Criminal charges possible in Petaluma oil spill

The boat, a rusting 60-foot, 90-ton vessel, has been removed and cleanup completed in the cove and surrounding shores, Fish and Game spokeswoman Alexia Retallack said Friday.

No evidence of damage to wildlife has been detected, she said. As many as 600 gallons of lubricating oil leaked from the boat.

The incident was reported on Labor Day morning by neighbors and paddlers using the river.

An Alameda-based salvage company called ATOP TRC Inc. is listed as the boat owner and was the operator of the salvaging equipment, Retallack said.

“There are a few things that developed and we are taking a look at a couple more things before putting a case together for the district attorney,” she said. “It got more complicated.”

She declined to be more specific, citing the ongoing detective work. But she confirmed that ATOP remains the focus of the investigation.

Fish and Game investigators are working with state Environmental Protection Agency and state water board officials to determine what laws and codes may have been violated.

“Whether it's unintentional or intentional, accidental or otherwise, in California when you spill it, you're responsible for cleaning it up,” Retallack said.

The accountable party is responsible for costs of public agencies' response to the spill, cleanup and restoration, she said. And there is no cap on liability, a difference from federal law, she said.

“One of the things we will ask for is reimbursement for all expenditures made,” Retallack said. “The people of California should not pay for someone's mess.”

ATOP was operating on land owned by the Pomeroy Corp., a manufacturer of pre-cast, pre-stressed concrete products. Although Pomeroy no longer operates in Petaluma, the company apparently still owns the land.

ATOP did not have permission from Pomeroy to be on the land, nor did it have any state, local or federal permits to dismantle a vessel there, Retallack said.

Petaluma City Attorney John Brown said the city wouldn't have approved a permit for that kind of operation at the environmentally sensitive site.

The cove is a 175-foot inlet off an arm of the Petaluma River between Hopper Street and Petaluma Boulevard South, along which several industrial companies operate.

The river, technically a tidal slough that feeds into the San Pablo Bay and ultimately the Pacific Ocean, winds through the city and into a turning basin behind downtown before terminating farther north.

Reports of an oily sheen on the water came in from several hundred yards up and down river from the cove in the hours following the spill. Fishing was banned for a day in a two-mile stretch.

Retallack said environmental pollution cases are complicated, involving a multitude of jurisdictions, state and federal laws, local ordinances and water codes.

“It takes time to put together well, so when we submit it, the district attorney has everything they need to proceed and proceed strongly,” she said.