Based on a White House Action Plan issued to the Department of Transportation (DOT), an assessment of the marine safety system in Puget Sound-area waters was conducted to determine whether any additional casualty prevention measures were warranted. In November 1998, Secretary Slater determined that the many existing elements of the region’s marine transportation system comprise a safe system. He went on to indicate that improvements can always be made and among other things that the DOT would fund and manage an analysis of the costs and additional risk reduction benefits that would be afforded by tug escorts or by stationing a rescue tug in the region. The Regulatory Assessment addressed these measures.

In November 1998, the Coast Guard issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking on potential rules that would improve marine safety in Puget Sound-area waters. Prior to any federal rulemaking a cost to benefit analysis must be performed; this assessment fills that role.

• Include the Strait of Juan de Fuca and offshore approaches, Puget Sound south to Olympia, and the waters in and around the San Juan Islands.

• Make use of national historical oil spill data to project spill rates.
• Calculate probabilistic oil outflow to project spill rates for double hull vessels.

• Compare relative effectiveness in averting collisions, powered, and drift groundings.
• Assess net cost effectiveness (implementation cost / oil spillage averted) of each alternative.
• Consider clean up costs and environmental damage separately.

• Escort Tugs
• Single tug escort (No.3) is next most cost-effective option.
• Although alternatives 5 & 6 avert the most potential pollution, they are least cost effective.

• Rescue tugs
• Low probability of drift groundings limits effectiveness.