The last thing anybody wants to see is an oil spill in our local waters (US or Canadian) and a sizable spill would obviously have detrimental effects on the marine environment.  But are the resident orcas really doing that badly?  Eighty animals looks like a pretty good average going back to 1960, and the population even appears to have had ten years of sustained growth following the December 1985 Arco Anchorage spill.  

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-01/salish-sea-orca-population-chart.png

And only two years ago we had record numbers of transients in the strait and Puget Sound.  Why would that be if the environment here isn't more or less orca-friendly?  

http://blog.seattlepi.com/bigscience/2014/08/28/transient-orca-sightings-hit-all-time-high-in-puget-sound-strait-of-juan-de-fuca/

Environmental scientists aren't known for being relentlessly objective when it comes to their pet subjects.  Just a thought, but maybe we're seeing a case of that here?