Cantwell Works to Help Repair South Lake Union Fire Damage
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is asking for federal help to repair National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) facilities and ships damaged by a massive fire last Wednesday, July 5. In a letter sent this Tuesday to the appropriations subcommittee that funds NOAA, Cantwell asked that they help the cash-strapped agency repair and replace the buildings, piers, and ships damaged in the early-morning fire.
“We need to get these ships and facilities back up and running as soon as possible,” said Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Subcommittee with oversight over NOAA. “In the Pacific Northwest, NOAA conducts research vital to many of our region’s maritime industries, including fishing and shipping. We need to make sure they can continue to provide these important services.”
In a letter to Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Ranking Member Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science, Cantwell pointed to planned budget cuts that could make it especially difficult for NOAA to overcome the costs incurred as a result of the fire—already estimated in the millions—and asked subcommittee leaders to take this added cost into account when developing NOAA’s budget for the upcoming year.
“NOAA now faces the extraordinary challenge of finding new space for office personnel and ships displaced by the fire,” wrote Cantwell. “The cost of the damage has not yet been determined, but promises to be substantial. As you know, the NOAA budget has been squeezed for several years running and faces additional cuts this year. As you consider NOAA’s fiscal year 2007 appropriation, I ask that you take into account NOAA’s newly incurred rebuilding or relocating costs that resulted from this fire in order to ensure that NOAA continues to perform its critical oceanographic functions in the Pacific Ocean.”
The fire severely damaged two large NOAA piers and two smaller piers that support the operations of 10 boats in charge of ocean mapping and fisheries surveys in the Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Pacific Ocean. The fire also damaged four ships and two outbuildings at the NOAA Pacific Marine Operations.
[The full text of Cantwell’s letter follows below]
July 11, 2006
Dear Chairman Shelby and Ranking Member Mikulski:
On July 5, 2006 at approximately 1:30 am Pacific Standard Time a fire broke out under the pier at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Marine Operations Center located on the south end of Lake Union in downtown Seattle, Washington.The U.S. Coast Guard, Seattle Police Department, and over 100 Firefighters from Seattle and five nearby districts responded to the blaze which raged until early morning. Five firefighters were sent to the hospital with minor injuries.
The fire severely damaged two large NOAA piers and two smaller piers that support the operations of ten NOAA boats which perform hydrographic and fisheries surveys in the Pacific, North Pacific, and Western Pacific. Four of those boats are homeported at the facility and will have to find alternate dock space when they return to port in the fall. In addition to the damage to the NOAA docks, several buildings were destroyed and others damaged. Two ships, the McArthur and Assertive, both sustained heat damage and have been relocated temporarily. Two small boats, a work boat and a zodiac, were destroyed.
NOAA now faces the extraordinary challenge of finding new space for office personnel and ships displaced by the fire. The cost of the damage has not yet been determined, but promises to be substantial. As you know, the NOAA budget has been squeezed for several years running and faces additional cuts this year. As you consider NOAA’s fiscal year 2007 appropriation, I ask that you take into account NOAA’s newly incurred rebuilding or relocating costs that resulted from this fire in order to ensure that NOAA continues to perform its critical oceanographic functions in the Pacific Ocean.
Sincerely,
Maria Cantwell
United States Senator
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