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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2017)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JULY 20, 2017 Marina: Task force to complete a census of commercial boats Continued from Page 1A The responders establish a threat to the environment, such as the red diesel sheen seen Sunday emanating from the Western Skies, before dipping into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. The annual $50 million fund, accessible by organiza- tions like the Coast Guard and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is paid for by a tax of 5 cents per barrel on imported and domestic oil, along with revenue raised from fines, and pays for cleanup of spills when the owner is unable or unwill- ing to. After cleanup After the cleanup is com- plete, Bennett said, the Coast Guard’s jurisdiction ends. It’s up to the Warrenton Marina what happens next with the Western Skies. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s vessel search, the 70-year-old, wood- en-hulled Western Skies was last registered to Michael Rid- dell in 2004. Jane Sweet, a har- bormaster in Warrenton, said the vessel has been at the War- renton Marina since at least 2010. Commercial fisherman Jeff Painter, who owned the West- ern Skies for 20 years and sold it in the late 1990s, said it was sad to see the vessel in such a poor state. Painter said the boat was growing old, and he decided to upgrade to a steel- hulled vessel to fish more aggressively. He sold the boat to Philip A. Johnson, the last owner before Riddell. With busted woodwork, rusting equipment and chip- Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Pollution-control equipment deployed by the U.S. Coast Guard could be seen earlier in the week surrounding the wreck of the Western Skies fishing vessel at the Warrenton Marina. The boat sank over the weekend and was leaking diesel into the water. ping paint, the Western Skies had clearly seen better days. But as opposed to the stories of tying off and dumping ves- sels in the dead of night, Sweet said Riddell had been making payments until 2015, when he stopped answering phone calls and disappeared. “It’s usually a health or financial issue,” Sweet said of why boats get abandoned. “Oftentimes, they go beyond the point of where it’s practi- cal to repair.” About two years ago, she said, the marina started requir- ing proof of ownership and insurance for people bringing boats in. The voluntary prac- tice has become more com- mon at marinas, where staff are responsible for catching troubled boats before they come in. “We’ve cleaned up a lot,” Sweet said, estimating nine boats of concern like the West- ern Skies, none of them taken in since the rule changes. Sweet said the marina needs to figure out whether it can refloat the Western Skies, get quotes on removal and salvage, take those to the city administration and look for funding options to help remove the vessel. Taking stock of the fleet Rachel Graham, the pol- icy and environmental sec- tion manager for the Oregon State Marine Board, said a marina like Warrenton will try to find the owner of a vessel that sinks, and if not, call the marine board. “Hypothetically, if Warren- ton wanted some money, we could look at having them do the work, and then reimburs- ing some of the expenses,” she said. The agency spends up to $150,000 per biennium on the removal of sunken vessels both recreational and commer- cial, including 75 percent of the cost of salvaging a com- mercial vessel. The state also runs a vessel turn-in program for owners who can’t afford to properly dispose of an old boat. But while smaller recre- ational boats average $4,000 to $6,000 in disposal costs, she said, commercial vessels can run into the tens of thousands because of their size and haz- ardous materials. Most of the abandoned commercial vessels are for- mer fishing boats, Graham said, and all wood-hulled, with metal hulls more valuable to scrappers. The state’s recently formed A small sheen of diesel could be seen on the surface of the water near the hull of the Western Skies earlier in the week at the Warrenton Marina. The fishing vessel sank over the weekend and pollution-control measures were deployed by the U.S. Coast Guard to prevent the spill from spreading. Debris and pollution control measures can be seen in the water surrounding the wreck of the Western Skies fishing vessel which sank on Sunday at the Warrenton Marina. Abandoned and Derelict Com- mercial Vessel Task Force hopes to complete a census of commercial boats up and down the Oregon Coast in the next few months. Graham said the marine board, which gets funding from registration fees on rec- reational boats, sees itself as more of a facilitator on the commercial side, but wants to understand the financial needs for disposal of com- mercial vessels over the next 50 years. Dock: ‘The fishermen have been very patient with this process’ Continued from Page 1A Seafood, who was serving as mayor when work began. “I think the exciting thing was they had an Urban Renewal Agency advisory task force that was really in tune with the desires of the fishermen and the commu- nity,” he said. “It really came organically from the com- munity that this is what was needed.” Balensifer noted that the improvements, including a new harbormaster office and bathroom facilities, as well as the dock and gangways, come at a perfect time. Pacific Coast Seafood is rebuilding its pro- cessing plant in Warrenton following a fire in 2013. When that plant reopens this fall or winter, the marina could become even busier, he said. Power problems The recently replaced F dock sits at the northern end of the basin where larger ves- sels tie up. It had been in par- ticularly bad shape when work began. The new dock, however, is so new, built to all current codes, that a number of fisher- men have found their vessels are incompatible with the elec- trical systems. John Jensen of Marine Boatworks has been busy hunt- ing for isolation transformers to solve this problem. “The boats work on all the other docks (in the marina), they just won’t work on this one,” he said. It’s not an issue unique to the Warrenton Marina, Jensen says. As other marinas across the country improve decades- old infrastructure, boats may not have the updates to match. But access to onshore power is crucial, especially for the larger commercial vessels that will rest at F Dock. Many rely on bilge pumps to stay afloat. The transformers Jensen finally found, and bought in bulk from a company on the East Coast, will make vessels compatible with the new dock. Jensen got the transformers at a discount, a perk he plans to pass on to fishermen. Vessel owner and commercial fisher- man Troy Blix estimates the cost of buying and installing a transformer could run from $600 to $700 per boat. Both bills await the signa- ture of Gov. Kate Brown, who already has voiced her support. Johnson spoke at the Sea- side Civic and Convention Center to prosecutors gathered for a dinner reception, part of the Oregon District Attorneys Association’s three-day sum- mer conference. “If the safety and justice crowd keeps winning, there will be no safety, and there will be no justice — espe- cially for the poorer classes who are often preyed upon by criminals,” Johnson said. “To progressives, a victim and a criminal are moral equals.” Johnson, D-Scappoose, was the sole Senate Democrat to vote against the racial pro- filing bill and one of two to vote against the bill address- ing women in prison. “We’re looking the other way when drug addicts com- mit first-degree theft and identity theft,” she said. “And the victims? They’re paying for these treatment programs and wraparound services.” While most Democrats and some Republicans across the country have conceded the war on drugs has failed, Johnson offered an alternative theory. “Actually, it’s been quite successful in the hands of the progressives,” she said. ‘What kind of world are we headed for when district attorneys are expected to act like defense attorneys?’ Sen. Betsy Johnson “They have used it to create one campaign after another to push their agenda.” Poke at House leadership Johnson also excoriated Williamson, D-Portland, on several occasions during her nearly 20-minute speech for staunchly supporting both bills. Johnson said her sup- port for the bills was politi- cally motivated and that, as a former defense attorney, the majority leader is not motivated to fight for crime victims. Johnson, known for being more practical than idealog- ical, has a lengthy history of being thorny to fellow Demo- crats. She has blocked a num- ber of bills by siding with Republicans and even consid- ered switching to the Indepen- dent Party of Oregon in 2015. She also has backed prose- cutors throughout her time in the Legislature. In her speech, she praised Kevin Neely, a lobbyist for district attorneys vide a safe spot for our com- mercial fishermen to tie up their boats,” Balensifer said. The project took longer than the city had anticipated, but, “The fishermen have been very patient with this process.” “I’m proud to say (the marina) looks a world of differ- ent from when I was a kid.” Besides, he added, “If we’re going to charge for services, people have a reason to expect quality infrastructure.” Now the city and the Urban Renewal Agency plan to focus on projects in the rest of the district, especially the down- town area, said City Manager Linda Engbretson. STARTS THURSDAY, JULY 20! Future projects The dock replacement and gangway construction wraps up long-term restoration work at the marina, for now. Sweet plans to continue Johnson: Challenged prosecutors to organize, fight back against progressives Continued from Page 1A with small improvements here and there as funding becomes available. The most recent work will likely come in under budget, city staffers believe, but they are still tallying up the costs and did not have a final number available by press time. “It’s important that we pro- who fought against the drug bills. Prior to her speech Wednesday night, the dis- trict attorney’s association surprised her with its Policy- maker of the Year award. “She is the Oregon Legis- lature’s most vocal and sup- portive advocate of prosecu- tors,” said Rick Wesenberg, the Douglas County district attorney and the association’s president. Johnson challenged pros- ecutors to organize and fight back against progressives, who she says have put them “on the ropes.” She suggested sending out press releases to local constituents when they believe certain bills passed in the Legislature may make it more difficult to punish crimes. “What kind of world are we headed for when district attorneys are expected to act like defense attorneys?” John- son said. “Who will stand up for victims? Not Jennifer Williamson and the Oregon Legislature.” THIS STORE IS CLOSING! FINAL DAYS! 80-90 % OFF ORIGINAL PRICE EVERYTHING! * *EXCLUSIONS MAY APPLY. VALID IN-STORE ONLY. EVERYTHING MUST GO! 1343 COMMERCIAL ST ASTORIA, OR 97103 STORE FIXTURES & EQUIPMENT FOR SALE SEE MANAGEMENT JCPENNEY COUPONS CANNOT BE USED FOR CLOSING STORE PURCHASES. ALL SALES FINAL. NO RETURNS, REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES ACCEPTED. OFFERS VALID AT THIS LOCATION ONLY. 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