expand local capacity through trainings, college programs and mitigation funding.

Rebecca briefed members on HAZWOPER training availability and limitations. She said Department of Ecology (Ecology) has offered an 8-hour online refresher in recent years but not the full 24-hour field-level training needed for responders working on-scene. "That 8 hour training does not give you at a response level out in the field. You need the 24 hour training to be able to respond and be out in the field," Rebecca said. She said the MRC has previously provided 24-hour training and is seeking options, including partnering with International Bird Rescue to include wildlife response components.

Members raised recruitment challenges for volunteer responder training. One member said turnout has been inconsistent, noting a prior training with high cancellations made it hard for trainers to justify repetition. "We had 50 people on a core training...I think maybe 18 showed up," the member said, describing why long-term volunteer recruitment is difficult.

Committee members and speakers also urged better regional coordination and suggested the county and state consider placing multi-trained Ecology staff in the peninsula region to improve initial response times for spills. Several speakers noted the Indian Creek tanker incident and subsequent delays in response and recovery as evidence of the need for faster local capacity.

The committee discussed funding mechanisms to support training and response capacity, including mitigation funds following spill incidents and possible requirements for operators. Members suggested exploring partnerships with community colleges and K-12 programs (Blue Schools) to create certificate-bearing training pathways that could supply trained personnel and internships for local response work.

Next steps: staff will continue to explore training partnerships, seek cost-effective trainers (including wildlife-rehabilitation organizations), and pursue outreach strategies to recruit volunteers and partner institutions for long-term capacity building.