We had a perfectly good shipwreck, until the lawyers got involved.

For a decade, the New Carissa sat quietly on the North Spit, sheltering starfish and attracting human gawkers. Though the initial wreck was an environmental disaster, the wreckage became an unexpected asset. Its long-term value to our tourism industry mitigated the initial calamity. 

Now that the state has removed the shipwreck, over the objections of many locals, any residual financial compensation should come back to the coast, rather than being swallowed by the state’s overall spending needs.

The state’s 2006  legal settlement with the owners of the beached tanker came to roughly $22 million. Most of that got spent removing the wreckage. But something like $2.5 million is left.

According to state Sen. Joanne Verger, D-Coos Bay, the money is sitting in the state’s Common School Fund. Verger describes that situation as “a little bit worrisome.” She and other coastal lawmakers fear the money could vanish in the Legislature’s budget-balancing exertions.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski has offered a good proposal to use $1 million for research on marine reserves, and another $1 million on mapping the ocean floor. Both are good projects that would benefit coastal residents.

Research in two “pilot” marine reserve areas will provide some much-needed data about the potential impact of reserves on fish and fishermen. Ocean floor mapping could provide important insights into the nature of earthquakes and tsunamis.

Verger says the Legislature’s leaders have forbidden all new programs in these grim economic times. That’s generally a wise decree, but the New Carissa money is a special case. This $2 million is barely noticeable in comparison with the state’s shortfall, but it matters to the coast.

For good or for ill, the New Carissa was the coast’s uninvited guest. The coast was where the disaster wreaked its damage, and the coast was where an accidental landmark was gained and then lost. The leftover settlement money should be spent for the coast’s long-term betterment.