MRC members back letter urging rescue-tug coverage, plan signatures despite lack of quorum
Summary
MRC members reviewed and agreed in principle to support a draft letter urging establishment of a rescue tug in the Rosario area; because the meeting lacked quorum they will send member-signed letters and ask the Board of Commissioners to consider the item.
Members of the Clallam Marine Resources Committee discussed a draft letter supporting placement of a rescue tug (rescue tug / pilotage coverage) in the Rosario/Strait area and agreed to pursue submitting the letter despite the meeting lacking a quorum.
The discussion noted the long history of the pilot/tug planning process and that Department of Ecology and the Board of Pilotage Commissioners have conducted multi-year reviews and public meetings. Committee members argued the region would benefit from a rescue tug stationed closer to the Rosario area to improve response coverage for loaded tankers and other large commercial vessels.
Because the committee did not have an official quorum, members discussed procedural workarounds: collecting individual signed letters from the members who attended and forwarding the text to the Clallam County Board of Commissioners for consideration and potential transmission to the pilotage authority. Several members suggested submitting the document with a clear note that a quorum was not present but that the attendees supported forwarding the letter for the commissioners’ consideration.
Speakers emphasized that this item is time-sensitive because public comment deadlines on the Department of Ecology/pilotage materials were upcoming; Ecology comment deadlines for related best-available-science and tug planning were discussed. The committee did not adopt a formal motion in the meeting; instead staff will circulate the draft and collect signatures and will ask commissioners to consider the matter at an early meeting.
