Officials Urge More Local Say in Oil-Spill Legislation : Cleanups: City and county representatives ask two congressmen for broader consultations with authorities in affected areas and quicker reimbursements.

Orange County area officials who recently had to deal with the Huntington Beach oil spill met with Reps. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Lomita) on Thursday to press for greater local input in proposed legislation regarding oil spill cleanups.

A conference committee has been working out differences between House and Senate versions of a bill that would greatly increase the financial liability limits for oil spillers, require double hulls and bottoms for oil tankers and restructure the assessment of damages for spills.

The local officials urged Packard and Rohrabacher to expand the legislation to allow consultations with local officials affected by oil spills and quicker reimbursement of those who participate in cleanup efforts.

“That’s really our role here,” said Raymond Picard, fire chief for the city of Huntington Beach. “The city councils and counties want to express our concerns. We are and were the ones most impacted” by the American Trader spill.

Participants in the 10-minute session included Picard; John W. Sibley, associate administrative officer for Orange County; Ruthelyn Plummer, mayor of Newport Beach; and James McConnell, a Washington lobbyist for Orange County.

Both the Senate and House bills call for creation of a $1-billion national fund to cover the cost of damages caused by oil spills, and would place the U.S. Coast Guard in charge of coordinating cleanup efforts.

“I think we caught their attention,” remarked Plummer. “Our position is that we’re very supportive of this legislation, and we just wanted to feed in (our) input on it because it’s the local level that gives support. . . . We came here to be part of the decision-making process.”

The group stressed the need for provisions in the legislation to provide for local involvement in deciding the length of cleanup operations, the reimbursement to cities and counties responding to spills, and improved safety regulations for the oil industry.

“Somebody has got to pay for all the police and fire support . . . (especially) in cases for cities and counties where these departments are not heavily funded,” Plummer said. “They would be in financial hardships before relief hits.”

McConnell said his group also had met with members of the House Merchant Marine Committee. While committee members are “not going to give the locals the authority to say how clean is clean . . . they are willing to have our consultation,” he said.

On Feb. 7, the American Trader tanker ruptured its hull when it ran over its anchor. The spill released 394,000 gallons of oil and fouled more than 14 miles of coastline.

“We’re looking for improved safety methods and controls to minimize risks,” said Sibley. “Double-hulling or some kind of recovery system would have prevented (the spill at) Huntington Beach. Whatever constitutes that safety, we want for the future.”

Packard said he understood the concerns of the local officials and told them he would take steps to respond to their requests.

“They had some very important and very justifiable concerns,” Packard said. “Newport Beach spent $300,000-plus in (its) cleanup. Close to a million dollars in local spending was used. The local agencies are really capable of doing a lot of things.”

Packard said that he and Rohrabacher will draft a letter to the other conferees, proposing that monies spent by local entities be reimbursed from a trust fund established by the oil industry.

“Next week will be critical because that’s when we expect the conference committee to wrap up its work,” Packard said.