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Comment period

Best Achievable Protection (BAP)

Workgroup Summaries

July 1, 2025, 8 a.m. - July 31, 2025, 11:59 p.m. PT

Washington uses the Best Achievable Protection (BAP) process to maintain a high standard of oil spill preparedness. As outlined in WAC 173-182-621 and WAC 173-186-410, this 5-year cycle reviews emerging response technologies and practices to inform updates to oil spill contingency planning.

The BAP recommendations help guide updates to oil spill contingency plans. As part of the 2025 BAP process, Ecology administered a survey to identify priority areas for improving oil spill preparedness. Based on survey responses, four key focus areas were selected and assigned to dedicated workgroups for further evaluation: (1) non-floating oils, (2) Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Techniques, (3) Souther Resident Killer Whale deterrence, and (4) Uncrewed Aerial Surveillance. This document summarizes each workgroup’s discussions and presents their recommendations for strengthening Washington’s oil spill preparedness system.

Ecology encourages the public to comment on the recommendations made by the four workgroups during our Best Achievable Protections 2025 cycle.

Review the recommendations here: https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/ezshare/sppr/preparedness/2025-BestAchievableProtections-Summary.PDF.

Read more about Best Achievable Protection (BAP) for spill response.

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Darcy Bird
Planning Unit Supervisor
darcy.bird@ecy.wa.gov

To request ADA accommodation, contact Ecology's ADA Coordinator by email at ecyadacoordinator@ecy.wa.gov, or call 360-407-6831, 711 (relay service), or 877-833-6341 (TTY). More about our accessibility services.