Washington State Department of Ecology, Spill Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (SPPR) Program

Washington State Department of Ecology Administration of Grants and Loans (EAGL)

This Progress Indicator tracks the percentage of total grant requests for emergency oil spill response equipment that are funded each biennium through Ecology’s oil spill response equipment grant program. Ecology manages this grant program to help local communities access valuable response equipment, which can curb the environmental impact of oil spills when they occur. Grants are also funded for additional spill mitigation needs, like training for first responders.

Various entities in Washington State can apply to these grant opportunities, including state agencies, counties, cities, towns, public utility districts, fire departments, port districts, Tribal governments, and others. Applications are submitted through Ecology’s Administration of Grants and Loans (EAGL) system. Ecology considers the eligibility and location of recipients to ensure that response equipment is available across the state and Puget Sound region. For more detailed information on the grant program, review the equipment grant funding guidelines for 2025-2027.

The indicator is calculated by dividing the total dollar amount of funded eligible requests by the total dollar amount of all eligible requests. This value is then converted to a percentage.

Current reporting period: 2021-2023 state biennium

Baseline reporting period: 2019-2021 state biennium

Each reporting period for this indicator is one biennium. The indicator data are updated every two years with updated reports. We evaluate trends over time by comparing the indicator status in the most recent biennium to the biennium directly prior.

Limitations

• This indicator may not capture all equipment needs. Often local communities lack the capacity to apply for grants and make use of available funds. This indicator is a helpful proxy for need, but it may miss local communities that lack capacity to engage with available grant programs.
• This indicator does not track funding by community or sub-region in Puget Sound. It is important to consider where funds for emergency equipment are distributed across the region. While Ecology prioritizes grant requests to ensure funds are distributed to areas with the most need, the spatial distribution of funds is not tracked by this indicator. Additionally, this indicator tracks applications for response equipment that may be distributed to communities outside of Puget Sound. Despite this, equipment anywhere in the state can be made available to Puget Sound communities should a spill occur.

o   This map by Ecology shows the distribution of funds for spill response across the Puget Sound region. To filter to spill response, select the “Spills” program for Ecology Program and select “Spill Response” for Theme.

• This indicator looks at the Ecology grant program only and may not capture need of some partners. Private entities, nonprofits, non-government organizations, and federal partners may not be eligible for this grant program; their needs are therefore not captured. These partners, however, can coordinate with eligible applicants to receive funding though such coordination is likely limited by capacity[i]. There may also be grant opportunities beyond Ecology’s program to fund emergency response equipment needs.

Emergency response equipment: any tools or technologies that assist first responders in locating and responding to an oil spill. These may include (but are not limited to) radios, vessels, safety and air monitoring equipment, response training, oil spill containment booms, firefighting foam, decontamination equipment, absorbents, trailers, etc. [i]. Response equipment anywhere in the state is made available to be transported to the sites of oil spills, should one occur. This is coordinated through the Worldwide Response Resource List.