Residents of the San Juan Islands who are concerned about oil spills along the coastline are invited to a community workshop on oil spill response and readiness sponsored by the Northwest Straits Foundation and the San Juan County Marine Resources Committee. A free workshop on Community Engagement in Oil Spill Response and Readiness will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 7  in the Commons building at Friday Harbor Labs, 620 University Road, Friday Harbor.

Residents may see increased oil tanker and cargo ship traffic in the Straits. For example, a dramatic increase in tanker traffic could result from a Trans Mountain pipeline proposal –  from about 5 tankers a month currently to more than 30 tankers a month. The tankers could carry oil from the Trans Mountain pipeline through Haro Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Other proposed terminal projects will further add to commercial marine vessel traffic in the Straits.

How does an increase in tanker traffic affect the potential of a major oil spill? What will happen if a major oil spill occurs off the shores of San Juan County? How will it impact our coastal habitat and resources? Who is in charge of spill response and what happens behind the scenes? What is the role of elected officials and emergency managers during oil spills in our community? How can citizen volunteers be involved in the cleanup?

These questions and others will be answered for community members at the workshop.

RSVP by Thursday, March 5 to Heidi Lehman, Northwest Straits Foundation at lehman@nwstraits.org, 360-733-1725.