Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The Walla Walla District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold an expanded annual oil spill training exercise at Lower Granite Lock and Dam June 26.
The training is in preparation for potential oil spills from sources such as recreational or commercial watercraft, shoreline industrial activities or the dam itself, according to Bruce Henrickson, Public Affairs Specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Walla Walla District.
The 8 a.m to 3 p.m. exercise at Boyer Park and Marina will be a multi-agency collaborative training exercise involving practical open water oil spill control activities, said Henrickson.
The training will include boom deployment using both watercraft and shore anchors. Concurrent training activities will take place throughout the day at two locations at Boyer Park.
As of June 17, the following cooperating agencies had accepted invitations: Washington Department of Ecology, Whitman County Sheriff, Whitman County Emergency Management, Garfield County Sheriff, Garfield County Emergency Management, Asotin County Sheriff, Asotin County Fire and Oil Spill Response, Nez Perce County Sheriff.
A total of five or six agency vessels are expected, said Henrickson, with some going through the locks.
“By inviting more county agencies adjacent to the Lower Granite pool and other agencies to participate on June 26, the Corps fosters closer working relationships with cooperating, responding and reporting agencies in case of an oil spill on the lower Snake River near Lower Granite,” said Henrickson. “The Corps works closely with nearby responding agencies if an oil spill is discovered.”
The Corps of Engineers will host the training while the Washington Department of Ecology will lead it.
The Corps trains annually on oil spill response.
No part of the river will be closed during the training.
“Everything’s open. The river is big,” said Sara White, Environmental Scientist at Lower Granite Lock and Dam.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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