NOAA to review move to Oregon

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Friday it will take another look at the decision to move its research fleet from Seattle to the central Oregon Coast after a competing port raised questions about the potential for flooding.

NOAA chief administrative officer William F. Broglie said from Washington, D.C., the agency would follow Government Accountability Office recommendations. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will review potential flooding problems around piers to be built on Newport’s Yaquina Bay, and whether the port’s plans for dealing with them are adequate.

NOAA will review whether proposals from Seattle, Port Angeles, Wash., and Bellingham would be suitable alternatives, without the same flood plain issues. If the agency decides they would not, GAO will review that decision, Broglie added.

NOAA’s announcement last month that it would move four research ships from Seattle to Newport was a plum for Oregon, which had kicked in $19 million that allowed Newport to significantly lower its bid, and did not go down well in Washington, where there was no state financial backing.

Basing four ships, 60 shoreside personnel and 110 crew at Newport was estimated to pump $19 million a year into the regional economy, where tourism has not made up for downturns in logging and commercial fishing over the past two decades.

The fleet’s lease is running out at its base in Seattle, where the docks had burned, and staying there would have required building new docks, as well as much higher leasing costs, Broglie said.

In choosing Newport, home to an existing team of NOAA scientists who study fisheries, underwater volcanoes, earthquakes and marine mammals, the agency took into account a range of factors, including access to support facilities, quality of facilities, a central location for research voyages extending from Mexico to Alaska, and livability, Broglie said.

NOAA expects to complete its review by May 28.