WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash. (CNN/KOMO) -- It was a moment to celebrate for people who live near Whidbey Island, Washington, as two massive cranes pulled the battered hull of a shipping boat from the bottom of Penn Cove, this weekend.
A 128-foot fishing boat called The Deep Sea sank three weeks ago, leaking more than five-thousand gallons of diesel fuel into some of the most environmentally sensitive waters in the state.
That leaking fuel shut down the Penn Cove mussle farm, jeopardizing jobs and businesses in Coupeville.
The sunken boat has cost the local shellfish-harvesting business thousands of dollars in lost sales. Taxpayers are hoping they don't get stuck with paying for the $2 million salvage operation.
The owner of the boat could face criminal charges after illegally anchoring the boat in Penn Cove and abandoning the ship, which caught fire and sank on May 12.