For more than a decade, Eric Olsson has helped Northwest boat owners and operators clean up their acts.

It's easy to get excited about those Exxon Valdez-sized oil spills, says Eric Olsson. It's even easier, he explains, to overlook the equally damaging, cumulative impacts of the millions of smaller-scale spills in our coastal waters and tributaries.

"Although not as dramatic or newsworthy as a large tanker spewing barrels of oil, collectively the few drops of oil or gasoline spilled during fueling or boat repairs can have dire consequences," says Washington Sea Grant's Oil Spill Prevention Education Specialist. "Did you know, for instance, that a single quart of oil can cause an eight-acre oil sheen?"

"Maybe that rainbow sheen is not such a bad thing," Olsson muses. "Without this telltale sign, many of those extremely damaging spills would go undetected... and worse yet, not get cleaned up."

Humble Origins
In 1991, the Washington State Legislature established a nickel-a-barrel tax on oil imports from Alaska-- ironically, a measure inspired by the Exxon Valdez spill, which dumped nearly 11 million gallons of oil into the marine environment in 1989. "Most of the tax revenue goes to funding emergency spill response programs," says Olsson. "A lesser amount is earmarked for education programs, the underpinnings of any effective oil spill prevention plan. Our legislators recognized that prevention is the best form of protection from spills."

Included in the initial budget for education programs were funds to establish a new position, Oil Spill Prevention Education Specialist, at Washington Sea Grant. Hired by Sea Grant in 1992, Olsson says he spent the first year studying the issues and identifying potential partners in the war against spills. Even for a retired U.S. Coast Guard officer with extensive experience in oil-related operations in Africa, Asia and Europe, the new position carried a steep learning curve.

"At the time, there were many well-educated, good-intentioned people in this field, but few successful models on which to base our oil spill prevention program," Olsson admits. "I was in the unique position of creating new tactics to solve an ages-old problem."


A Change in Blaine
In 1997, an unannounced Coast Guard boat patrol into Blaine Harbor had revealed a number of small oil slicks around the mooring docks, as well as many boats with significant amounts of oil-contaminated water in their bilge compartments. The Coast Guard viewed this situation as environmentally harmful and was considering taking strong action, including hefty fines for the offending boaters. The cost of cleanup, estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, would be borne by the Port of Blaine.

Before embarking on this severe course of action, the Coast Guard contacted Eric Olsson, who offered to work with Blaine's harbormaster, Allen Birdsall, and with tenant boaters to clean up their acts. Together, the two professionals toured the port site. They saw that several boats were in disrepair and others were listing, relying on bilge pumps to keep them afloat.

"The waters in and around the port were glistening with spilled petroleum products, mostly from contaminated bilge water and fueling mishaps," Olsson recalls. "You could actually smell oil in the air. The place was a mess."

After much thought and discussion, Olsson and Birdsall devised a plan--one that would not rely solely on fines for offenders or signs to warn others against further polluting Blaine's besmirched waterways.

"Neither of these tactics had proven particularly effective in the past," Olsson offers. "Clearly it was time for a fresh approach."


Cleanup in a Kit
To reach as many boaters as possible, Olsson devised what has since become a Washington Sea Grant staple: the Spill Prevention Education Kit. The prototype kit contained leaflets offering fueling safety tips and environmental information, along with a pillow-shaped pad for collecting surface oil sheen in the bilge compartment of a boat. Made of treated cellulose fiber, the pad has the capacity of gradually absorbing a quart of oil from its surroundings. After it is saturated, it can be removed from the bilge and recycled, thus keeping any captured oil from escaping and re-contaminating the environment.

To ensure that every boat owner and operator at the Port of Blaine's marina got a kit, Olsson patrolled the docks, pier by pier, pushing a wheeled cart filled with spill kits, tossing them to crew members aboard boats.

Overall, boat operators were very receptive to Olsson's approach. They got a product that could solve a problem--not just another printed list of instructions to tack to a bulletin board--and clear, concise literature explaining the impacts.

Olsson and his coworkers at Washington Sea Grant have since distributed thousands of updated Spill Prevention Kits, primarily at public events such as Seattle's Fish Expo, the West Coast's largest gathering of commercial fishers, marine outfitters and service providers. The new kits include WSGP's Keep Small Oil Spills from Becoming Large Problems publication, plus a checklist for preventing spills during vessel repair and maintenance and a pad.


Active on Several Fronts
These kits have served as a model within the Sea Grant network and for other federal and state programs across the nation. Olsson continues to act as an advisor on oil spill issues, both to industry and agency personnel. Along with WSGP colleagues Sarah Fisken and Steve Harbell, he conducts marine safety training workshops for commercial and recreational fishers and boaters and participates as a member of the Pacific Oil Spill Prevention Education Team, a cooperative network of environmental experts from British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California.

"Eric has been highly motivated to keep spill prevention and cleanup technologies on our agenda," says Ed Barrett, Harbormaster with the Port of Friday Harbor and Vice President of the Pacific Coast Congress of Harbormasters and Port Mangers. "At his urging, we recently added a session on oil spill response to our annual gathering this April."

There's good reason for Olsson's continued vigilance. "Much like vehicle traffic, boat traffic has increased dramatically during the 10 years I've been working with Washington Sea Grant," says Olsson. Many large-scale harbor construction projects have been undertaken, and others are planned for the years to come.

"Remembering the legislative intent, which underscores the value of prevention, this is no time to scale back our efforts to control oil spills," he concludes.


Spill Kits Save Eiders, Help Port to Expand

Recently, when the Port of Homer, Alaska, contacted the US Army Corps of Engineers asking permission to add 148 new slips to its 772-slip marina, the US Fish and Wildlife Service voiced concern. It warned that the potential increase in water pollution from more boats using the expanded facility might adversely affect the region's small population of Stellers eider--a type of diving duck once common throughout coastal Alaska. For unknown reasons, Steller's eider populations have plummeted over the past three decades. Today, Alaska's remnant population (as few as 1,000 breeding birds) is listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.

One USFWS worker suggested a strategy to protect the eider and allow the harbor's expansion as planned. The Port and Harbor of Homer would assemble 1,100 oil spill prevention education kits, similar to the ones pioneered by Eric Olsson. These would be distributed free-of-charge at the marina's main office, public boat launch ramp and two floating fuel stations. The port would also give away 200 absorbent fuel collars, developed by Washington Sea Grant, at each of the two self-service fuel stationsÑbusy locales where small spills occasionally occur--and install signs on the fuel floats regarding safe fueling procedures. Olsson would serve as a consultant, helping to orchestrate this comprehensive approach to spill prevention.

"We felt it was a reasonable solution," says Bill Abbott, the Port of Homer's director. "And at a total cost of $6,000, which we shouldered by ourselves, the two mitigation measures were also economical to implement."

"Education is the most important part of spill prevention," says Abbott, echoing Olsson's words. "Most boaters have some degree of understanding about their role in this, but it's often not enough," he adds. "As operators of the largest single basin boat harbor in Alaska, serving as many as 1,500 boats in a single summer day, it's our duty to spread the word about proper fueling and maintenance procedures."

Thanks to Olsson's input, what's good for the eider will work for the harbor, too.





April 2002



... Contact David G. Gordon, Science Writer for the Washington Sea Grant, for further information.