KPLU Local News
(2010-03-15)
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Photo courtesy The Seattle Times
In October, 2004, the tanker Polar Texas spilled several thousand gallons of crude oil into Dalco Passage, near Tacoma. The oily sheen stretched from the Tacoma Narrows to Bainbridge Island.
Over the next few years, the tanker's owner paid a record $540,000 fine and covered more than $2 million in clean-up costs. Now - in its final act of penance -- the company has agreed to fund three restoration projects in the area hardest hit. Curt Hart is with the state Department of Ecology
"It's compensation to the citizens of the state of Washington for the public's natural resources that were damaged by the spill," he says.
The projects will restore shoreline and salt marsh habitat for fish and other marine life.
The proposed settlement will go now out for a 30-day public comment period. If approved by a U.S. District Court Judge, the deal could be finalized by early summer.
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