Federal cuts threatening disaster response in Clallam County

​By Paul J. Pickett

The recent tanker truck crash and spill of thousands of gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel on July 18 sent shock waves across Clallam County. Toxic pollutants flooded Indian Creek and flushed into the Elwha River, killing fish and other aquatic wildlife and setting back restoration of Elwha fisheries for years. A “Do Not Drink” alert was issued by the City of Port Angeles until the City’s water supply could be tested. This event was both a disaster in itself and a warning for our future. The actions of our Republican-controlled federal government are increasing the potential harm of future disasters and decreasing our ability to respond. 

As one news article noted, the current drought, driven by climate change, has reduced flows in our streams and made the impact of the spill worse. And yet, despite the clear warnings of scientists across the globe, the Trump Administration and Republican Congress is slashing renewable energy programs, cutting federal research, and muzzling federal agencies from talking about climate science. 

But threats from Republican actions cut deeper: an article in Inside Climate News outlines the dangers of Trump’s budget cuts to disaster response. They report that “weather forecasting, climate research and climate resilience are being hit with major budget and staffing cuts by the Trump administration.” This will reduce our ability to anticipate and prepare for potential disasters. The article highlights the impacts from cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The article notes,“as floods and fires ravage the U.S., communities will increasingly be ‘flying blind.’”  Not only would communities be handicapped in preparing for potential disasters, they would have less support for their response in the aftermath of a disaster.

A few days ago, I spoke with spill responders from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) at the Clallam County Courthouse, where they were taking a break from their work at the Indian Creek spill site. The EPA responder told me that EPA had taken a lot of cuts, but, for now, their response team was intact. The Ecology responder agreed that EPA was okay for now. But, he said that the ability of NOAA Fisheries to help had been hampered by severe cuts to their agency. “They are answering their phone,” he told me, “but they are not field-forward. They are not showing up at the site.”

Cuts to NOAA are hitting Clallam County in other ways. The  Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary  is managed from an office in Port Angeles. Noticing the NOAA research vessel in the Port of Port Angeles marina, I was curious how federal cuts were affecting them. Their website listed Alexandra Avila as their Marine Scientist, but when I called the Sanctuary Superintendent about speaking with Alexandra, I learned she had been laid off.

I tracked down Alexandra through LinkedIn and she told me her story. She had earned a PhD from Oregon State, and moved with her family to Port Angeles when she was hired in September 2024. But, in February, she was one of the probationary employees who was fired, then reinstated by a court order, then fired again. Her work included managing the stationary mooring buoys that collect environmental data off the Coast. “The data these buoys collect is important for fishermen and managing the sanctuary,” she told me. “I don’t know what is going to happen to those projects now.”

I asked Alexandra what the impact of these lost science positions would be in the event of an oil spill on the Olympic Coast. “There’s a NOAA response team in California,” she explained. “The U.S. Geological Society (USGS) and Tribes would be involved. But I might have gotten involved to deal with fish, coral, and other marine life. I could have helped with a natural resource damage assessment.”

Viewed together, these Republican attacks on science and the mindless cutting of federal staff are a direct threat to Clallam County. Disasters can happen here, as we’ve seen from the truck crash and fuel spill. Oil spill disasters have occurred on the Olympic Coast and the Strait, and could, and likely will, happen again. With increasing truck and ship traffic, the risk increases. On top of that is the potential for a major earthquake or tsunami. And as climate change deepens, we are likely to see more extreme storms, flooding, and severe wildfires in our County. Could fire disasters or flooding from intense storms happen here? There is no reason they couldn’t, and the likelihood of weather disasters just keeps increasing as warming climbs out of control. 

Like the rest of the nation, our community depends on the science and trained staff from federal agencies for information and responses. Republican laws and policies that deny science and slash science expertise will return to bite us when future disasters hit. We need to stand up for science and strongly advocate for restoring our federal science and scientists. Let our members of Congress know we want federal support for science and disaster planning and response. And check out Federal Workers Against DOGE.

A fuel truck overturned in Indian Creek in the Elwha River watershed after it crashed on Friday, July 18, 2025, near Port Angeles. (Photo from Washington State Standard, courtesy of Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue)