Huntington Beach to Seek $528,000 From Tanker Firm in Spill

This city will try to get at least $528,000 in from the company whose tanker spilled 394,000 gallons of oil offshore Feb. 7, officials said Friday.

The money would cover the cost of the emergency response and cleanup effort.

City Council members will also meet in closed session Monday to discuss suing American Trading Transportation Co. for such extra costs as environmental damage to the coastline and lost beach parking revenue, officials said.

Mayor Thomas J. Mays said he expects the city to formally present its claim to the company within two weeks. Mays added he hopes the city can avoid a lawsuit, “but we’re going to be discussing with our attorneys what all our options are.”

American Trading Transportation Co. officials have previously said the company will compensate cities for expenses directly related to the response and cleanup of the spill. Company officials were not available for comment on Friday.

The $528,000 figure is “a pretty complete estimate” of the city’s personnel and equipment costs after the disaster, said Dan Villella, the city’s director of finance. That estimate includes paying overtime and fringe benefits to lifeguards, fire officials and other city workers, as well as costs for operating police helicopters, cleanup supplies, a city film made about the spill and food for employees and volunteers, Villella said.

The city has not yet decided how much it will seek in additional, “hidden” costs, Deputy City Atty. Robert C. Sangster said. Such extra amounts may include damage to the environment and wildlife, lost parking lot and meter revenue while the beaches were closed and tarnishing of the city’s public image, Villella said.

In preparing the claim, city attorneys are studying a 1988 court ruling in which Shell Oil Co. was ordered to pay $19.7 million in damages related to a 1988 Bay Area oil spill, Sangster said. The spill happened when a tank at a Shell refinery dumped 400,000 gallons of crude oil down a storm drain.