Grant funding available for spill response equipment & training

When there’s an oil or hazardous material spill to the environment, damage follows quickly. The faster first responders can act, with the best tools at hand, the better.

That’s why we offer Oil Spill Equipment Cache Grants to help local emergency responders buy and pre-position equipment so it’s readily available to help fight a spill before it grows.

Yellow diamonds mark the locations of funding during 

the last two years. Go to our map to learn more.  

This view of our Ecology grants and loans map shows descriptions and locations of equipment we funded in the last two funding cycles. You can see how our grant program is building out a large network of equipment across the state – this is our intention. Our grants also pay for training on how to use the equipment.

Since 2017, we have funded more than 60 equipment caches worth $3.8 million. Here are some examples of the most recent funding:

• The Seattle Fire Department got $247,000 for firefighting foam Novacool, a less toxic foam that doesn’t contain perfluorinated compounds that persist in the environment. 
• The White Salmon Fire Department got $188,000 for radios.
• The Lummi Indian Business Council received $100,000 for a spill response boat.
• San Juan County Fire District 4 got $30,250 for firefighting foam, boating safety equipment and spill response training.
• The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community received $186,400 for safety and air monitoring equipment and spill response training.

West Pierce County Fire & Rescue

gets on-water, grant-funded training.

Classroom training for emergency
responders in Chelan County

funded by our grants.

Who's eligible

You are eligible for funding if you represent a city, county, port district, state agency, tribal government, clean air agency, local health jurisdiction, public utility district, irrigation district, and other special purpose district in Washington that serves communities at risk for oil spills and hazardous materials incidents.

The types of equipment our grants 

pay for.

Visit our website to learn about our in-person workshops and an online webinar we’re holding in January 2019, and watch a short video showing the kinds of equipment our grants will pay for.

You can apply for a grant now through March 6. If you have questions, contact Laura Hayes at laura.hayes@ecy.wa.gov or 360-407-7485.

By Sandy Howard, Spill Preparedness, Prevention, and Response Program