SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP) - Marin County is sending a $600,000 cleanup bill to the owners of a cargo ship that spilled thousands of gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay after clipping the Bay Bridge.

Officials said the county's expenses included $262,000 paid to a
company that tried unsuccessfully to block the heavy fuel from surging into an environmentally sensitive lagoon just north of San Francisco.

Other costs included booms placed to keep oil out of creeks and
marshes along the bay.

The county is filing the bill with Hudson Marine Management of
Pennsauken, N.J., which is representing the ship's owner, Hong
Kong-based Regal Stone Ltd.

Federal prosecutors have charged the pilot of the 900-foot Cosco
Busan with environmental crimes and lying to the Coast Guard in
connection with the November spill.

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Information from: Marin Independent Journal,
http://www.marinij.com

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

AP-NY-05-04-08 1326EDT