Crews to dredge 30,000 cubic yards from Neah Bay to help with oil spill response

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has started dredging the Neah Bay harbor entrance channel to improve oil spill response and lower rescue costs.

In the 17 years between 1999 and 2016, Neah Bay rescue tugs responded to 57 disabled or stuck boats.

“These incidents could have resulted in accidents or groundings leading to oil spills,” said a spokesperson.

Officials say that a hydraulic pipeline dredge will be used to deepen the 4,500-foot entrance channel 21 more feet from its current depth. This means that crews are expected to remove 30,000 cubic yards of sediment from the channel.

The excavation will take months depending on weather conditions.

“This project will help to ensure that the rescue tug based at Neah Bay is ready to respond to marine emergencies on Washington’s coast,” said Rich Doenges, Southwest Region director for the Washington Department of Ecology. “We think the channel deepening represents a necessary step to prevent impacts to our state’s sensitive coastal environment and preserve our Pacific shorelines.”

Officials hope that by deepening the Neah Bay entrance, the channel will lower the cost of operating emergency response tugs by $81,000 per year.

The project started to gain traction in the early 2010′s.

“This project has been a long collaborative partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and we’re thrilled to see these improvements enhance the protection of the valuable Neah Bay ecosystem and improve safety for larger commercial and fishing vessels entering the port,” said Makah Tribe Chairman Timothy Greene, Sr.