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Federal report: Environmental safeguards provide billions
in economic benefits (DeSmogBlog)
Recently, the US Office of Management and
Budget released a long-overdue draft report on the economic impacts
of environmental regulations and safeguards for the fiscal year
2015. Their results showed that these safeguards are providing an
exponentially greater economic benefit than they are costing.
To read more >>
Report: It’s time to shift the deadlines for Puget Sound restoration (Kitsap Sun| Watching Our Water Ways blog)
Restoring Puget Sound to a healthy condition by the year 2020 is an unrealistic goal that needs to be addressed by the Puget Sound Partnership, according to the latest performance audit by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee. It’s a issue I’ve often asked about when talking to people both inside and outside the Puget Sound Partnership. What’s the plan? Are we just going to wait until the year 2020 and say, “Ah shucks; I guess we couldn’t reach the goal.”?
To read more >>
'It is our Standing Rock:' First Nations announce legal
actions against feds, Kinder Morgan (CBC)
Three First Nations have announced they're taking legal
action challenging the federal government's approval of the Kinder Morgan Trans
Mountain pipeline expansion project. Representatives from the Coldwater Indian
Band near Merritt, along with the Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish Nation held a
joint news conference in Vancouver….The pipeline expansion project will triple
the amount of oil and oil products, including bitumen, in the
1,150-kilometre-long pipeline that runs from the oil sands near Edmonton to the
Kinder Morgan terminal in Burnaby. Oil tanker traffic in Burrard Inlet and
surrounding B.C. waters will increase seven-fold when the pipeline is complete.
To read more >>
B.C.-Kinder Morgan revenue sharing deal tears Canada’s
national fabric (Vancouver Sun | Canadian Press)
A revenue-sharing agreement that helped convince British
Columbia to support the $6.8 billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion
threatens to tear the fabric of country, says a resource policy expert. The
agreement with Kinder Morgan gives the province as much as $1 billion over 20
years. The financial benefit for the province was the last of five conditions
needed for Premier Christy Clark to approve the expansion of the pipeline
through B.C.
To read more >>
Half of Washington’s crude-by-rail went through Whatcom
County last quarter (Bellingham Herald)
Half the crude oil that moved through Washington state by
train went to or through Whatcom County last quarter, according to a new report
state officials released Thursday. ... Whatcom refineries
BP Cherry Point and Phillips 66 accepted about 51 percent of that amount,
according to data provided in another state report. That means ships still
bring in more than twice as much crude oil as trains do for Whatcom County.
To read more >>
See also:
First data of oil movement released following state law
(The Olympian | Associated Press)
Report: Bulk of state's oil trains traverse Skagit County
(Skagit Valley Herald)
Report Shows 1,500 Oil Train Cars Per Week Through
Washington (Northwest Public Radio)
Court refuses to throw out Swinomish suit against BNSF (Skagit Valley Herald)
A U.S. District Court refused Friday to throw out a
lawsuit filed by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community against BNSF Railway.
The tribe sued the railway in April 2015, claiming that BNSF violated an
agreement with the tribe by failing to disclose cargo of certain trains
traveling through the Swinomish reservation, and by not correctly seeking
approval for an increase in rail traffic, according to court documents.
To read more >>
Tesoro refinery fined $325,000 for Clean Air Act
violations (Skagit Valley Herald)
The Tesoro Anacortes Refinery paid the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency $325,000 in late 2016 for violating the Clean Air Act. The
fine is one of several the refinery has faced for state and federal
environmental violations in recent years. The EPA notified the refinery of the
violations in April 2016, and issued the penalty in September. According to EPA
documents regarding the Clean Air Act violations, the agency discovered several
shortfalls in the refinery’s risk management plan following inspections at the
March Point facility in January 2011 and October 2011.
To read more >>
Road salt runoff has conservationist worried about salmon
(CBC News)
Sand and salt were used on Metro Vancouver's roads in
exceptional quantities this year and now much of that material is finding its
way into local waterways. John Templeton, chair of the Stoney Creek Environment
Committee, says all that road salt could hurt local salmon.
To read more >>
More public comment allowed on Growler jets at Whidbey (Seattle
Times)
The Navy has decided to extend, by 30 days, the
public-comment period for a draft environmental study of the effects of adding
up to 36 EA-18G Growler aircraft to the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island-based
fleet. The new Feb. 24 deadline results from requests by Gov. Jay Inslee, Sen.
Maria Cantwell, Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Rick Larsen for more time for public
review of the draft study.
To read more >>
Permit holds up Navy pier project at Ediz Hook (Peninsula Daily News)
The cost and timeline for the Navy’s $25.6 million pier and uplands construction project at Ediz Hook is being re-evaluated while the Navy awaits permission from the Army Corps of Engineers to remove thousands of cubic yards of erosion controlling rock, a Navy spokeswoman said last week.
To read more >>
4 ways the Legislature can make Washington greener
(Crosscut | Opinion)
There isn’t really a way around it — the 2016 national
election was a big change for our country’s political calculus. … But here at
home, the changes we saw were mostly positive. Washingtonians once again voted
with their core values, and in our state’s highest offices we have
environmental champions ready to stand up to big polluters and continue to help
build the clean energy economy. But that doesn’t mean our work is done. We
still have some in our Legislature who oppose this positive vision for
Washington.
To read more >>
Changes encourage low carbon-polluting development at
Cherry Point (Bellingham Herald)
New policies that could affect the future of heavy
industrial development and environmental health at Cherry Point will go back
before the Whatcom County Council, as the county’s Planning Commission finished
its recommendations Jan. 12.
To read more >>
Pierce Council purchase could create county’s second
largest park (Tacoma News Tribune)
A proposed Pierce County purchase of a two 10-acre forested
parcels south of Buckley could give residents access to a forest preserve
larger than all but one of the county’s parks. The County Council last week gave its informal approval
to allow the county to proceed with acquiring two sites adjacent to the county-owned
Buckley Forest Preserve. With the parcels included, the preserve will total some
220 acres. That’s larger than the county’s Spanaway Lake Park (135 acres), but
smaller than Chambers Creek Regional Park (930 acres).
To read more >>
Saving the Port Gamble Forest, a natural jewel, from
development: ‘It’s our heritage and it’s our future’ (Seattle Times)
At six times the size of Seattle’s Discovery Park, the
Port Gamble Forest is a close-by recreational jewel, at risk of development.
With population pressing in close on these woods and people enjoying them with
miles of hiking, mountain bike and equestrian trails, there’s a new vision for
the forest: protecting the land from development and restoring it as a more
natural forest that will be a green gift to future generations.
To read more >>
Legislature to decide if Skagit Valley forest is logged
(Everett Herald | Associated Press)
The state Legislature is considering allowing logging in
a northern Washington state forest that includes several popular recreation
areas. The Skagit Valley Herald reported Thursday that the
Legislature’s budget decisions this spring will determine whether recreation
areas in central Blanchard State Forest will remain free of logging. The state
Department of Natural Resources is requesting $7.7 million to keep that agreement
in place.
To read more >>
DNR buys forested slopes above Tarboo Bay for long-term
conservation (Peninsula Daily News)
The Dabob Bay Natural Area has been expanded by 159
acres. Pope Resources sold 159 acres to the state Department of Natural
Resources for $899,000 on Dec. 29. The area is now part of a state-managed
conservation area above Tarboo Bay... Since 2009, DNR, the Northwest Watershed
Institute, the Jefferson Land Trust, the Navy, The Nature Conservancy and other
conservation partners have been working with willing landowners to acquire land
within the Dabob Bay Natural Area boundaries, Bahls said. Approximately 3,000
acres have been conserved to date, he said.
To read more >>
Legislature to determine whether Blanchard recreation
area is logged (Skagit Valley Herald)
Time is running out to spare the central Blanchard State
Forest, which includes several popular recreation areas, from being logged. The
Legislature's budget decisions this spring will determine whether an agreement
is fulfilled to keep the recreation areas, which are part of what is called the
forest core, free of logging. The state Department of Natural Resources needs
$7.7 million to make that happen.
To read more >>
DNR expands Hood Canal conservation area (Kitsap Sun)
The state Department of Natural Resources has filled a
key gap in a growing north Hood Canal conservation area. The purchase of 159
acres from Poulsbo-based timber company Pope Resources bridges two large
sections of the 2,900-acre Dabob Bay Natural Area.... The bay, about seven
miles west of the Hood Canal bridge, hosts one of the largest and
least-developed estuaries in Puget Sound, said Peter Bahls, director of the
Northwest Watershed Institute. It provides shelter for young chinook and chum
salmon and is one of the top shellfish growing areas in the state, he said.
To read more >>
Growing too fast: The development of small cities
(Seattle Transit Blog)
For over a year, regional planners have wrestled over
growth plans with six small cities that are planning to ‘grow too fast’. Last
month, the PSRC Executive Board tabled a decision on reclassification that
could have eased the way for faster growth in Covington and Bonney Lake….In the
last round of comprehensive plans, Six small cities created plans with growth
capacity well above their regional targets. Four of these (Carnation,
Snoqualmie, North Bend and Covington) are in King County, and two are in Pierce
(Gig Harbor and Bonney Lake).
To read more >>
Development in northeast Lacey raises a lot of
questions (The Olympian)
Lacey City Council’s work session at Salish Middle School
on Thursday attracted about 100 people, one of its largest gatherings since the
council began holding its “on the road” meetings. Meeting attendance seemed to
be spurred by its location in northeast Lacey, the site of so much current and
proposed development.
To read more >>
Drones are added to orca protection zone (San Juan
Journal)
Most San Juan Islanders know vessels and aircraft can’t
be within 200 yards of the Southern resident orcas, thanks to a state law
adopted in 2008, but what about drones? That’s the question San Juan County
Prosecutor Randy Gaylord asked the Washington State Attorney General’s Office
to clarify last spring…. The attorney general’s opinion, released on Dec. 30,
clarified that drones are part of the statute’s ambiguous term of “other
objects” prohibited from entering the 200-yard protection zone.
To read more >>
Proposed no-drone zone for orcas gets a hearing in
Washington state (GeekWire)
Would you be in trouble if an orca popped up out of Puget
Sound beneath your drone? Should other maritime critters, such as humpback
whales, be given their own drone buffer zones, as well? These questions
surfaced at a hearing Tuesday on a Washington House bill that would ban
unmanned aerial drones from venturing within 200 yards of an orca in the
state’s waters — including vertically. Rep. Kristine Lytton, D-Anacortes,
introduced the bill.
To read more >>
Killer whales could have quiet space off Washington coast
(Seattle Times | Associated Press)
The federal government is considering whether it should
set up an area off Washington state’s San Juan Island where endangered killer
whales would be protected from motorboats and other disturbances. Most
motorized vessels would be banned under a proposed whale-protection zone sought
by three conservation groups.
To read more >>
State and federal officials euthanize Steller sea lion
beached in Port Angeles (Peninsula Daily News)
State and federal officials have euthanized a suffering
Steller sea lion that was beached at the Nippon Paper Industries USA mill near
Ediz Hook since at least Jan. 6. It was a joint decision between the state
Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s Marine Mammal Stranding Network, said Melissa Williams,
executive director for Feiro Marine Life Center…. By Saturday, when it was
euthanized, the animal couldn’t lift its head and was hardly opening its eyes,
she said.
To read more >>
Study predicts decline in Dungeness crab from ocean
acidification (Seattle Times)
Dungeness crab are forecast to take a hit from ocean
acidification driven by fossil- fuel combustion, according to a study released
this past week. Though the populations of the Dungeness crab fluctuate year by
year, their overall abundance by 2063 could be about 30 percent lower,
according to federal fishery biologist Issac Kaplan, a co-author of the study.
To read more >>
Harvesting Under The Stars: A Night In The Life Of A
Shellfish Farmer (KNKX)
Almost every night in the winter, there are hundreds of
farmers at work along the Washington coast. The lights of their head lamps are
just barely visible on the shoreline. They are shellfish farmers out harvesting
clams, oysters, and geoducks. They are up at such late hours because of the
tide. That’s when it’s lowest during the winter months.
To read more >>
One Scientist’s Mission To Scan Every Fish On The Planet
(OPB | EarthFix)
In a tiny island laboratory in the Northwesternmost
corner of Washington, one marine biologist is on a mission: scan every known
fish species in the world. It’s a painstaking and smelly task, but one that
promises to fundamentally change the way scientists and educators look at
marine anatomy. Adam Summers, a fish expert at the University of Washington,
has been 3-D scanning fish for decades, but it was always a complicated and
expensive undertaking.
To read more >>
Report: Puget Sound salmon struggling (Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber)
Half of Washington State’s 15 endangered salmon
populations, including Puget Sound chinook and steelhead, are still declining
even as shoreline armoring removal projects increase, according to a report
released by the governor’s office. … With the report’s bleak prognosis for Puget
Sound Chinook, shoreline armoring removal work is ongoing. King County’s Greg
Rabourn held a seminar last Wednesday to explain and answer questions about
four bulkhead removal projects that will get underway in the fall on
county-owned properties around the Maury Island Aquatic Preserve.
To read more >>
Only 60-70 kokanee in local creeks compared to nearly
6,000 year ago (KIRO 7 TV)
King County environmental scientists were expecting a low
return of kokanee this year, but no one expected just how low the numbers would
be, according to a report in The Issaquah Press. Nearly 6,000 kokanee were
counted in local creeks last year. This year, only 60 to 70.
To read more >>
Commentary: Court decision applies stormwater standards
unfairly (Everett Herald | Opinion)
The Jan. 5 editorial by The Herald Editorial Board sides
with the state Supreme Court on its recent decision upholding a requirement
that local governments must apply certain stormwater rules to a specific,
limited number of development projects. This decision will force some land
owners to redesign their site plans to comply with stormwater regulations that took
effect after their complete development applications were submitted. This is an
unfair mandate that will do nothing to address the real problem — older,
existing developments that have very little or no stormwater controls
whatsoever.
To read more >>
Diverting urine because it's too good to waste (Yes!
Magazine)
Follow Kim Nace into her bathroom. Yes, it’s okay; many
people visit here, headquarters of the country’s first community urine
recycling program. Let her show you the odorless, waterless toilet: a wooden
box inset with a conventional toilet seat and lid….how
can we intercept the nitrogen and phosphorous polluting our waterways, reroute
it to farmers’ fields, and in the process, reduce reliance on chemical
fertilizers? The crux of their solution, it turns out, lies within each of us—and
the choices we make in the bathroom. What comes out of our bodies contains
almost all of the nitrogen and phosphorous we ingest.
To read more >>
Leaders seek to connect Bremerton industrial area to
Belfair sewer (Kitsap Sun)
Mason County plans to request $1.1 million from the
Legislature to extend the Belfair sewer line to Bremerton. The county is
working with the Port of Bremerton and city of Bremerton to seek a capital
budget appropriation to design a sewer collection pipe from the Puget Sound
Industrial Center (formerly known as the South Kitsap Industrial Area) to the
Belfair treatment plant. The Belfair plant needs additional connections to
operate more efficiently and to bring in more funds for the indebted system,
while existing sewage lagoons at the Puget Sound Industrial Center will not be
enough to handle the expected rise in sewage flow over the next 20 years.
To read more >>
Snohomish County responds to new well-drilling rules
(Everett Herald)
Snohomish County laid out its response last week to a
state Supreme Court case that reinterpreted the rules for drilling new wells
and upended prospects for rural development throughout Washington.... It will
require a signed notice from anyone seeking building permits when they intend
to rely on small wells for the water supply. The applicant would have to
acknowledge that water access cannot be guaranteed, even if a building permit
is issued. The county also launched a webpage explaining the situation.
To read more >>
Norovirus threatens health of oyster industry, farmer
says (CBC)
A shellfish farmer expects his industry to take a
financial hit, if an outbreak of norovirus linked to raw oysters continues.
Steve Pocock, who operates Sawmill Bay Shellfish on Read Island, says the
impact on business has been small since the outbreak was first reported in
early December. But sales will fall following last week's health warning for
consumers to cook oysters thoroughly, he said. About 80 per cent of B.C.
oysters are sold for raw consumption, Pocock said.
To read more >>
BC Centre for Disease Control issues public warning about
oyster illness (Vancouver Sun)
When Ryan Johnson woke up Friday morning and read the
news about an unexplained outbreak of oyster-related illness, he immediately
took all B.C. oysters off the shelves at his three Daily Catch seafood shops.
More than 70 people in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island have come
down with what appears to be norovirus after eating raw or lightly cooked
oysters at home or in restaurants since the beginning of December. More cases
are expected to appear in the next few weeks, according to the B.C. Centre for
Disease Control.
To read more >>
Mukilteo Fire won’t drive trucks to some Naketa Beach
homes (Everett Herald)
It’s a message no homeowner wants to hear. The Mukilteo
Fire Department sent letters this past summer to about a dozen addresses on the
private stretch of waterfront at Naketa Beach. The letters said that
firefighters no longer will drive their trucks into the neighborhood. That’s a
decision likely to delay emergency response. The homes are directly on the
beach, on the far side of the railroad tracks, with a marked pedestrian
crossing.
To read more >>
3 more old water mains break in Everett; causes unknown
(Everett Herald)
Three water mains in the city of Everett have broken since
Monday, causing 28 homes to lose water service.... There were at least six
breaks in last week’s cold snap, and most of those were in pipes dating from
1945-1955. Everett has 33 miles of cast iron water mains from that era in its
415-mile system. Most of the post-war pipes are in the north end of town. The
city has committed to replacing them with modern ductile iron pipes.
To read more >>
Oil-spill response upgrades mean jobs (Times Colonist)
The increased oil-spill response capabilities that are written into all the conditional approvals of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion make some people blanch, since they suggest catastrophe in the offing. But they also suggest a significant marine-employment boom on the coast. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been committed for big upgrades in marine response throughout the Salish Sea, and a lot of it requires people to run and maintain the new systems.
To read more >>
Rule easing public lands transfer concerns hunters,
others (Bellingham Herald | Associated Press)
A change in U.S. House rules making it easier to transfer
millions of acres of federal public lands to states is worrying hunters and
other outdoor enthusiasts across the West who fear losing access. Lawmakers
earlier this month passed a rule eliminating a significant budget hurdle and
written so broadly that it includes national parks. President-elect Donald
Trump's pick for Interior secretary, Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, voted for the
rule change as did many other Republicans. The Senate would have to weigh in on
public land transfers as well.
To read more >>
See also:
What's In Store For Public Land Under President
Trump? (NWNews/KNKX)
Children's museum sells out showing of environmental
documentary (Skagit Valley Herald)
The Children’s Museum of Skagit County is bringing the
documentary film “A Plastic Ocean” to the AMC Loews Cascade Mall theater in
Burlington on Wednesday. Tickets for the event sold out last week as the
documentary film was premiering around the world, museum spokeswoman Kate
Simmons said.
To read more >>
Towns signing up for economic development support (Skagit
Valley Herald)
Skagit County’s smallest towns are getting more involved
with the Economic Development Alliance of Skagit County as they look toward
future economic development and revitalization.
To read more >>
Workshop provides updates, education for seed farmers
(Skagit Valley Herald)
Skagit County vegetable seed farmers met Friday for the
first Western Washington Seed Workshop at the Washington State University
Research Center. The free workshop was designed to help educate seed farmers in
an evolving industry, said WSU Skagit County Extension Director Don McMoran....
McMoran said highlights of the workshop included information about a disease
that affects some plants, an outlook on the future of herbicide use and
information on a Department of Agriculture program that helps farmers better
meet environmental guidelines.
To read more >>
Ferry ridership continues to rise (Kitsap Sun)
Washington State Ferry ridership rose for the fourth
straight year, topping 24.2 million in 2016. The increase was 1.3 percent more
than 2015. Bainbridge-Seattle remained the busiest route with 6.4 million
riders, 26.6 percent of the system. Kingston-Edmonds and Mukilteo-Clinton
continued to duel for the No. 2 spot. Kingston, with 4.1 million riders,
finished 40,419 ahead. Of the Kitsap routes, Bremerton-Seattle saw the largest
jump — 3.0 percent. Little of it came from drivers.
To read more >>
See also:
Fast ferry partners Kitsap, King working on deal (Kitsap Sun)
Bridge adds link to Olympic Discovery Trail (Peninsula
Daily News)
Crews on Thursday were installing a 210-foot-long modular
steel bridge for the Olympic Discovery Trail at Sequim Bay State Park. The
177,000-pound span replaces a wooden trestle that was removed in the 1980s,
said Steven Wright, State Parks project manager. The new bridge was designed to
improve fish habitat by eliminating a 36-inch culvert that had restricted fish
passage. It will also connect the trail to a historic railroad grade that
serves as a foundation for much of the Olympic Discovery Trail.
To read more >>
Washington State Ferries gets new director (Kitsap Sun)
Washington State Ferries has announced its new director.
Amy Scarton will replace Lynne Griffith, who is retiring Jan., 31, state
Transportation Secretary Roger Millar said Tuesday. Scarton currently serves as
the Transportation Department's assistant secretary for community and economic
development.
To read more >>
Sally Jewell reflects on time as secretary of the
Interior (Seattle Times)
As she packs up in preparation for leaving office Friday
as the nation’s 51st secretary of the Interior, Seattleite Sally Jewell took a
moment for a conversation with The Seattle Times about her accomplishments,
hopes and plans for the future. Her exit memo to President Obama touches on
many of these points, and more, in her work leading the Department of Interior.
The department has a vast portfolio that includes oversight of about 20 percent
of the nation’s land, including national parks and wildlife refuges. It
oversees energy development on public land or waters, is the largest supplier
of water in the western states and is charged with upholding treaties with
American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives.
To read more >>
After 117 years, Issaquah Press will shut down
(SeattlePI.com)
The Issaquah Press, the oldest newspaper published on the
Eastside, will cease publication on February 24, after 117 years of operation. The newspaper is Issaquah's oldest continuously operating
business. The Issaquah Press Group, owned by The Seattle Times, announced that
the Newcastle News, the Sammamish Review, the SnoValley Star and
theeastside.news website will all go out of business next month.
To read more >>
Peach named vice chair of state Board of Natural
Resources (Peninsula Daily News)
Clallam County Commissioner Bill Peach has been named the
new vice chair of the state Board of Natural Resources. Peach represents 21
timber counties on a board that adopts policies, approves major commodity sales
and makes decisions about transactions of state lands managed by the Department
of Natural Resources.
To read more >>
SEA Discovery Center to get research emphasis,
educational expansion
Now under the direction of Western Washington University,
the SEA Discovery Center is set to add a new emphasis on research as it expands
its educational offerings. The interactive science facility will be led by its
newly appointed director, Dr. Sylvia Yang, who comes to Poulsbo from WWU’s Shannon
Point Marine Center in Anacortes, where she worked as a marine scientist.
To read more >>
How is the Puget Sound ecosystem doing?
The 2015 State of the Sound reports on the current state of the ecosystem and the status of regional recovery actions. Learn more at www.psp.wa.gov/sos.
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