Tuesday, on Earth Day, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, joined her colleagues in announcing the reintroduction of the West Coast Protection Act to permanently protect the Pacific Ocean from the dangers of fossil fuel drilling.
“Washington’s $45.9 billion maritime economy supports over 174,000 jobs from fisheries, trade, tourism, and recreation — but it could all be devastated in an instant by an oil spill,” Sen. Cantwell said. “We must permanently ban offshore drilling on the West Coast to protect our coastal communities, economies, and ecosystems against the risk of an oil spill.”
This bill prohibits the Department of the Interior from issuing a lease for the exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas in any area of the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of California, Oregon or Washington. This legislation comes just after the 15th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which resulted in the deaths of 11 workers, 134 million gallons spilled into the Gulf of Mexico over 87 days, the demise of thousands of marine mammals and sea turtles, and billions of dollars in economic losses from the fishing, outdoor recreation, and tourism industries.
The West Coast Protection Act is endorsed by dozens of environmental organizations including Earthjustice, Surfrider Foundation, Sierra Club, Ocean Conservancy, American Bird Conservancy, Surf Industry Members Association and Business Alliance for Protecting the Pacific Coast.
History of drilling in Grays Harbor
According to the Grays Harbor Regional Planning Commission, “During the mid-’90s strong prospects for off-shore oil drilling along the coast of Grays Harbor led the agency to partner with Pacific and Jefferson counties to form the Coastal Counties Partnership.
“Managed through grant funds, the partnership focused on the protection of our coastline through public education and clearinghouse functions. The Grays Harbor Regional Planning Commission again used regional policies to negate offshore oil lease sales and drilling. These planning efforts successfully led to the protection of the outer continental shelf and the development of the National Olympic Marine Sanctuary.”
Oil City
According to a story put out by the Department of Natural Resources in 1981 titled, “Oil and gas exploration in Washington 1900-1981, “Oil seeps were first reported in Washington about 1881 along the sea cliffs on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula. Natural gas seeps associated with mud cones and mounds were also reported in this same general area,
“Approximately 428 oil and gas exploratory wells and 76 gas storage wells had been drilled in Washington state as of January 1979. Of the exploratory wells, 106 were drilled by major oil companies.
“… Two-thirds of the exploratory wells drilled in the last 20 years were in two counties of Grays Harbor and Lewis. They had a total of 64 wells as compared to 41 wells in 17 other counties.”
Oil City was part of the drilling. Oil City sits at the mouth of the Hoh River.
The townsite was platted in 1911 by the Olympic Oil Company, which intended to develop a deepwater oil port at the mouth of the Hoh. In the 1930s, the presence of the Jefferson Oil Seep in the area attracted the attention of oil speculators, and many platted lots were sold to optimistic buyers in anticipation of an oil boom. Eleven wells were drilled between 1931 and 1937. Initial reports claimed production of up to 100 barrels a day from some wells, but these numbers decreased quickly, according to Historical Notes: Hoh River area” put out by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources in 2014.
Eventually, the involved oil interests concluded that reserves in the area were not of marketable quantities. Additionally, the plotted area where Oil City was to be built proved too rugged and remote for viable development.
This information was not provided to the general public, and many of the lots were sold as prime investment opportunities to unsuspecting investors who believed an oil boom still loomed in the region.
The city plots remained obscure and undeveloped until 2008, when access to the site was made possible with road use agreements between the developer and the logging companies in the area.
Oil City is now an off-grid community nestled next to the Olympic National Park and the only private property available between La Push to the north and Queets to the south. Oil City is governed loosely by a small landowners’ association.
