Questions arise in wake of boat sinking in Brinnon

Published 12:01 am Saturday, October 11, 2014

BRINNON — The Avalon, a 65-foot pleasure craft that sank near Pleasant Harbor on Sept. 14, is still in the harbor, and questions about it will be addressed at a public meeting at noon today, according to a Brinnon Parks and Recreation board commissioner.

The meeting will be at the Brinnon Fire Department, 272 Schoolhouse Road, said Nicole Black.

Representatives of the Coast Guard, state Department of Ecology, state Department of Natural Resources and perhaps the state Department of Health will attend, said Chief Petty Officer Sarah Mooers of the Coast Guard public information office in Seattle.

It will be hosted by the Brinnon Parks and Recreation District, Black said, “because of questions from the community.”

Those questions concern the status of removal and cleanup and how the Brinnon community can undertake cleanups on its own.

“One of the biggest problems was that the response team came from Seattle,” Black said.

The boat sunk early in the morning, and the response team arrived “many hours later,” she said.

“We want to know how the community of Brinnon can respond,” she said.

“Since we are so isolated, it would be nice if our local community could respond to emergency situations.

“We have talented people, we have resources, and we are here.”

Black said Ecology told her that 350 gallons of diesel fuel were pumped out of the boat, “and then they squeezed another 50 gallons out of the oil-soaking materials.”

Sandy Howard, Ecology spokeswoman, said last month that the owner had told the department he wanted to attempt to remove his boat.

A plan for raising the boat must be submitted to and approved by the Coast Guard, she said then.