Editorial: Trump’s EPA budget cuts an insult to Puget
Sound (Everett Herald) Today’s not-so-trivial trivia question: On which has the
federal government spent more — one Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier or
cleanup and habitat restoration projects throughout Puget Sound and other
Western Washington coastal waters? It’s not even close. One new aircraft
carrier runs the government $12 billion. Last year, the federal government
through the Environmental Protection Agency provided $28 million for projects
in the Puget Sound region and southern waters of the Salish Sea. It would take
about 428 years of federal support for Puget Sound restoration projects to
equal one new carrier. To read more >>
See also: Harsh new climate for Puget Sound Partnership (Tacoma
News Tribune | Opinion) Trump’s proposed budget cuts funding Puget Sound cleanup
efforts (KGMI news) Puget Sound hits bottom in Trump EPA budget proposal:
zero (KUOW) Proposed EPA Cuts Could Pose Big Problems For Tribes (OPB |EarthFix) What Trump cut in his budget (Washington Post) Trump’s first budget plan would hit Washington state
hard, top Democrats say (The Olympian) Trump budget would gut science, environment programs
(Seattle Times | Associated Press) Trump proposes budget to hobble the EPA (Bellingham
Herald)
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After environmental restoration, quiet has returned to
Port Gamble (Kitsap Sun | Watching Our Water Ways blog) Twenty-five years ago, I stood and watched as a screaming
buzz saw tossed clouds of sawdust into the air while slicing through thick logs
of Douglas fir at the Pope & Talbot sawmill in Port Gamble. Last week, I
walked across the vacant site of the old mill, which was torn down years ago.
Along the edge of Port Gamble Bay, I could hear nothing but the sound of the
wind and an occasional call of a seagull. I came back to the old mill site to
see how things looked following completion of the $20-million-plus cleanup of
Port Gamble Bay. To read more >>
Ecology expects tests of fluid at Port Angeles log yard
by mid-April (Peninsula Daily News) The state Department of Ecology will complete its testing
of soil and water at the Port of Port Angeles’ Merrill &Ring log yard by
mid-April. Ecology officials said they launched their investigation in response
to an area resident’s assertion that the company was dumping 50 gallons of
hydraulic fluid daily on the Port of Port Angeles’ property at William R.
Fairchild International Airport west of Port Angeles. To read more >>
BC LNG: Delta plant says public safety paramount amid
$400m expansion (Vancouver Sun) The risks at the FortisBC liquefied-natural gas facility
at Tilbury Island in Delta are so real that visitors are ordered not to take
photos or even turn on their cellphones during a tour as a way to minimize the
chance of electrical sparks creating an ignition source. Yet Doug Stout, the
company’s vice-president of market development, insists that the plant’s excellent
safety record to date will continue into the future during an ongoing
$400-million expansion that will increase production capacity sevenfold….
Expansion of the Tilbury facility would have LNG ships travelling alongside
residential communities such as Steveston in Richmond. To read more >>
Viva Farms adds more farmland (Skagit Valley Herald) Viva Farms Executive Director Michael Frazier stood near
his organization's small offices last week, looking out over its 33 acres of
farmland. Viva Farms, which helps train new farmers, ran out of space this
year. Twelve small farms are renting all of Viva Farms' available land, an
issue that will soon be fixed by the recent purchase of 45 acres of nearby
farmland. To read more >>
Hope is alive for restoration of Puget Sound shellfish
beds (Kitsap Sun | Watching Our Water Ways blog) Officials in Washington state’s Shellfish Program have
identified a clear pathway to meet a state goal of restoring 10,800 net acres
of shellfish beds to a harvestable condition by 2020. The 10,800-acre target,
established by the Puget Sound Partnership, was considered overly ambitious by
many people when the goal was approved in 2011. Many still believe that the
shellfish restoration effort will go down in flames, along with other goals,
such as increasing chinook salmon and killer whale populations by 2020. To read more >>
Lots of spring shellfish gathering options in Puget Sound
for clams and oysters (Seattle Times) Shellfish gathering has become a popular outdoor activity
on Puget Sound and Hood Canal, and spring is one of the better times of the
year to hit the beaches for clams and oysters. The recreational clam digging
seasons on several beaches have been adjusted based on results from population,
harvest and effort assessments taken by state Fish and Wildlife. Clam
populations have increased allowing for longer seasons at Indian Island County
Park, Potlatch State Park, Potlatch Department of Natural Resource (DNR)
tidelands, Port Gamble Heritage Park and Twanoh State Park. To read more >>
Deadly disease diagnosed in B.C. salmon (Vancouver Sun) A deadly disease has been diagnosed in B.C. farmed salmon
and linked to a widespread virus. The study, published in the scientific
journal PLOS ONE, is the first to find heart and skeletal muscle inflammation,
or HSMI, in salmon at B.C. fish farms. The disease can wipe out up to 20 per
cent of a farmed population. Researchers also showed a correlation between HSMI
and piscine reo-virus, suggesting the two might be linked. Emiliano Di Cicco,
co-author of the study, said the findings could have negative consequences for
B.C.’s salmon farming industry, which had an estimated net value after
marketing costs of $476 million in 2013. To read more >>
Searching for the little red fish in local streams
(Redmond Reporter) The student braces himself with a branch, as he slides
his worn sneakers across the top of a log jam. Swamp Creek pools below him on
one side, and on the other it skates, spinning and arching around gravel and
debris caught up on the toppled tree. The disturbance is perfect for Kokanee
salmon, says Scott Miller, a biology major at the University of Washington’s
Bothell campus, while surveying the little creek. The jam slows the pace of the
river, he says, and provides inlets for reprieve from the current. This time of
year and a century ago, the creek was painted with the “Little Red Fish,” which
came from their home in north Lake Washington to spawn in numbers that still
impress today’s biologists. Now, those same scientists contend whether or not
the Lake Washington Kokanee have gone extinct. To read more >>
How Traffic Is Drowning Out Frogs' Mating Calls (NWPR | EarthFix) Chances are you’ve heard the Pacific chorus frogs’ call
before. Its classic “rib-bit” is featured in basically any movie that needs
frog noise. The Pacific chorus frogs’ call is ubiquitous in the Northwest. But
the amphibians are having more and more trouble hearing themselves. Traffic is
drowning them out. To read more >>
Ottawa's recovery plan for West Coast's endangered orcas
criticized as too weak (Times Colonist) The federal government has released a recovery plan for
an endangered population of killer whales likely to be in the path of increased
oil tanker traffic off British Columbia's southern coast. But environmental
groups say the plan doesn't have enough concrete measures to bring orca numbers
in the southern Georgia Strait back to healthy levels. "There needs to be
a real sense of urgency," said David Miller, head of the World Wildlife
Fund Canada. "Just because we need more science doesn't mean we shouldn't
act." To read more >>
Mysterious 'whale wave' observed in humpbacks on B.C.
Coast (CBC News) A decade of observation in a fjord on B.C.'s North Coast
has uncovered an intriguing pattern among the thriving humpback whales that
feed there each summer. Researchers call it a "whale wave," in a
peer-reviewed study published this week in the journal Marine Ecology Progress
Series. Each year, as hundreds of humpbacks arrive in the Kitimat fjord system,
near Hartley Bay, B.C., they follow a seasonal pattern, as observed in visual
surveys by the Gitga'at First Nation and North Coast Cetacean Society. The
whales start in outer waters and move into the inlet and Douglas Channel — but
it's not clear why. To read more >>
Canadians produce mariner’s guide to whales; can U.S.
follow? (Kitsap Sun | Watching Our Water Ways blog) If knowledge is power, officials in British Columbia have
taken a strong step to protect whales by producing a booklet that can help ship
captains reduce the threats to marine mammals. The “Mariner’s Guide to Whales,
Dolphins and Porpoises of Western Canada” was compiled and published by the
Coastal Ocean Research Institute, a branch of the Vancouver Aquarium. Financial
support came from nearby ports. To read more >>
Gray whales return to Puget Sound (KING 5 News) Things just got a little grayer in Seattle, but not in
the way many would expect. This past weekend marks the start of the gray whale
migration to Puget Sound. Sarah Hank with the whale tour company Puget Sound
Express says the beloved whales are now in the Puget Sound, feeding on ghost
shrimp off the Snohomish Delta near Everett in very shallow water, about 10
feet deep. To read more >>
Sea lion necropsy unearths surprising cancer finding
(Peninsula Daily News) Old age beached a Steller sea lion that was euthanized
after it was found dying on shore in January, but a finding during the animal’s
necropsy has led researchers into another investigation. A cancer of the penal
sheath found in the animal is the first reported case in a Steller sea lion,
according to Dyanna Lambourn, marine mammal research biologist and the lead
investigator into the case of the sea lion found dying on a beach at the Nippon
Paper Industries USA mill near Ediz Hook. The animal, which had been beached
for a week, was euthanized Jan. 14. To read more >>
Pacific great blue herons return to nest in Stanley Park
(CBC News) The heron cam at Vancouver's Stanley Park is buzzing with
activity as the park's majestic Pacific great blue herons have come back to
nest for the summer. The birds have claimed nests in their chosen spot above
the parking lot at 2099 Beach Avenue. This year. the herons arrived March 11,
three weeks later than last year. Greg Hart, a biologist with the Stanley Park
Ecological Society, says that's largely due to the colder weather. To read more >>
Safe havens for species mapped in 3 Northwest states (Seattle
Times) A conservation group has created maps identifying key
landscapes in three Western states most likely to sustain native species amid
climate change, and is distributing money to protect private lands in those
areas through use-limiting easements or outright purchases. The Nature
Conservancy says it has $6 million from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
that it’s now distributing among land trusts, which must come up with five
times the amount in matching funds for approved easements or acquisitions. To read more >>
Sludge bugs: Sewage-eating microbes in peril at crippled
West Point plant (Seattle Times) A mighty river of brown, raw sewage and stormwater makes
a plume offshore at Discovery Park, plainly seen from the air. It’s from the
West Point Treatment plant, gushing untreated wastewater into Puget Sound....
The plant’s deep-water outfall, in fast-moving water far offshore, reduces the
environmental hit. Tests show high bacteria counts after emergency bypasses
quickly dissipated in the powerful currents. Beaches are back open after a
brief closure right after the flood. And it’s a time of year when few people
are swimming and boating in the open water. But the plant is in violation of
its permit, falling far below the required standard for water treatment. To read more >>
See also: What caused sewage plant's huge mess? King County Council
launches its own look (Seattle Times) Silence reigns as sewage spews into Puget Sound. Here’s
why. (Seattle Times) Regulators Take On Dual Roles Dealing King County’s
Broken Wastewater Treatment Plant (KNKX)
$700-million wastewater treatment plant to be built in
North Vancouver (Vancouver Sun) Metro Vancouver announced Saturday it has received joint
funding for a new $700-million wastewater treatment plant on the North Shore.
The new Lions Gate Secondary Wastewater Treatment Plant will be constructed by
2020 on a 3.5-hectare site owned by Metro in the District of North Vancouver,
while the plant currently operating at Squamish Nation, built in 1961, will be
decommissioned in 2021. It aims to contribute to cleaner waterways across the
region by enhancing secondary wastewater treatment and resource recovery, and
is being designed in a way that will allow flexibility for any future upgrades
or expansion, according to Metro. To read more >>
Sewage spill closes Port Orchard waterfront, Ross Creek
(Kitsap Sun) Kitsap Public Health District issued a no-contact
advisory Tuesday for the Port Orchard waterfront and Ross Creek following a
sewage spill. The city reported the spill occurred Tuesday morning at a lift
station off Old Clifton Road, near the Highway 16 interchange, according to a
news release. The spill was estimated at 27,500 gallons. The seven-day advisory
covers the shore of Sinclair Inlet, from Anderson Creek to the end of Rockwell
Street in downtown, and Ross Creek from Old Clifton Road north. To read more >>
Golf course has role in north Everett stormwater system
fixes (Everett Herald) The city of Everett’s ongoing work to prevent sewer
backups in its north end is now moving onto the golf course. Everett plans to
incorporate the water hazards at Legion Memorial Golf Course into a wider
stormwater detention system. Everett’s combined sewer and stormwater system in
the north end has been problematic during heavy rainfall. On several occasions,
most recently in 2013, the system reached capacity and sewers backed up into
basements and streets. To read more >>
Thurston County wants to know what you think of septic
fees — again (The Olympian) Thurston County officials took steps Tuesday to flush
away a controversial plan that includes $10 annual fee for about 42,000
property owners with septic systems. The county’s Board of Health met Tuesday
and scheduled an April 11 hearing at which Thurston County residents can tell
the board what they think about an ordinance to repeal the fee. To read more >>
WA lawmakers asked to fund manure-into-water technology
(Capital Press) An engineer told Washington lawmakers Tuesday that public
funding would spur technology to distill cow manure into dry fertilizer and
clean water, making polluted runoff from dairies a problem of the past.... The
Washington State Dairy Federation arranged back-to-back presentations to the
House and Senate agriculture committees by Peter Janicki, CEO of Janicki
Bioenergy in Sedro-Woolley, Wash. Janicki has worked with the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation to convert sewage into drinking water in developing
countries. A YouTube video viewed 3.2 million times shows Janicki in 2015 in
Africa serving Bill Gates water that five minutes earlier had been human waste.
Janicki said that he could use the experience and knowledge that he’s gained to
create new technology for distilling cow manure. To read more >>
‘We need to do more to clean Puget Sound’ | Kitsap Weekly
feature (Kitsap Sun | Lorraine Loomis) The health of Puget Sound is getting some much-needed
help from efforts to reduce polluted stormwater runoff and a proposed new law
that would prohibit sewage discharge from boats. Polluted stormwater runoff
from urban areas is the number one source of pollution entering Puget Sound.
When it rains, pollutants such as brake-pad dust, oil and other toxics are
washed from our roadways into the sound. To read more >>
Senate bill would reverse court decision regarding
water-well drilling (Kitsap Daily News) A state Senate-approved bill that would allow local
governments to approve development using Department of Ecology water rules
awaits action in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. It passed
the Republican-controlled state Senate Feb. 28 on a 28-21 vote. It is now
assigned to the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and awaits a
public hearing.... Opponents worry the bill will infringe on senior water
rights and harm in-stream flow — water available in streams and rivers. The
bill allows permits to be mitigated, or offset, in ways not requiring water
replacement, such as improving stream habitats. To read more >>
House carbon tax bill sees hours of supportive, critical
public testimony (Washington State Wire) A bill that would introduce a statewide carbon tax was
heard in the House Environment committee and was met with about two hours of
testimony, both in support and against the bill, from about 65 members of the
public Tuesday. “I think this bill is our best shot at starting to reduce our
emissions to a safe level in this legislative session,” said Rep. Joe
Fitzgibbon, D-Burien, at the hearing. To read more >>
See also: Washington Businesses Slam Carbon Tax (Northwest News) Carbon Tax Floated As Possible Replacement To Inslee's
'Clean Air Rule' (KUOW)
A Spark Of Hope For Climate Change Reality (KUOW |
Opinion) When it comes to facing the reality of climate change,
the Republican Party, now led by the Trump Administration, has been slipping
ever farther from its roots as a champion of American science. Last week
brought further evidence of this disconnect — but it also held out a glimmer of
hope that the party's turn away from the U.S. effort in science is not
universal. To read more >>
See also: Trump is poised to issue a sweeping order dismantling
Obama’s climate plan this week (Washington Post) Trump budget would torpedo Obama climate-change programs
(Everett Herald | Washington Post)
Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising at the fastest
rate ever recorded (Washington Post) For the second year in a row, atmospheric carbon dioxide
concentrations have climbed at a record pace. According to data from the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, carbon dioxide levels jumped by three
parts per million in both 2015 and 2016 and now rest at about 405 parts per
million. It’s the biggest jump ever observed at the agency’s Mauna Loa Baseline
Atmospheric Observatory in Hawaii, where the measurements were recorded. To read more >>
As the water level rises, so does the cost of living on
the coast (Tacoma News Tribune) When Julia Lundblad lies in bed at night in her Titlow
Beach home, she can hear the water sloshing up under her house. It took some
getting used to, but she loves it. And she said her neighbors are used to a
little water flooding into their kitchens when conditions are right. ...
Because the small community lies in such intimate proximity to the Puget Sound,
homeowners with mortgages have to carry flood insurance. But the cost of that
insurance, if you can get it, can be exorbitant. Some homeowners said they’ve
been told to expect their monthly premiums to see huge spikes over the next
several years. To read more >>
I Want To Eat Fish Responsibly. But The Seafood Guides
Are So Confusing! (KNKX) This month, I ventured to ask the man behind the counter
at a Whole Foods Market what kind of shrimp he was selling. "I don't
know," he replied. "I think they're just normal shrimp." I
glanced at the sustainable seafood guide on my phone. There were 80 entries for
shrimp, none of them listed "normal."
What about the cod? Was it Atlantic or Pacific? Atlantic. How was it
caught? I asked. "I'm not sure," he said, looking doubtfully at a
creamy fish slab. "With nets, I think. Not with harpoons." 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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