Register Now – 2026 Oiled Wildlife Volunteer HAZWOPER Refresher Training

Posted on by David Prater

Registration is now open for the 2026 HAZWOPER Refresher for oiled wildlife volunteers!

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We are happy to be able to offer the HAZWOPER training for oiled wildlife volunteers on Saturday November 14, 2026. The training will be an in-person workshop at Ecology’s Northwest office in Shoreline, WA, with required online learning before you arrive. Here’s how it works:

  • Register for the class below.
  • You will get a link to the videos as confirmation of your registration.
  • You must watch each video below and pass all quizzes with a score of at least 80% prior to attending the in-person training.
  • On Saturday, November 14, 2026, attend the in-person workshop to be held at the Washington State Department of Ecology Northwest Region Office, located in Shoreline, WA.

You must watch each video below and pass all quizzes with a score of at least 80% prior to attending the in-person or online training on Saturday, November 14, 2026 to receive the 8-hour HAZWOPER refresher certificate.

Required Day-of Training Details
  • Where: WA Ecology NW Office 15700 Dayton Ave N, Shoreline, WA 98133
  • When: 10am to 2:00pm. A working lunch will be provided.

2026 Oiled Wildlife HAZWOPER Training Registration

 

GRP Quarterly Newsletter – October 2025

Posted on by David Prater

What are Geographic Response Plans?

Oil spills pose a risk to sensitive natural, cultural, and economic resources. One important tool in our planning toolbox is the Geographic Response Plan (GRP). GRPs contain pre-identified strategies for specific areas of the state at risk from oil spills. These are pre-approved plans that guide early response actions during oil spills. A list of all Washington State GRPs, including those open for comprehensive updates, can be found online at OilSpills101.wa.gov.

GRP Updates:  Comprehensive vs. Interim

GRPs are periodically updated to ensure the information is relevant and up-to-date. These comprehensive updates require a lot of work and often take a year or two to complete. Work is coordinated with other state and federal agencies, tribes, industry partners, oil spill response professionals, and local communities.

GRPs Open for Comprehensive Updates

GRPs currently open for comprehensive updates are listed below, along with the contact information if you have questions or want to participate. Included are any comprehensive GRP updates published this quarter.

Interim GRP Updates during Fall 2025

Because a lot can change in a GRP planning area between comprehensive updates, Ecology is committed to conducting interim GRP updates when necessary. Examples of interim updates include improvements to response strategies resulting from lessons learned during oil spill drills or actual spills, updated contact information, changes to driving directions, and other response-enhancing edits. Ecology publishes interim updates to GRPs on a quarterly basis. Interim updates completed this quarter include the following:

Updates to Ecology’s GIS Maps

Ecology recently migrated to GIS Portal which means the links to the various GIS maps have changed. Along with the links below, the individual GRPs have been updated to include the new links embedded throughout our GRPs. Don’t forget to update your tools, bookmarks, and other places you may have links for the following maps:

Everyone has a Role in Improving the State’s GRPs

The oil industry regularly exercises oil spill contingency plans to ensure their readiness to respond to an oil spill. These exercises often involve the deployment of GRP strategies. Each deployment is an opportunity to validate and improve a response strategy’s effectiveness.

GRPs also rely on feedback from professional oil spill responders, natural resource agencies, tribes, and the public. This valuable feedback is reflected in either a comprehensive update or the interim update process.

If you have information or ideas that can make GRPs more effective, Ecology wants to know! Please email GRP feedback or questions to GRPs@ecy.wa.gov.  If you are visiting a response strategy site, you can use our GRP Strategy Assessment Form to help document your assessment. We thank you in advance for helping the Northwest Area Committee maintain a high level of readiness to respond to oil spills.

GRP Quarterly Newsletter – July 2025

Posted on by David Prater

What are Geographic Response Plans?

Oil spills pose a risk to sensitive natural, cultural, and economic resources. One important tool in our planning toolbox is the Geographic Response Plan (GRP). GRPs contain pre-identified strategies for specific areas of the state at risk from oil spills. These are pre-approved plans that guide early response actions during oil spills. A list of all Washington State GRPs, including those open for comprehensive updates, can be found online at OilSpills101.wa.gov.

GRP Updates:  Comprehensive vs. Interim

GRPs are periodically updated to ensure the information is relevant and up-to-date. These comprehensive updates require a lot of work and often take a year or two to complete. Work is coordinated with other state and federal agencies, tribes, industry partners, oil spill response professionals, and local communities.

GRPs Open for Comprehensive Updates

GRPs currently open for comprehensive updates are listed below, along with the contact information if you have questions or want to participate. Included are any comprehensive GRP updates published this quarter.

Interim GRP Updates During Spring 2025

Because a lot can change in a GRP planning area between comprehensive updates, Ecology is committed to conducting interim GRP updates when necessary. Examples of interim updates include improvements to response strategies resulting from lessons learned during oil spill drills or actual spills, updated contact information, changes to driving directions, and other response-enhancing edits. Ecology publishes interim updates to GRPs on a quarterly basis. Interim updates completed this quarter include the following:

Updates to Ecology’s GIS Maps

Ecology recently migrated to GIS Portal which means the links to the various GIS maps have changed. Along with the links below, the individual GRPs have been updated to include the new links embedded throughout our GRPs. Don’t forget to update your tools, bookmarks, and other places you may have links for the following maps:

Everyone has a Role in Improving the State’s GRPs

The oil industry regularly exercises oil spill contingency plans to ensure their readiness to respond to an oil spill. These exercises often involve the deployment of GRP strategies. Each deployment is an opportunity to validate and improve a response strategy’s effectiveness.

GRPs also rely on feedback from professional oil spill responders, natural resource agencies, tribes, and the public. This valuable feedback is reflected in either a comprehensive update or the interim update process.

If you have information or ideas that can make GRPs more effective, Ecology wants to know! Please email GRP feedback or questions to GRPs@ecy.wa.gov.  If you are visiting a response strategy site, you can use our GRP Strategy Assessment Form to help document your assessment. We thank you in advance for helping the Northwest Area Committee maintain a high level of readiness to respond to oil spills.

Full GRP Update – Snake River Lower Granite Pool!

Posted on by David Prater

The Washington Department of Ecology is happy to announce the comprehensive update to the Snake River Lower Granite Pool Geographic Response Plan (GRP) is finished and the new GRP is now published online. An important part of the update process is hearing from the people who live, work, and play in the GRP area.

View the updated GRP here: https://oilspills101.wa.gov/northwest-area-contingency-plan/geographic-response-plans-grps/slogr-grp/ 

Description of the Planning Area

The Snake River originates in Yellowstone National Park and travels approximately 1,000 miles west through Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington before finally emptying into the Columbia River at Pasco. The Snake River is the largest tributary to the Columbia River and is itself one of the major rivers in the United States The SLOGR-GRP encompasses the 40-mile reach of the Lower Granite Pool, from the upstream side of the Lower Granite Dam (located at river mile 107.5) to the end of the pool at Clarkston, Washington. The area below the Lower Granite Dam is encompassed by the Little Goose GRP and the area upriver of Clarkston is in the state of Idaho. The area resides mostly in Water Resource Inventory Area Middle Snake (WRIA 35), and a small portion in Palouse (WRIA 34).

What are Geographic Response Plans?
Geographic Response Plans (GRPs) are used to guide early response actions in the event of an oil spill. Ecology develops and updates GRPs in collaboration with state, local and federal agencies and tribes. Each GRP is written for a specific area (for example a river, a lake, or section of Puget Sound), and includes tactical response strategies tailored to a particular shore or waterway at risk of injury from oil.

GRPs have two main objectives:

  • Identify sensitive natural, cultural or significant economic resources at risk of injury from oil spills.
  • Describe and prioritize response strategies in an effort to reduce injury to sensitive natural, cultural, and certain economic resources at risk from oil spills.

More Information

 

Questions?

GRPs@ecy.wa.gov

Snake River Little Goose Pool GRP – Full Update Published!

Posted on by David Prater

The Washington Department of Ecology is happy to announce the comprehensive update to the Snake River Little Goose Pool Geographic Response Plan (GRP) is finished and the new GRP is now published online. An important part of the update process is hearing from the people who live, work, and play in the GRP area.

You can view the updated GRP here: https://oilspills101.wa.gov/northwest-area-contingency-plan/geographic-response-plans-grps/sligo/  

Description of the Planning Area

The Snake River originates in Yellowstone National Park and travels approximately 1,000 miles west through Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington before finally emptying into the Columbia River at Pasco. The Snake River is the largest tributary to the Columbia River and is itself one of the major rivers in the United States.  The SLIGO-GRP encompasses the 37.2-mile reach of the Little Goose Pool, from the upstream side of the Little Goose Dam (located at river mile 70.3) to the downstream side of the Lower Granite Dam (located at river mile 107.5). The area below the Little Goose Dam is encompassed by the Lower Monumental GRP and the area upriver of the Lower Granite Dam is encompassed by the Lower Granite GRP. The area resides in Water Resource Inventory Area Middle Snake (WRIA 35).

What are Geographic Response Plans?

Geographic Response Plans (GRPs) are used to guide early response actions in the event of an oil spill. Ecology develops and updates GRPs in collaboration with state, local and federal agencies and tribes. Each GRP is written for a specific area (for example a river, a lake, or section of Puget Sound), and includes tactical response strategies tailored to a particular shore or waterway at risk of injury from oil.

GRPs have two main objectives:

  • Identify sensitive natural, cultural or significant economic resources at risk of injury from oil spills.
  • Describe and prioritize response strategies in an effort to reduce injury to sensitive natural, cultural, and certain economic resources at risk from oil spills.

More Information

Questions

Scott Zimmerman, Oil Spill Preparedness Planner

scott.zimmerman@ecy.wa.gov

 

 

 

GRP Quarterly Newsletter – April 2025

Posted on by David Prater

What are Geographic Response Plans?

Oil spills pose a risk to sensitive natural, cultural, and economic resources. One important tool in our planning toolbox is the Geographic Response Plan (GRP). GRPs contain pre-identified strategies for specific areas of the state at risk from oil spills. These are pre-approved plans that guide early response actions during oil spills. A list of all Washington State GRPs, including those open for comprehensive updates, can be found online at OilSpills101.wa.gov.

GRP Updates:  Comprehensive vs. Interim

GRPs are periodically updated to ensure the information is relevant and up-to-date. These comprehensive updates require a lot of work and often take a year or two to complete. Work is coordinated with other state and federal agencies, tribes, industry partners, oil spill response professionals, and local communities.

GRPs Open for Comprehensive Updates

GRPs currently open for comprehensive updates are listed below, along with the contact information if you have questions or want to participate. Included are any comprehensive GRP updates published this quarter.

Interim GRP Updates during Winter 2025

Because a lot can change in a GRP planning area between comprehensive updates, Ecology is committed to conducting interim GRP updates when necessary. Examples of interim updates include improvements to response strategies resulting from lessons learned during oil spill drills or actual spills, updated contact information, changes to driving directions, and other response-enhancing edits. Ecology publishes interim updates to GRPs on a quarterly basis. Interim updates completed this quarter include the following:

  • Central Puget Sound — Updated Economic RAR; CPS-183 (new); GRD-4.0 (new); CPS-144 (new photo); CPS-11e (new photo); CPS-160-N (new contacts); CPS-14 (contacts updated); DWW-0.0 (removed)
  • Lower Columbia River — LCR-100.8R (changed from collection to exclusion); updated Response Contact Sheet
  • Cowlitz/Clark/Southwest Lewis — CWLZR-15.9L (new photo); updated Response Contact Sheet
  • Chehalis River — Updated Response Contact Sheet

Updates to Ecology’s GIS Maps

Ecology recently migrated to GIS Portal which means the links to the various GIS maps have changed. Along with the links below, the individual GRPs have been updated to include the new links embedded throughout our GRPs. Don’t forget to update your tools, bookmarks, and other places you may have links for the following maps:

Everyone has a Role in Improving the State’s GRPs

The oil industry regularly exercises oil spill contingency plans to ensure their readiness to respond to an oil spill. These exercises often involve the deployment of GRP strategies. Each deployment is an opportunity to validate and improve a response strategy’s effectiveness.

GRPs also rely on feedback from professional oil spill responders, natural resource agencies, tribes, and the public. This valuable feedback is reflected in either a comprehensive update or the interim update process.

If you have information or ideas that can make GRPs more effective, Ecology wants to know! Please email GRP feedback or questions to GRPs@ecy.wa.gov.  If you are visiting a response strategy site, you can use our GRP Strategy Assessment Form to help document your assessment. We thank you in advance for helping the Northwest Area Committee maintain a high level of readiness to respond to oil spills.

GRP Quarterly Newsletter – October 2024

Posted on by David Prater

What are Geographic Response Plans?

Oil spills pose a risk to sensitive natural, cultural, and economic resources. One important tool in our planning toolbox is the Geographic Response Plan (GRP). GRPs contain pre-identified strategies for specific areas of the state at risk from oil spills. These are pre-approved plans that guide early response actions during oil spills. A list of all Washington State GRPs, including those open for comprehensive updates, can be found online at OilSpills101.wa.gov.

GRP Updates:  Comprehensive vs. Interim

GRPs are periodically updated to ensure the information is relevant and up-to-date. These comprehensive updates require a lot of work and often take a year or two to complete. Work is coordinated with other state and federal agencies, tribes, industry partners, oil spill response professionals, and local communities.

GRPs Open for Comprehensive Updates

GRPs currently open for comprehensive updates are listed below, along with the contact information if you have questions or want to participate. Included are any comprehensive GRP updates published this quarter.

Interim GRP Updates during Summer 2024

Because a lot can change in a GRP planning area between comprehensive updates, Ecology is committed to conducting interim GRP updates when necessary. Examples of interim updates include improvements to response strategies resulting from lessons learned during oil spill drills or actual spills, updated contact information, changes to driving directions, and other response-enhancing edits. Ecology publishes interim updates to GRPs on a quarterly basis. Interim updates completed this quarter include the following:

Updates to Ecology’s GIS Maps

Ecology recently migrated to GIS Portal which means the links to the various GIS maps have changed. We are in the process of updating the links embedded throughout our GRPs, but wanted to pass on this info in case you need them sooner rather than later (the GRP landing pages have the correct links, but various PDFs within the GRPs are still being updated). Don’t forget to update bookmarks, tools, and other places you may have links for the following maps if you haven’t already:

Everyone has a Role in Improving the State’s GRPs

Oil industry regularly exercises oil spill contingency plans to ensure their readiness to respond to an oil spill. These exercises often involve the deployment of GRP strategies. Each deployment is an opportunity to validate a response strategy’s effectiveness, and to make improvements if it is necessary.

GRPs also rely on feedback from professional oil spill responders, natural resource agencies, tribes, and the public. This valuable feedback is reflected in either a comprehensive update or the interim update process.

If you have information or ideas that can make GRPs even more effective, Ecology wants to know! Please email GRP feedback to GRPs@ecy.wa.gov.  If you are visiting a response strategy site, you can use our GRP Strategy Assessment Form to help document your assessment. We thank you in advance for helping the Northwest Area Committee maintain a high level of readiness to respond to oil spills.

GRP Quarterly Newsletter – July 2024

Posted on by David Prater

GRP Quarterly Newsletter – July 2024

What are Geographic Response Plans?

Oil spills pose a risk to sensitive environmental, cultural, and economic resources. One important tool in our planning toolbox is the Geographic Response Plan (GRP). GRPs contain pre-identified strategies for specific areas of the state at risk from oil spills. These are pre-approved plans that guide early response actions during oil spills. A list of all Washington State GRPs, including those open for comprehensive updates, can be found online at OilSpills101.wa.gov.

GRP Updates: Comprehensive vs. Interim

GRPs are periodically updated to ensure the information is relevant and up-to-date. These comprehensive updates require a lot of work and often take a year or two to complete. Work is coordinated with other state and federal agencies, tribes, industry partners, oil spill response professionals, and communities.

GRPs Open for Comprehensive Updates

GRPs currently open for comprehensive updates are listed below, along with the contact information if you have questions or want to participate. Included are any comprehensive GRP updates published this year.

Interim GRP updates during Spring 2024

Because a lot can change in a GRP planning area between comprehensive updates, Ecology is committed to conducting interim GRP updates when necessary. Examples of interim updates include improvements to response strategies resulting from lessons learned during oil spill drills or actual spills, updated contact information, changes to driving directions, and other response-enhancing edits. Ecology publishes interim updates to GRPs on a quarterly basis. Interim updates completed this quarter include the following:

Everyone has a Role in Improving the State’s GRPs

Oil industry regularly exercises oil spill contingency plans to ensure their readiness to respond to an oil spill. These exercises often involve the deployment of GRP strategies. Each deployment is an opportunity to validate a response strategy’s effectiveness, and to make improvements if it is necessary.
GRPs also rely on feedback from professional oil spill responders, natural resource agencies, tribes, and the public. This valuable feedback is reflected in either a comprehensive update or the interim update process.
If you have information or ideas that can make GRP’s even more effective, Ecology wants to know! Please email GRP feedback to GRPs@ecy.wa.gov. If you are visiting a response strategy site, you can use our new GRP Strategy Assessment Form to help document your assessment. We thank you in advance for helping the Northwest Area Committee maintain a high level of readiness to respond to oil spills.

GRP Quarterly Newsletter – January 2024

Posted on by Kaitlin Lebon

What are Geographic Response Plans?

Oil spills pose a risk to sensitive environmental, cultural, and economic resources. One important tool in our planning toolbox is the Geographic Response Plan (GRP). GRPs contain pre-identified strategies for specific areas of the state at risk from oil spills. These are pre-approved plans that guide early response actions during oil spills. A list of all Washington State GRPs, including those open for comprehensive updates, can be found online at OilSpills101.wa.gov.

GRP Updates:  Comprehensive vs. Interim

GRPs are periodically updated to ensure the information is relevant and up-to-date. These comprehensive updates require a lot of work and often take a year or two to complete. Work is coordinated with other state and federal agencies, tribes, industry partners, oil spill response professionals, and communities.

GRPs currently open for comprehensive updates are listed below, along with the contact information if you have questions or want to participate.

 

Interim GRP updates during Fall, 2023

Because a lot can change in a GRP planning area between comprehensive updates, Ecology is committed to conducting interim GRP updates when necessary. Examples of interim updates include improvements to response strategies resulting from lessons learned during oil spill drills or actual spills, updated contact information, changes to driving directions, and other response-enhancing edits. Ecology publishes interim updates to GRPs on a quarterly basis. Interim updates completed this quarter include the following:

Everyone has a Role in Improving the State’s GRPs

The oil industry regularly exercises oil spill contingency plans to ensure their readiness to respond to an oil spill. These exercises often involve the deployment of GRP strategies. Each deployment is an opportunity to validate a response strategy’s effectiveness, and to make improvements if it is necessary.

GRPs also rely on feedback from professional oil spill responders, natural resource agencies, tribes, and the public. This valuable feedback is  reflected in either a comprehensive update or the interim update process.

If you have information or ideas that can make GRP’s even more effective, Ecology wants to know! Please email GRP feedback to GRPs@ecy.wa.gov.  If you are visiting a response strategy site, you can use our new GRP Strategy Assessment Form to help document your assessment. We thank you in advance for helping the Northwest Area Committee maintain a high level of readiness to respond to oil spills.

GRP Quarterly Newsletter – October, 2023

Posted on by David Prater

What are Geographic Response Plans?

Oil spills pose a risk to sensitive environmental, cultural, and economic resources. One important tool in our planning toolbox is the Geographic Response Plan (GRP). GRPs contain pre-identified strategies for specific areas of the state at risk from oil spills. These are pre-approved plans that guide early response actions during oil spills. A list of all Washington State GRPs, including those open for comprehensive updates, can be found online at OilSpills101.wa.gov.

GRP Updates:  Comprehensive vs. Interim

GRPs are periodically updated to ensure the information is relevant and up-to-date. These comprehensive updates require a lot of work and often take a year or two to complete. Work is coordinated with other state and federal agencies, tribes, industry partners, oil spill response professionals, and communities.

GRPs currently open for comprehensive updates are listed below, along with the contact information if you have questions or want to participate.

Interim GRP updates during Fall, 2023

Because a lot can change in a GRP planning area between comprehensive updates, Ecology is committed to conducting interim GRP updates when necessary. Examples of interim updates include improvements to response strategies resulting from lessons learned during oil spill drills or actual spills, updated contact information, changes to driving directions, and other response-enhancing edits. Ecology publishes interim updates to GRPs on a quarterly basis. Interim updates completed this quarter include the following:

GRP User Survey

The GRP Sub-Committee of the Northwest Area Committee has created a survey to better understand what elements of the Response Strategies and Priorities (2-pagers) people use and value the most. The sub-committee is looking for feedback from people who deploy, update, or otherwise use 2-pagers to make them as useful as possible during a response.

Everyone has a Role in Improving the State’s GRPs

The oil industry regularly exercises oil spill contingency plans to ensure their readiness to respond to an oil spill. These exercises often involve the deployment of GRP strategies. Each deployment is an opportunity to validate a response strategy’s effectiveness, and to make improvements if it is necessary.

GRPs also rely on feedback from professional oil spill responders, natural resource agencies, tribes, and the public. This valuable feedback is  reflected in either a comprehensive update or the interim update process.

If you have information or ideas that can make GRP’s even more effective, Ecology wants to know! Please email GRP feedback to GRPs@ecy.wa.gov.  If you are visiting a response strategy site, you can use our new GRP Strategy Assessment Form to help document your assessment. We thank you in advance for helping the Northwest Area Contingency Plan maintain a high level of readiness to respond to oil spills.