Environmental Watch

Creek inferno sparks emergency plan

BELLINGHAM -- On June 10 a rupture of an Olympic Pipe Line gasoline pipe in Bellingham dumped fuel into Hanna and Whatcom creeks. The gasoline ignited and incinerated 25 acres of riparian vegetation -- and cost three human lives. Now an emergency restoration plan for the creek has been drafted and set into motion.

Developed by Olympic Pipe Line and Polaris Applied Sciences, of Seattle, the plan had to pass muster with the city of Bellingham, the state Department of Ecology and the federal Environmental Protection Agency. It has two objectives. The first is to address immediate restoration needs, and the second is to reduce the potential for further damage, such as erosion sedimentation and reduction of fish spawning success.

The restoration plan consists of several subplans. They include:

• Delineation of soil and water contamination, and their remediation via excavation, vapor extraction, free product collection, groundwater containment, natural attenuation or other means;

• Stabilization of streambanks and hillsides to control erosion by various means, including hydraulic applications, physical controls and operated controls;

• Remediation of hydrocarbon contamination of the streambed, using sorbent applications, physical agitation, flushing and air sparging;

• Streambed restoration via revegetation of streambanks and upland areas, improvements to the creek channel (pool and bar construction, step pools, addition of woody debris, bioengineered banks), improvements of conditions for instream invertebrate production, and monitoring;

• Protection of riparian habitat, using surviving vegetation where possible;

• Restoration of access to Whatcom Falls Park as soon as possible following a safety review and development of a security plan; and

• Information management, for restoration planning and implementation, and for centralized access to sample and monitoring data.

Subcontractors will be hired to perform much of this work, and some will be done by volunteers. Private nonprofit organizations, such as the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association and Bellingham Greenways, will also participate.

At the moment crews are hand digging an excavation around the pipe rupture. This week the National Transportation Safety Board is expected to remove a portion of the failed pipe for testing.

Penalty pays for tidepool guides

SEATTLE -- Thanks to an $18,000 penalty paid to the state Department of Ecology by King County, a program to provide naturalist guides on beaches will receive needed funding.

The penalty was levied against the county for an Oct. 12, 1998 sewage spill from the West Point wastewater treatment plant, which was caused by a power failure and subsequent sewage diversion.

Some $10,000 of the fine will go to the Seattle Aquarium to help pay for a team of 70 trained beach naturalists. They act as guides for people who visit five Puget Sound beaches during exceptionally low tides.

Another $5,000 of the penalty will go to the Discovery Park Visitor's Center for environmental education programs. The remaining $3,000 will go to the state.

The five beaches are Alki, Golden Gardens and Carkeek Park in Seattle, and KVI and Pt. Robinson beaches on Vashon Island.

Networking extravaganza with NEBC

SEATTLE -- Mark your calendar for July 8, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. That's when the Northwest Environmental Business Council throws its annual rooftop shindig at Hart Crowser, overlooking sparkling Lake Union.

The event features food, prizes and schmoozing par excellence. Sponsored mostly by Hart Crowser and Wilder Environmental, the event is open to NEBC members and non-members alike. Members, however, pay a lower price: $25 versus $35 for non-members.

For further information, or to sign up, call Alice DeVault at NEBC-Washington, (206) 528-3410.

It's a ball! It's a bat! No, it's Superflush!

SEATTLE -- If everything went according to plan, last night was a landmark in the history of water use in the Northwest. Starting at 7:30 p.m., all 638 toilets in Safeco Field were to be flushed on cue, one seating level at a time.

The event was part of ongoing testing of the ballpark's systems prior to its opening next month. Stadium construction workers and their families, on hand for a "worker appreciation evening," were to do the flushing.

Enviro groups launch anti-WTO campaign

SEATTLE -- A coalition of national and international forest protection groups, including Earth Justice Legal Defense and American Lands Alliance, yesterday launched an effort to stop the World Trade Organization entering into deals that they said could have the effect of increasing logging of old growth forests and weakening environmental protections.

The WTO will hold a summit in Seattle in November. The environmental groups made their announcement in Seattle at the Mountaineers Club.

The groups are primarily protesting U.S. support for a global agreement that would remove trade barriers to forest products. They say industry studies predict that the elimination of tariffs on wood products would increase consumption by 3 percent to 4 percent worldwide.

Oil spilled at Tosco refinery

FERNDALE (AP) -- Crews worked Monday to clean up crude oil that spilled into the Strait of Georgia while a tanker was unloading at the Tosco refinery at Neptune Beach north of Bellingham.

No environmental damage was immediately reported.

An estimated 840 to 1,050 gallons of Alaska crude spilled Sunday afternoon when the stern of the Arco Texas came unmoored and drifted away from the dock, bending and breaking a metal arm that carries oil from the tanker to the refinery, officials said.

Cause of the mishap remained under investigation.

Cheryl Burnett, a spokeswoman for Arco Marine, said Monday that the accident was "highly unusual." Company officials could not recall the last time an oil spill occurred in that manner, she said.

A light oil sheen about 20 yards by 100 yards had drifted northward to Boundary Bay by the Canadian border. Cleanup crews planned to tow absorbent fabric through the sheen to remove as much of the oil as possible, Burnett said.

Another sheen was spotted near the dock where the spill occurred, but otherwise "little evidence" of the oil was evident, said a news release from the incident's joint information center.

Burnett said some of the oil may have dissipated, some may have sunk and some might still be on the deck at the spill site, about 12 miles north of Bellingham and 95 miles north of Seattle.

No damage to fish or birds was reported Monday, officials said. About 45 workers were surveying beaches between the dock and the Canadian border, but no oil had been reported on shore, the news release said.

One concern is that the area contains herring spawning beds.

Cleanup crews from Tosco, Arco, the Clean Sound Co-op and Foss Environmental responded to the spill, said Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Paul Lattanzi in the Puget Sound Marine Safety Office in Seattle. Booms were put in place to contain the oil, and skimming vessels were aiding the cleanup.

Government agencies also were investigating.

Environmental Watch

DOE proposes water-quality grants

OLYMPIA -- Nearly $60 million in grants and loans are being proposed to help improve and protect water quality in Washington, with a strong emphasis on helping small communities and restoring salmon runs.

The Washington Department of Ecology will host four public meetings around the state to get comments on the 99 projects the agency proposes to fund. The money would pay for projects in cities, counties and on tribal lands.

Meetings would be held at:

• Tumwater, today, 1 to 4 p.m. at the Department of Labor & Industries auditorium, 7275 Linderson Way S.W.

• Mount Vernon, June 23, 9 a.m. to noon at PUD No. 1 of Skagit County, 1415 Freeway Dr.

• Yakima, June 29, 9 a.m. to noon at the state Department of Ecology, 15 W. Yakima Ave., Suite 200

• Spokane, June 30, 9 a.m. to noon at the Spokane County Health District, 1101 W. College Ave.

This year, the state Legislature directed Ecology to focus funding on small communities with populations fewer than 5,000 and in areas with declining salmon populations. Following is a list of the five communities proposed to receive funding under the small-community provision:

• City of Kittitas in Kittitas County -- $230,000 to upgrade the community's wastewater treatment plant.

• Public Utility District No. 1 of Stevens County -- $216,193 to build a public sewer system for the Addy area.

• Tieton in Yakima County -- $1 million to construct water reclamation and reuse facilities to use treated waste water to irrigate cover crops, to recharge ground water and for other beneficial uses.

• Twisp in Okanogan County -- $2.5 million to improve the town's wastewater treatment plant.

• Wollochet Harbor Sewer District in Pierce County -- $1.82 million to abandon Wollochet Harbor Sewer District's antiquated treatment system and connect to Gig Harbor's wastewater treatment system.

Ecology considered 133 projects and narrowed the list to 99 based on criteria such as existing or potential water-quality problems, the effectiveness of the proposed project to solve the problem, and local community coordination.

The proposed projects would construct and upgrade wastewater treatment plants, repair and replace on-site sewer systems, conduct watershed planning and implementation, and provide for other water-quality activities.

Ecology proposes issuing grants and loans from three funding sources: Centennial Clean Water Fund, Washington State Pollution Control Revolving Fund, and Clean Water Act Section 319 Nonpoint-Source Fund.

Through July 15, people may send comments on the projects proposed for funding to Kim McKee, Dept. of Ecology, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600.

Give a hoot -- be 'Climate Wise'

SEATTLE -- Seattle City Light and The Boeing Co. will present a free forum July 14 on the Climate Wise program, which helps industrial and manufacturing companies reduce carbon emissions while improving productivity and profitability. The forum will be held from 7:30 a.m. to noon at Boeing's Longacres facility. For further information or to register for the event, call Muir Public Relations at (206) 547-1008.

Hanford study is meeting topic

SPOKANE (AP) -- A controversial study on the health of Hanford downwinders will be discussed by some of the nation's leading radiation experts on Saturday.

The National Academy of Sciences' Board on Radiation Effects Research is the final arbiter of the scientific credibility of the study, conducted for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The $18 million study was released Jan 28. It found no link between higher Hanford radiation doses and increased thyroid disease in 3,441 people born near the nuclear reservation between 1940 and 1946.

Hanford downwinders have attacked the study, saying it negates their experiences with thyroid disease.

They were especially angry when the study's investigators at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle said downwinders should be "reassured" by the study.

At a Jan. 29 public meeting in Richland, downwinder Sally Sanders of Kennewick held up a large sign with a pointed message: "I don't believe it."

Of the 3,441 study participants, 19 were confirmed to have thyroid cancer; 249 had noncancerous nodules; 267 had hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid); and 34 had Graves Disease, which results in an overactive thyroid.

Dr. Scott Davis, a Fred Hutchinson epidemiologist, has defended the study's science. But he also admits the study's release was bungled because it came out as a draft without a thorough scientific peer review.

The National Academy of Sciences agreed in April to expand its review to include whether the results were "appropriately communicated." The review is due to be completed late this year.

Oregon considers pesticide tracking

SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- Oregon has moved a step closer to becoming one of the few states to closely track the commercial and farm use of pesticides.

A legislative subcommittee approved a bill last Wednesday that could for the first time give citizens and policy-makers information about a broad spectrum of pesticides used in the state.

Supporters say the pesticide tracking could help researchers determine the effects of the chemicals on human health as well as fish and wildlife. California and New York are the only other states with comparable pesticide tracking.

The measure appears headed for passage, but only if Gov. John Kitzhaber and Republican legislative leaders can resolve a disagreement about how much money to provide.

The bill was written mostly by Oregonians for Food and Shelter, which represents pesticide users and producers. The group wanted to head off a threatened initiative by environmentalists that contained much tougher reporting requirements.

"It's not everything the environmentalists wanted; it's not everything the governor wanted. But there's a lot of good stuff in there," said Curtis Robinhold, an aide to Kitzhaber.

Terry Witt, executive director of Oregonians for Food and Shelter, said many farmers and commercial pesticide users worry that the data could be used to raise public fears about the chemicals.

But in the end, the group decided to go along in the belief the information would show that when properly used, the chemicals are not causing significant harm, Witt said.

Environmental activists, who had introduced a much tougher pesticide reporting bill that languished in a Senate committee for months, said they had not decided whether to support the compromise approach.

Neva Hassanein of the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides said she wanted assurances the program would be well-financed and have information specific enough to be useful to the public. "Until that happens, we're not making any promises," she said, adding that environmentalists could still go ahead with a ballot initiative.

The bill calls for the program to be paid for during the next two years by a $10 increase in the registration fee that manufacturers pay for each product. That would generate about $180,000, but Kitzhaber has said $291,000 would be needed.

The bill is HB3602.

Environmental Watch

Salmon speed water-right process

OLYMPIA -- Do you want to change your water rights in the Walla Walla River basin, but feel frustrated by the glacial pace of water-right processing? Don't despair. If your project helps restore the watershed's health, or builds or expands a municipal water-supply system, you can step to the front of the line.

A new rule adopted by the state Department of Ecology now gives water supply and quality issues priority in processing of applications for changes of water use. The rule's criteria were originally developed by the Southeast Washington Regional Salmon Committee and the Natural Resource Conservation Service, who use them when funding salmon restoration projects.

Applications for changing water uses have been mired in legislative quicksand in Olympia. Now Ecology Director Tom Fitzsimmons says the new rule has the potential to free up the process for water users statewide.

Water-right changes typically involve the purpose of water use, the point of water withdrawal, the place where water is used, or additional withdrawal locations. Ecology processes water-right applications on the basis of public health and safety, improvements to the environment and by chronological order: oldest applications first.

Approximately 60 applications are pending in the Walla Walla basin for changes in use. They will be reviewed to determine which, if any, can be processed under the new rule.

Around the state, 6,200 applications face a five-to 10-year wait for processing. The delay is due to limited water, a 60 percent budget reduction imposed by the Legislature, and legislative policy gridlock.

Garbage to gas to electricity

EVERETT -- Thousands of Snohomish County residents are getting some of their garbage back -- through their electrical outlets. The Snohomish County Public Utility District has begun buying some of its power from the Klickitat PUD's Landfill Biogass Project, which uses garbage-generated methane gas to power an electric generating station.

The station is located at the Roosevelt Regional Landfill, near Goldendale on the Columbia River. Snohomish County PUD is buying enough power from the plant -- 5 megawatts -- to supply 3,000 customers. That's 60 percent of the plant's 8.4 megawatt capacity.

Waste from Snohomish County makes up 25 percent of the garbage going into the landfill.

Chemical risk disclosure sought

WASHINGTON (AP) -- One week before a deadline set nearly a decade ago, the administration and Congress are still working on how to tell the public about potential chemical disasters without handing terrorists a new tool.

Environmental groups said Monday that chemical facilities are doing little to reduce dangers to local communities, and that withholding this information was a greater threat than the danger of terrorism.

Restrictions on the right to know, supported by the chemical industry, are "a thinly veiled effort to prevent public accountability," Allison LaPlante of U.S. Public Interest Research Group told a Capitol Hill news conference.

The 1990 Clean Air Act requires some 66,000 facilities using or making toxic chemicals to give the Environmental Protection Agency by June 21, 1999, a Risk Management Plan, including a "worst-case chemical action" scenario.

But the EPA -- at the urging of the FBI, the Justice Department and members of Congress -- agreed last September that it would be a national security risk to put on the Internet information that outlines the likely effects of a chemical disaster on a local community.

In May, the administration sent to Congress legislation that would ensure that local communities, in particular safety officials, would have access to the information, but that individuals would not be able to get electronic databases on chemical plant dangers.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Tom Bliley, R-Va., is still trying to work out the details of that bill. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., has his own bill pending in the Senate.

Bliley, at a recent hearing, said he was trying to strike a balance between the people's right to know about risks from chemical plants and ensuring that the information provided "does not end up harming the very people that Congress intended to protect."

But the environmentalists, including representatives from the Sierra Club and the Working Group on Community Right to Know, said that with 85 million Americans living within five miles of a chemical facility and 250 dying from accidents every year, the real dangers from accidents outweigh the potential threat from terrorists.

They said that of 175 chemical facilities they had contacted, only two had a measurable goal and timeline for reducing their worst-case disaster zone.

Restricting information under the guise of preventing terrorist attacks, said Mike Newman of the Sierra Club, is in reality an attempt to "protect the chemical industry from public scrutiny." Widespread public access to disaster scenarios would let people from one region see how other communities are confronting the safety issue, he said.

Economy 'greening,' lifestyles not

SEATTLE -- In a recent study of Northwest industry and the environment, Alan Durning, executive director of Northwest Environment Watch, has found that most job growth is occurring in industries that are friendlier to the environment than the traditional employers in chemicals manufacturing, electric power generation, farming, logging and lumber milling, metals smelting and refining, mining, petroleum refining and pulp and paper milling.

Those industries account for one job in 10, Durning says in his new report, entitled, "Green-Collar Jobs: Working in the New Northwest."

Green-collar jobs -- in software, education, health care, recreation and other services -- account for six in 10 Northwest jobs and their share is growing.

However, lifestyle trends threaten to undo environmental gains. Among them: second-home construction now outpaces first-home development, consuming an acre of rural land every nine minutes; gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles and trucks have wiped out the region's progress in energy conservation; and six individuals own 10 percent of all private wealth in the region, or more than the bottom two-thirds of households put together.

Durning says that if these challenges can be overcome, the Northwest could become a global model for economic prosperity that is environmentally sound.

Parametrix looks back 30 years

SUMNER -- A native Washingtonian and a Cuban immigrant founded Parametrix, an engineering, environmental sciences and architecture firm, 30 years ago. They are Waite Dalrymple and George Capestany.

Company spokesperson Laura Kramer said the employee-owned company now has 325 employees in eight offices, and is ranked as the 174th largest design firm in the country by Engineering News Record, an industry publication.

Parametrix works in five major areas: water and wastewater engineering; environmental sciences; transportation; waste management; and architecture. This last item is handled by Merritt+Pardini, a firm Parametrix acquired in 1998.

For more information, contact Kramer at (253) 863-5128.

Environmental Watch

AWB conference highlights salmon

SEATTLE -- The Association of Washington Business will hold its annual environmental conference tomorrow at the SeaTac Marriott. This year the conference is focused on recent listings of salmon under the Endangered Species Act, and the effects they will have on business.

Several attorneys from Seattle law firm Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, a conference sponsor, will moderate and participate in panel discussions. Some 200 business representatives are expected to attend.

Ross Macfarlane, of Preston, will chair the program. Panelists will include King County Executive Ron Sims; attorney Kris Holm; Kathleen Collins, of Washington Water Policy Alliance; John Houghton, of Pentec Environmental; Dave McEntee, of Simpson Tacoma Kraft Co.; and Scott Hazelgrove, of the AWB. Elliott Marks, of The Nature Conservancy, will deliver the keynote address.

The conference will get underway at 8 a.m. and conclude at 3:30 p.m. For more information, contact Julianne Pagel at (206) 270-4680.

Don't miss 'sustainability gala'

SEATTLE -- Sustainable Northwest and the Pacific Rim Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils will present the 1999 Pacific Rim Sustainable Resources Forum July 15 to 17 at the Renaissance Madison Hotel in Seattle. The forum includes a keynote talk by Richard Rominger, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as workshops and seminars.

As a highlight of the forum, the association will hold a "sustainability gala" dinner celebration July 16 to honor the winners of the 1999 Founders of a New Northwest award.

The event features a dinner of "sustainable produce, meats and wines" created by chef Greg Higgins. Things get started at 5 p.m. and conclude at 9 at the Madison Renaissance Hotel, 515 Madison St., Seattle. Please RSVP by June 21. Contact Matthew or Sara, (503) 221-6911.

To register for the forum, or to receive more information, contact Springer Zenk at (206) 224-4340.

Everett to update shoreline program

EVERETT -- The city of Everett is beginning an update of its Shoreline Master Program, which has been unaltered since 1976. The update will review uses and activities along the city's shoreline.

City staff will hold a public meeting June 15 to present information on the update process, answer questions, take comments and foster participation. The meeting runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Wall Street Building, Eighth Floor Hearing Room, 2930 Wetmore Ave., Everett. For more information call (425) 257-8731.

EPA ponders thermal cleanup at Wyckoff

SEATTLE -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is evaluating thermal technologies as a means to clean up contamination at the Wyckoff Eagle Harbor Superfund site on Bainbridge Island.

The EPA says creosote contaminants can be removed by injecting steam and/or electrical currents underground, followed byvacuum extraction. Agency staff are currently conducting groundwater modeling and lab testing; their preliminary results are "promising."

The work is being reviewed by the In-Situ Thermal Technologies Advisory Panel (ITTAP), a group of researchers and experts in the field that was assembled by the EPA.

If a thermal remedy is adopted, the work would include construction of a temporary (up to 15 years) sheet pile barrier wall, extending below the surface around the site. The barrier would be necessary to prevent migration of contaminants into Eagle Harbor during remediation.

Testing of piles will be conducted in August. The EPA wants to evaluate how far sheet piles can be driven, how well they interlock, and whether they can be seated into the aquitard -- the layer separating the upper aquifer from the lower.

For more information contact Hanh Gold, EPA project manager, (206) 553-0171. The EPA also has a Web site

Water cops busy in Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- When Carol Edwards started hunting for water wasters five years ago, it wasn't unusual to find 16 violations in a day. Now she averages four a day.

Most days, she gets up before dawn. She has to actually see and videotape sprinklers sending water into the street before she can issue a violation.

"It really does become a challenge," she said. "A good time to catch water waste is between 3 and 6 in the morning."

Edwards and two other city inspectors work staggered shifts seven days a week to enforce Albuquerque's prohibition on water overflow into the public right of way. Fines start at $20 but go as high as $200 for repeat offenders. The city also has the right to install a device to restrict water to a problem property, but it's never been done.

In the past 12 months, the inspectors have done more than 4,400 inspections, issued more than 380 violation notices and asked property owners to fix more than 340 malfunctions. They've also issued $23,340 in fines, said Doug Bennett, city irrigation conservation manager.

Since the program started in June 1995, nearly 2,000 violation notices have been handed out and fines totaling $99,610 have been issued. Fines at a single location have gone as high as $1,970, Bennett said.

The city itself isn't even immune. Inspectors issued 26 violation notices on city property in the past 12 months and fined city departments, most often parks and general services. For example, Civic Plaza with its planters and large fountain was cited twice this year.

For inspectors, the problem is timing. Edwards has passed streets flooded with water, but sprinklers were already off.

"It just hurts my feelings every time I miss em," she said. "It does get very, very frustrating."

The inspectors focus on commercial areas, but private homes aren't exempt, especially if there have been complaints in a particular neighborhood.

Weather also can pose problems. Violations can't be issued when it's windy or within 24 hours after a rain because those conditions affect how sprinklers work. And nothing can be done about sprinklers on in the rain because the city doesn't require people to have a rain switch on their systems.

Solar technology for Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- A New Jersey company will use solar power in one of the hottest areas of the world to provide water and power to an estimated 4 million people, a company official said Monday.

Quentin Kelly, chairman of the World Water Corp., said his company signed a $50 million memorandum of agreement with the Pakistan government to install solar-powered pumps that will extract water in Baluchistan province in southwestern Pakistan.

"We will install pumps, powered by solar energy, to get water from hundreds of feet down below," he said. "The solar pumps can deliver water for individual households and for farm needs up to 140 liters (37 gallons) per second."

Pakistani banks and other state-run financial institutions will finance the project, which is expected to get under way by September.

Solar-powered pumps make it economical to provide electricity to remote villages, which would otherwise be left in the dark because it is too costly to hook them to the national power grid, Kelly said.

Environmental Watch

Pateros treatment plant funded

YAKIMA -- The state Department of Ecology has awarded a $98,000 loan to the city of Pateros for final design work on a new wastewater treatment plant. The system will include a backup mechanism that will allow treatment to continue during equipment failures. It will also will meet new federal requirements for biosolids.

Money for the work comes from the state's Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund, which is designed to assist local governments with low-interest loans for water-quality projects. The fund uses monies from both federal and state sources. This year $45 million was available.

For further information, contact Ecology at (509) 575-2610.

Comments sought on Methow Basin plan

YAKIMA -- Proposed revisions to the Methow River Basin Management Plan will get a public airing June 10 in Winthrop, Okanogan County. The state Department of Ecology is holding the event in order to gather oral and written comments on its revised draft rule for the plan.

The revisions incorporate several of the recommendations from the Methow Valley Water Pilot Project report, as well as from the Methow Valley Ground Water Advisory Committee report.

Proposed rule amendments include:

• Establishing incentives for agricultural, residential, commercial and industrial water conservation;

• Establishing a water bank;

• Requiring all new uses of water to come from new water storage projects, transfer of existing water rights, reuse, or water that has been saved through water conservation or conversion practices and deposited in the water bank;

• Establishing criteria and converting seasonal water use to year-round, in-house domestic water use; and

• Encouraging establishment of trust water rights.

A public comment period runs through June 18. Ecology will consider written and oral comments from the hearing, and will accept comments by mail. Send them to: Thom Lufkin, Department of Ecology, Water Resources Program, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600.

The hearing will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Barn, 51 N. Highway 20.

Further information is available at (509) 575-2610.

Grants awarded for fisheries projects

WASHINGTON -- Fish habitat restoration projects around the country will receive grants totaling $150,000 this year thanks to a partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the American Sportfishing Association. The awards were announced last week.

Ten projects will receive grant funding, which is adminstered by NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service and ASA's FishAmerica Foundation. They are among 18 recipients of monies from the program, which began last October. To date $250,000 has been disbursed, but over the three-year period of the partnership the grants will total $700,000.

In Washington, these projects received funding:

• Mid Puget Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group, $7,000 to further improve salmonid passage and riparian habitat on the North Fork of Newaukum Creek;

• Adopt-A-Stream Foundation, $10,000 to increase spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and trout in Lund's Gulch stream; and

• Skagit Fisheries Group, $17,000 for an innovative approach to increasing nursery and foraging habitat in Finney Creek.

For more information, see the NMFS Web site.

Atmosphere Alliance joins Energy Outreach

OLYMPIA -- Atmosphere Alliance and Energy Outreach Center have merged to form a new organization called Climate Solutions. Based in Olympia, the new organization intends to combat global warming by promoting Northwest leadership in practical and profitable alternatives.

The group will focus on public education regarding global warming; advocacy of policies to curb greenhouse gas emissions; promoting clean technologies and transportation; and providing access to practical opportunities in energy supply, transportation and building construction.

Climate Solutions will issue its first report, "In Hot Water," in June. The report details the threats to the Northwest economy and quality of life posed by global warming.

Offices of Climate Solutions are located at 610 E. Fourth Ave., Olympia, WA 98501. Telephone (360) 352-1763; fax (360) 943-4977. E-mail.

Ridolfi Engineers finds new habitat

SEATTLE -- Environmental engineering firm Ridolfi Engineers says it has "moved our 'natural resources' a few blocks north to bigger habitat." The firm's new niche is located at 1411 Fourth Ave., Suite 770, Seattle, WA 98101. The telephone and fax remain the same: (206) 682-7294 and (206) 682-5008.

A trio of promotions at Hart Crowser

SEATTLE -- Three employees have been promoted in the Seattle office of environmental engineering firm Hart Crowser. Laura Phillips, the firm's controller, has been promoted to associate. Carl Einberger is now a senior associate hydrogeologist. And Matthew Snell has been promoted to project remediation engineer.

Apply for a Governor's Award

OLYMPIA -- It's time for all good operators to be recognized for their reductions in hazardous substance waste and pollution. The Governor's Awards are given to businesses and public entities that have done outstanding work in pollution prevention in Washington. Organizations that have gone beyond traditional treatment, management and disposal of waste are encouraged to apply.

A panel of experts will evaluate the applications. They will look for reduced waste generation through process design, raw material substitution, equipment changes and preventive maintenance. Applicants may also submit other examples of their environmental commitment, such as energy and water conservation, waste recovery and reuse, and solid waste reduction.

The application deadline is July 7. For further information, contact Joanne Phillipson, Department of Ecology, (360) 407-6740.

Recycle that roofing

SNOHOMISH -- In response to a recent Journal story about roofing, American Roofing Recyclers, of Snohomish, informs us that it, too, takes old roofing materials. The company accepts all asphalt composition shingles, with or without gravel, and wood shingles as long as they are part of a load containing one or more layers of composition from the same roof.

The company can be reached at (360) 563-6114 or fax (360) 563-0875.

Environmental Watch

UW noted for energy savings

SEATTLE -- The University of Washington has implemented energy conservation programs that save enough electricity to power 4,000 homes for a year. This morning the UW's achievement was to be recognized by City Light Superintendant Gary Zarker, who was to present UW Executive Vice President Weldon Ihrig with a mock check for $6.5 million. The check represents the UW's investment to date in new technology and energy-efficient lighting on campus. Together with City Light, a total of $12 million worth of such improvements have been made since 1992. They are saving the university about $2 million in energy costs each year.

Schell to release final Cedar HCP today

SEATTLE -- Mayor Paul Schell today will release his final version of the Cedar River Habitat Conservation Plan. The product of years of study and months of public comment, the plan lays out management preferences for logging in the city's water-supply basin, stream flows in the Cedar River and a host of related issues.

Joining Schell will be National Marine Fisheries Service Regional Director William Stelle; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Regional Director Ann Badgley; Col. James Rigsby, of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; state Department of Ecology Director Tom Fitzsimmons; and Seattle City Councilmember Margaret Pageler.

Schell's plan must be approved by the City Council. The Council then passes it along for review by the federal government.

Anchor adds an engineer

SEATTLE -- Anchor Environmental, L.L.C. has hired engineer Bruce McDonald to provide management, engineering and construction oversight for a variety of projects. They include sediment remediation, upland environmental, waterway and coastal work.

Anchor is an environmental, coastal and geotechnical engineering consulting firm. Its focus is on aquatic remediation and waterfront redevelopment projects. The firm is working on projects around North America, from the Northwest to the Great Lakes, Gulf Coast, Alaska and Canada.

Exponent's Bellevue office grows

BELLEVUE -- Exponent, Inc. has added a scientist to the staff of its Bellevue office. He is Michael Garry, an environmental toxicologist who has more than 12 years' experience analyzing the effects of chemicals on humans and other organisms.

In another development, Exponent has been selected by the Chemical Manufacturer's Association to evaluate ways to improve the application of models in ecological risk assessment. The firm's approach will be to identify a variety of models for potential use, narrow the list and then conduct a detailed evaluation of the most promising ones.

Exponent requests that developers and users of ecological-effects models send suggestions to Dr. Robert Pastorok, Exponent, 15375 S.E. 30th Pl., Suite 250, Bellevue, WA 98007.

Steffen departs EMS West

SEATTLE -- Alex Steffen, program director for EMS's Western States Office in Seattle, has left the firm to pursue writing full time. He will still work with the firm on a project-by-project basis. Steffen can be reached at (206) 706-6897 or at steffen@eskimo.com.

Lunch with PEMA

SEATTLE -- The Professional Environmental Marketing Association will host a luncheon program June 2 at Latitude 47 restaurant in Seattle. The speaker is George Bissonnette, the environmental, health and safety manager for Fluke Corp., who will discuss waste reduction in the electronics industry.

The cost of the luncheon is $20 for members of PEMA and the Northwest Environmental Business Council. Others pay $30. For reservations, call PEMA at (425) 455-3680.

Dairy waste is subject to Clean Water Act

KENNEWICK (AP) -- A federal judge has ruled that dairy waste lagoons and manure-spreading equipment are subject to the Clean Water Act.

The ruling last week by U.S. District Judge Ed Shea appears to give residents suing four Yakima Valley dairies a wider scope to try to link farm practices to Yakima River pollution.

The case comes to trial June 1.

Dairy lawyers argued against the broader definition for a "pollution source," but Shea said their definition would give dairy operators license to move manure "without regard" for polluting rivers.

"This would avoid the clear intent of Congress as expressed in the Clean Water Act and by the Environmental Protection Agency," Shea said.

Shea also reminded the parties that the extent to which the farms in question are sources of pollution has not been determined.

The people suing the dairies called the pretrial ruling the first of its kind in the nation.

"We are pleased with this court decision and look forward to the trial phase," said Mary Lynn Bos, vice president of the Community Association for Restoration of the Environment.

The dairies sued are SunnyVeld, with at least 1,700 mature cows; DeRuyter Bros., with at least 3,425 cows; Henry Bosma, with at least 2,500 mature cows; and Liberty, with at least 3,000 mature cows.

Lori Terry, an environmental lawyer representing DeRuyter Bros., stressed the farms involved are family-owned and not factories.

She said Shea's rulings don't change the nature of the case, in which dairy lawyers will argue their clients didn't pollute the Yakima River in the five years before the case was filed.

"We don't have runoff," Terry said. "We don't have any problems."

B.C. timber giant to get public land

PORT ALBERNI, British Columbia (AP) -- MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. stands to acquire about 300,000 acres of coastal British Columbia as its own private forest lands in a settlement proposed by the company and the provincial government.

The lands would no longer be subject to British Columbia's Forest Practices Code.

Some 75,000 acres would not require stumpage fees be paid to the province. The remaining 225,000 acres are already in MacMillan Bloedel-held tree farm licenses which don't pay stumpage, although they are subject to the code.

The settlement agreement stems from passage of the Parks Amendment Act in 1995, which created 14 protected areas in Clayoquot Sound and 23 parks elsewhere on Vancouver Island.

Many of the areas and parks, including Carmanah Pacific and additions to Strathcona Park, involved land on which MacMillan Bloedel held timber rights.

The company lost harvesting rights to almost 130,000 acres of mostly old-growth timber, forestry-related infrastructure such as roads and bridges, and allowable annual cut from government land.

MacMillan Bloedel moved to sue the province, but in March, after a year of negotiation, the province agreed to pay the forestry giant nearly $84 million (Canadian) plus interest accumulating from January.

The amount can be paid in cash, resource rights and/or land, with values to be set by a third-party appraiser.

The land has an Oct. 31 deadline, although this can be extended by 90 days if the parties agree.

A public consultation process, involving meetings and open houses, is to begin next month.

According to a technical overview of the settlement, the province, anticipating public response, has asked MacMillan Bloedel to identify more land than is needed to satisfy its entitlement.

Environmental Watch

Wetland mitigation rarely works

SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- Despite Oregon's efforts to preserve wetlands, a new pair of studies says not only are they disappearing faster than they're being created, artificial ones don't work as well as the natural marshes they are designed to replace.

Once considered worthless real estate, wetlands now are valued as prime habitat for birds, rare plants, amphibians and other animals. They also act like living sponges, soaking up floodwater, filtering out impurities and providing lush green spaces.

To halt their destruction, state and federal policies require that anyone draining or filling wetlands -- to build a house or a shopping center -- must replace them elsewhere, a process called mitigation. Sometimes a developer builds a pond on the site, or might flood farmland to bring back waterfowl, willows and rushes.

But the new studies shows that the man-made marshes are a poor replacement for the 6,877 acres of wetlands lost in the Willamette Valley alone between 1982 and 1994.

Too often, the constructed wetlands resemble simple ponds than the rich, dense mix of soil, plants and animals found in natural wetlands. A typical mitigation wetland might have a mechanical fountain, nicely groomed grass and landscaped plants - pleasing to the eye, perhaps, but not so friendly to the environment.

On paper, Oregon isn't losing wetlands. Developers must apply to the Division of State Lands and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a joint permit to fill wetlands. The agencies issue the permit only after approving a mitigation plan. The two cancel out -- in theory.

For that reason, the Oregon Progress Board gives the state an "A" in maintaining wetlands in its annual report.

But regulators at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Corvallis research lab suspected that losses occur anyway and undertook a study to learn the true picture. Using aerial photos of 114 square-mile sample plots in the Willamette Valley, researchers mapped changes in vegetation between 1982 and 1994.

The results: The Willamette Valley lost an average 546 acres of wetlands per year from 1982 to 1994. Conversion to farming accounted for most of the changes, followed by development and forestry.

While Janet Morlan, wetlands program leader for the Division of State Lands, noted that the rate of wetland loss may have slowed in recent years due to regulation, but not enough to reverse the trend.

"We know there's a number of things we do not regulate," Morlan said. "There are violations we never find out about."

Instead of relying on man-made models to replace wetlands, developers should avoid destroying them in the first place, said Julie Sibbing, assistant director for wetlands and wildlife refuge policy for the National Audubon Society in Washington D.C.

"Mitigation's supposed to be a last option," she said. "But it seems the government agencies are relying more and more on mitigation, which we don't think is workable."

Pesticides end up in streams

SEATTLE -- A new study has found a correlation between pesticide sales at lawn and garden stores and their presence in King County streams.

Conducted by the County, the U.S. Geological Survey and the state Department of Ecology, the study shows that concentrations of pesticides in streams are highest during the months of April and May, when their sales are highest.

Jim Ebbert, supervisory hydrologist with the USGS, is to release the report at a press conference tomorrow. It will describe these other findings:

• Concentrations of five pesticides exceeded limits set to protect aquatic life;

• The two herbicides (2,4-D and MCPP) and the one insecticide (Diazinon) with the largest unit sales were detected in all of the streams sampled;

• Water samples from one creek had toxic effects on the microscopic plants and animals that are the basis of the aquatic food chain; and

• Several pesticides that are not sold in retail outlets were detected in the streams sampled.

Hart Crowser grows in Northeast

SEATTLE -- Hart Crowser, an environmental consulting and remediation design firm, reports that growth in its Chicago and Jersey City offices has dictated that both move to new locations.

The growth is based on increasing business in remediation of contaminated port sediments, plus expansion into new regional markets like coastal engineering, industrial and brownfield development.

For office locations, contact Philip Spadaro in the Seattle office, (206) 324-9530.

Rare foxes endanger rare birds

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Wildlife biologists slaughtered protected foxes on a coastal island because the predators eat tiny San Clemente loggerhead shrikes, an even rarer species of bird with only 13 known in the wild.

So far, 13 San Clemente Island foxes have been killed by lethal injection -- the first such effort on the island to kill one rare species to save another, said Ken Mitchell, a spokesman for the Navy, which owns the land.

"There is a lot of talk about which one do you want to protect," Mitchell said Monday. "What it comes down to is the fox is a state-protected species, and that is one step below an endangered species."

The decision to kill the foxes is the lesser of two evils, said Susan Cochrane, chief of habitat conservation planning for the state Department of Fish and Game. About 800 foxes live on the island.

The federally protected bird, one of the rarest creatures in North America, is about the size of a robin with a white underbelly, gray top and a black "burglar's mask" across its eyes. The small San Clemente Island fox is protected under the California Endangered Species Act.

Genetic engineering marks dioxins

ERIE, Pa. (AP) -- Presque Isle Bay is peppered with poisons, and researchers are using genes from fireflies to find out just how bad things are.

John P. Vanden Heuvel, a researcher at Penn State University, is measuring levels of dioxin and its chemical cousins in the bay off northwestern Pennsylvania. The poisons can kill fish and water plants.

Vanden Heuvel is applying genetic technology developed by Columbia Analytical Systems of Kelso, Wash. The technology employs a genetically engineered compound derived from fireflies, which glows when exposed to dioxins.

The procedure is used on samples of dirt from the bottom of the bay.

"The more dioxin you have, the more glow you get," Vanden Heuvel said. "What is really good is (that) it will work for anything that acts like a dioxin."

Less sophisticated tests might only pick up dioxin and not the hundreds of chemicals that resemble dioxin.

Dioxin is a byproduct in the manufacture of herbicides, pesticides, pulp and paper.

Two sites in the bay, the East Slip and Misery Bay, have extremely high levels of poisons, Vanden Heuvel said.

Last week, the Presque Isle Bay Advisory Committee said more study of the bay is needed. Vanden Heuvel will be performing more tests this summer and said the firefly method will be a more effective way of assessing the bay's health.

Environmental Watch

Wastewater workshops for sand & gravel

OLYMPIA -- The state Department of Ecology is considering a proposal to reissue a general permit for sand and gravel wastewater discharges. Before a decision is made, however, the agency this summer will hold public workshops and hearings around the state.

The proposed permit would apply to Washington industries that discharge process water; mine dewatering water; and stormwater associated with sand and gravel operations, rock quarries, concrete batch plants and asphalt batch plants.

Federal law requires a permitting process for the discharge of any wastewater.

The proposed general permit would control the release of pollutants to ground and surface waters. It would implement standard discharge treatment, monitoring and reporting requirements. (A general permit is similar to an individual wastewater discharge permit, except that it applies to a group of facilities as a whole.)

According to Ecology, the proposed permit is similar to the current permit it replaces, but includes fewer pollutants to monitor. Monitoring for turbidity, however, would increase.

After the public meetings, Ecology expects to issue the revised general permit on July 1, 1999. To request a copy of the proposed permit, contact Keith Johnson, Department of Ecology, Water Quality Program, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600. Or call (360) 407-6442, fax (360) 407-6426, email, or Web.

The workshops and hearings will be held as follows:

• June 7. At the Department of Ecology, Eastern Regional Office, N. 4601 Monroe, Suite 202, Spokane.

• June 8. In Ecology's Central Regional Office, 15 W. Yakima Ave., Suite 200, Yakima.

• June 11. At the agency's Northwest Regional Office, 3190 160th Ave. S.E., Bellevue.

• June 14. At Ecology's Southwest Regional/HQ Office, 300 Desmond Dr., Lacey.

McCormack is ERM program director

BELLEVUE -- Timothy McCormack has been named program director of Northwest Site Investigation and Remediation Services, a part of Environmental Resources Management. McCormack is based in ERM's Bellevue office. As program director he will oversee technical operations and client development in the Northwest.

Clean boats out of the water

OLYMPIA -- The state departments of Ecology and Natural Resources are urging boaters this season to haul their boats out of the water before having their hulls cleaned. A particular concern is "soft" marine paint, which has sloughing or ablative characteristics, and which can be released to the environment during cleaning. The paints often contain tin and copper, which are toxic to marine life.

Ecology hopes for voluntary compliance with the directive, but it can take enforcement action with penalties up to $10,000 per day per violation.

Honeybees as landmine detectors?

RICHLAND -- Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are investigating whether honeybees equipped with tiny radio-frequency tags can be useful in detecting the minute amounts of explosives that indicate the presence of landmines. The catch is, the bees will have to be trained.

Here's how it's supposed to work.

The radio tags, each weighing no more than a grain of rice, will be attached to the bees' bodies. They will allow researchers to track individual bees -- when they leave, which direction they go, and when they return. The information will be sent to a computer.

At the same time, an array of analytical instruments inside the hive will scan each bee for chemicals found in explosives. Together, the two systems could pinpoint the locations of landmines, the researchers say.

A field test is scheduled for this spring.

Groups ask end to pesticides in schools

SEATTLE -- A group of more than 150 individuals and organizations yesterday called on Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Joseph Olchefske to stop using pesticides in schools.

At a news conference held in front of Greenwood Elementary School, representatives from the Washington Toxics Coalition, the Seattle Parent Teacher Association and a parent from Greenwood expressed their concerns about the use of toxics where children are present. They released a letter to Olchefske that was signed by 18 environmental, parent and health groups and over 150 individuals.

The letter calls for: an end to the use of pesticides that cause cancer, nervous system damage, disruption of the endocrine system, or are highly toxic; no use of pesticides for aesthetic purposes; and notification to all parents and staff in writing at least 48 hours before pesticide applications.

Elizabeth Loudon, of the Washington Toxics Coalition, said her organization and the PTA have been working with the Seattle School District to develop a pesticide policy. But the parties have hit an impasse over key provisions requested by the environmental and parent groups. And pesticide industry lobbyists have been urging a weaker policy, Loudon said.

Makahs issue whaling permit

NEAH BAY (AP) -- The Makah tribe said Monday that it had issued a whaling permit and planned to proceed with a hunt for a gray whale.

It was not immediately clear when the hunt would occur.

The permit allows for a 500-yard Coast Guard exclusionary zone around the Makah canoe and a support boat, keeping protest vessels at bay.

Whaling commission president Keith Johnson said the permit was activated at 11:55 a.m. because boats from the anti-whaling group Sea Defense Alliance were threatening the whaling canoe and a support boat. The tribal boats had set out this morning on a practice run -- as they have been doing for weeks now.

But Johnson added, "So now we've got a whaling permit, so we're going hunting."

He confirmed migrating gray whales are in the area.

It could not be immediately determined whether a federal observer was at the scene. Under the tribe's hunt-management plan, an observer from the National Marine Fisheries Service must be on site for any hunt.

Weyerhaeusers sue to stop dump

TACOMA (AP) -- A lawsuit to block construction of a $60 million dump has been filed in a second move to block the project, and opponents say at least one more suit also will be filed.

The case was filed Friday in Pierce County Superior Court by William and Gail Weyerhaeuser, members of the timber family. They live next to the dump site south of Graham.

Landfill opponents around Graham and Eatonville were encouraged when, on April 27, Gov. Gary Locke signed into law a bill they contend prohibits the project.

The lawsuit, which claims unspecified damages, says new law gives the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department the power to withdraw a solid waste permit for the dump.

"It seems pretty obvious," said Bill Lynn, the Weyerhaeusers' lawyer. "I don't understand why the Health Department won't stop them."

Health Department lawyer Cliff Allo said he had not seen the lawsuit and would not comment. At least one additional lawsuit against the dump is expected, health officials said.

Work on the project began April 16. Workers have been conducting wetland protection measures, clearing land and building roads.

Environmental Watch

State seeks hike in nursery fees

OLYMPIA -- The State Department of Agriculture is considering a 7.6 percent fee increase for its plant services and pest program and will take comments on the proposal at hearings beginning at 1:30 p.m. May 17 in Olympia. The hearings will be held in Room 259 of the Natural Resources Building, 1111 Washington St.

In the plant and pest program, staff inspect plant nurseries to ensure that consumers and the nursery industry receive healthy, pest-free plants, and they enforce quarantines to prevent the introduction of pests. The staff also inspects nursery stock on request as required by domestic and international markets. The program is funded by license fees paid by nursery dealers in the state as well as fees from requested inspections and certification.

Pest detection, testing and inspection services are used by agricultural and forestry industries when third party testing and inspection is needed for the sale of plant material.

According to a statement released by the department, revenue and activity levels for the programs have been stable but expenses have grown gradually.

A decision on the fee increase will be made May 26 by the department director, Jim Jesernig. For information contact the department.

Heavy snowpack poses flood threat

YAKIMA (AP) -- The abundant snow pack in the Cascade Range poses a late spring and early summer flood threat on several Eastern Washington rivers, the state Department of Ecology said Monday.

The Cascade snow pack is anywhere from 135 percent to 185 percent above average.

When the seasonal melt begins, flooding is possible on the Similkameen, Okanogan, Methow, Naches, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Entiat, Wenatchee, Klickitat and Yakima rivers.

High water also is possible on the Walla Walla and Touchet rivers from melting snow in the Blue Mountains.

"These rivers can will rise quickly during extended periods of hot weather or heavy rainfall," said Tim D'Acci, the department's coordinator for the national flood insurance program.

"River-area property owners and recreationists, such as anglers, rafters and kayakers, should watch out for sudden rises in river levels due to faster snow-melt conditions."

Signs warning of potential high river flows will be posted along the upper Yakima River this month.

Reactor core heading to Hanford

RAINIER, Ore. (AP) -- After a year of work, the cradles and shield for the decommissioned reactor core from the Trojan nuclear plant are ready to give the reactor a ride up the Columbia River for burial at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

Construction of the $2 million high-strength carbon steel cradles was a first for Thompson Metal Fab Inc. of Vancouver, Wash., said John Rudi, company president.

The fabrication took 20 workers more than a year because they had to follow a quality-control program and "extremely extensive" inspections, Rudi said.

"Safety and quality have really been the paramount rules for this project," he said.

The support frame is about 68 feet long and 24 feet wide, and the two cradles have a combined weight of about 500,000 pounds.

The frame-and-cradle assembly is designed to support 10 times the weight of the reactor core, according to Bob Morgan, project manager for Burns & Roe, which designed the framework, cradles and sheathing that Thompson fabricated.

Arntson said the reactor core, filled with 200 tons of concrete and sheathed in protective steel, will weigh about 1,020 tons.

Officials say all necessary approvals for disposal of the reactor core have been obtained, including permission from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council and the Washington State Health Department.

The trip by barge upriver to Richland, Wash., is about 270 miles. Once there, the reactor core will be removed from the barge by a heavy-haul truck and taken to nearby Hanford, where it will be buried with hundreds of tons of other low-level radioactive waste.

Altogether, Portland General Electric expects to spend $26 million on the reactor transport and burial project. The move is scheduled for late August or early September, said PGE spokesman Kregg Arntson.

PGE closed the Trojan plant on the Columbia River in January 1993. The company said it would cost too much to repair cracks in more than 3,000 of the heat-exchange tubes in the plant's 326-ton generators. The tubes were vital because they carried hot water from the reactor core into a chamber to create steam that drove turbines to generate electricity.

New faces at Prezant

SEATTLE -- Prezant Associates, a Seattle firm specializing in industrial hygiene, health and safety, has named Kurt Stranne director of Construction Safety Services. He has more than seven years' experience in senior level regulatory compliance consultation, site inspections and safety and health training. Prezant also has named Don Swanby a project manager. He has worked in the management and handling of hazardous materials for 10 years.

Ecology talks toxics in Bellingham

OLYMPIA -- Bellingham residents will get a chance this Thursday to tell Tom Fitzimmons, director of the state Department of Ecology, what they think of plans to further reduce release of toxic chemicals into the environment.

The department will hold an open house and public meeting from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Whatcom County Council Chambers, 311 Grand Ave., Bellingham, on May 6.

Ecology is focusing its attention on toxics that build up in the tissues of humans and animals, known as persistent bioaccumulative toxics, or BACs.

For more information, contact Mike Gallagher at Ecology, (360) 407-6868.

Conference on estuary restoration

SEATTLE -- A conference entitled "Restoring Estuarine Ecosystems" will be held Thursday, May 6, at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Sand Point facility in Seattle.

Sponsored by Restore America's Estuaries and the Estuarine Research Federation, the meeting is the second of three to be held around the country this spring.

Keynote speaker for the event is Andy Rosenberg, deputy assistant administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, who will speak about the NMFS role in local restoration efforts. Other speakers will come from the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Battelle Marine Laboratory, the University of Washington, People for Puget Sound, the South Slough Estuarine Preserve, and the University of British Columbia.

The conference will begin at 8:30 a.m. For more information, contact Jacques White at People for Puget Sound, (206) 382-7007.

Be a hero, get rid of geese

SEATTLE (AP) -- There are now an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 Canada geese living in urban areas around Puget Sound, and that number is expected to increase to more than 80,000 in the next decade.

So now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to determine the best way to get rid of some of the birds, whose messy habits have made them unwelcome guests in parks and other areas frequented by humans.

The agency has just released a 47-page document listing a number of different control options, and is seeking public comment through May 26.

Environmental Watch

Cross Cascade Pipeline hearings begin

OLYMPIA -- Washington state's Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council will begin today public hearings on Olympic Pipe Line Co.'s proposal to build a fuel pipeline from Puget Sound over the Cascades to inland markets.

Olympic is owned by a consortium of oil companies, who say the pipeline would be a safer, more reliable, less costly and less environmentally risky way to supply those markets than it would be to continue trucking and barging the fuel on the Columbia River.

Environmental groups respond that the pipeline is merely a way of expanding demand for the output of refineries on Puget Sound. They say that the pipe would cross 22 miles of state parks, damage Gingko Petrified Forest State Park, threaten communications cables, and pose a much greater risk of spills than the existing distribution network.

The Washington Attorney General's Office has filed papers opposing the pipeline, as have King, Kittitas and Franklin Counties, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, the state Department of Agriculture, the cities of Carnation, North Bend and Snoqualmie, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Supporters of the proposal include the Washington Building and Trades Council; the Washington State Labor Council; numerous chambers of commerce; the King County Labor Council; several economic development councils; the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties; and other business and labor groups.

The hearings will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the south concourse of Lakewood Mall, 10507-23 Gravely Lake Dr. S.W., Lakewood. They will continue for 10 weeks.

For further information, see the EFSEC Web site. Opponents have a site as well.

King County studies straw bale construction

SEATTLE -- King County's Department of Development and Environmental Services is working with University of Washington Professor David Riley to develop construction standards for straw bales. The effort reflects growing interest in straw as a building material, and follows its approval by some California jurisdictions and Jefferson and Island counties in Washington.

During its review of straw bale permit applications, DDES identified some concerns that will have to be addressed. They include moisture and vapor control standards, structural capabilities and fire and insulation standards.

Riley and DDES have begun testing straw bales for these criteria, and will publish their results.

Illegal dumpers spoil Earth Day

VAUGHN, Wash. (AP) -- A dump by any other name is still a dump, Earth Day volunteers trying to clean up the newly dedicated Rocky Creek Natural Area have discovered.

About 20 people found themselves overwhelmed Saturday as they tried to remove illegally discarded trash from the 224-acre park north of this small town in the northwest corner of Pierce County.

Roy Lampson, a retired shipyard mechanic who lives nearby, picked his way through carpet scraps, a disemboweled easy chair and a four-foot metal tank riddled with bullet holes.

"Here's a washing machine ... a couch ... part of a mobile home," Lampson said.

"When you clean up on Saturday and Sunday, and you come back on Monday and it's just as bad -- well, it's discouraging," he said. "You put up 'no dumping' signs and they use them for target practice."

Lampson's wife, Kathy, rummaged through sacks of trash to find mail that would identify the culprits.

"I'll track them down, all right," she said.

In an earlier, unsuccessful attempt to bring midnight dumpers to justice, she said, health officials told her she needed at least three pieces of evidence. This time she hit paydirt, a pile of bills and mailing labels.

Garbage is just one problem plaguing the new park.

Miles of excellent salmon habitat along the meandering creek are inaccessible to the fish because of a culvert downstream. Four-wheelers drive through the stream and up the steep banks, churning up gravel and choking the water with sediment. Tires and metal cans litter the creek bed.

Even so, spurred partly by Endangered Species Act listings of numerous salmon runs in the region, the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group is working with Lampson and others to restore Rocky Creek for spawning.

As the adults gathered roadside trash, about 40 high school students labored with hedge clippers, saws and ax-like tools called Pulaskis to extend a network of trails through the upland woods.

Logging in snow angers environmentalists

GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. (AP) -- A record snowpack on Mount Hood has created some extreme conditions for loggers who are opting to work in neck-deep snow rather than wait for a spring melt-off.

But work on one logging operation has angered environmentalists, who have sued to stop logging in the area and say the trees should not have been cut until the court case was decided.

At issue is the 118-acre Roundup timber sale purchased in January by the Grimm Logging Co. of Salem. The property is eight miles south of Government Camp on U.S. 26.

Bob Grimm, a partner in the family company, said they opted to log over the winter months to avoid layoffs.

"A small company like ours has to maintain some level of operation to survive," said Grimm, 49, who owns the business with his brother, Don, 47.

Both the loggers and the U.S. Forest Service say the snowpack cushions the ground, protecting fragile plants from tramping men and machines. Packed, frozen snow plasters the graveled road, guarding against the wear and tear of heavy equipment.

But environmentalists complain the Forest Service failed to survey rare plants and animals before the timber sale. They contend that logging early in the year might upset the breeding cycles of birds and wildlife.

The case, which seeks to halt logging in the Abbott-Salmon Planning Area -- including Roundup -- will be heard in U.S. District Court in Seattle in June.

Logging in snow is fairly common but usually occurs east of the Cascades, said Fred Temler, a Forest Service timber contracting officer.

The Roundup sale was initially designed as a helicopter logging project. The goal was to improve the appearance of old clear-cuts that have offended tourists looking south across the forest from Timberline Lodge.

But after it failed to attract bidders, Grimm scouted the terrain and came up with a plan to log the land during winter when weather would prohibit the use of a helicopter.

Grimm figured he could accomplish that goal by feathering out trees along the edges of the clear-cuts and pulling the logs up by cable. He offered the Mount Hood National Forest $550,695, the Forest Service's minimum acceptable bid.

Temler said any savings Grimm achieved from cable logging were offset by the expenses of plowing the road and digging out the trees.

Temler, who would not discuss the lawsuit, said he consulted a Forest Service biologist to determine whether cutting trees would disrupt winter activities of the wolverine.

Temler said the biologist's opinion was that wolverines -- shy, reclusive animals that abhor humans -- were not likely to be active within a mile of a highly traveled corridor such as U.S. 26.

Environmental Watch

Remedial action grants are available

OLYMPIA -- Washington state, through the Department of Ecology, has remedial action grants available for use by local governments who must clean up contaminated sites. The term 'local governments' includes towns, cities, counties, school districts, fire districts, public utility districts, port districts or any other local entity with the authority to levy taxes.

The grants can be used for a variety of expenses, among them remedial investigations, remedial designs, landfill closures and underground storage tank removal. Items not covered are legal fees and penalties, oversight costs, most retroactive costs, costs of long-term monitoring, natural resource damage assessments, and source control/prevention at non-landfill sites.

Under the program, a local government may receive a grant totaling 50 percent of its eligible project costs for remedial investigations, feasibility studies, remedial designs, interim actions and remedial actions.

In addition, a county that is classified as economically disadvantaged may receive up to 25 percent additional funding. The following counties qualify: Ferry, Franklin, Grant, Grays Harbor, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lewis, Mason, Okanogan, Pacific, Pend Oreille, Skamania, Stevens and Yakima.

For more information or an application form, contact Steve Loftness, Solid Waste & Financial Assistance Program, (360) 407-6060 or check the web site.

AGI merges with Camp Dresser & McKee

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Camp Dresser & McKee, a global consulting, engineering, construction and operations firm, has merged with AGI Technologies of Bellevue. AGI is an engineering and environmental consulting firm.

The merger is intended to strengthen both companies in both the private-sector and public works markets in the Northwest, said AGI President John Newby.

Dispose of pesticides on May 26

OLYMPIA -- The state Department of Agriculture will present a free pesticide-collection service in Bellevue on May 26, but interested persons or businesses must sign up for it by tomorrow. Only those who sign up will be given directions to the site, and only commercial or agricultural-grade pesticides are eligible.

To register, call (360) 902-2056 or email.

No hazardous-waste disposal fees will be charged to participants. In addition, the Department of Agriculture will provide supplies to safely transport broken or leaky containers to the collection site.

The department particularly wants to encourage new owners of property, who may find unidentified containers of chemicals on the property, to ask for its help in identifying the substances. If they are pesticides, Agriculture will arrange for its removal.

Ford to announce environmental grant

SEATTLE -- William Clay Ford, Jr., chairman of the board of the Ford Motor Co., plans to announce an environmental contribution to the Pacific Northwest Trail Association at a news conference in Seattletomorrow. Northwest Ford dealers will make a matching contribution.

The amounts of the contributions have not been released. They are intended to support completion and improvements to the 1,100-mile trail, which extends from Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada to the Pacific coast in Washington state.

Schwabe firm adds environmental lawyer

PORTLAND -- Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, one of the 10 largest law firms in the Northwest, has hired Brian J. King as a member of the Environmental, Energy & Natural Resources practice group. King formerly was an environmental attorney with the Bogle & Gates law firm. His practice focuses on environmental auditing, permitting, compliance and working with environmental managers.

Tanks vs. tortoises in California desert

BARSTOW, Calif. (AP) -- Army efforts to expand its warfare training center in the Mojave Desert have erupted into a battle over tanks and tortoises.

The Army wants to expand the National Training Center at Fort Irwin by taking over 150,000 acres to the southwest where the endangered desert tortoise lives. It also wants use of 24,000 acres on center property currently set aside to protect the tortoises.

Officials contend the center needs to expand to make room for fast tanks and new weapon systems which require larger battlefields.

The post covers 642,000 acres but officials say that's not enough, and that they have been working with about a 35 percent shortfall in the amount of land that can actually be used for exercises.

However, an expansion plan has not been finalized for almost 15 years because the Army, Bureau of Land Management and others have not been able to agree on how to expand without compromising other interests. A plan that targeted 300,000 acres to the east of the center, primarily used for desert recreation, including camping, dry-lake sailing and off-roading, drew criticism from desert users.

The Army refocused on the area to the southwest -- the same location where the government-protected tortoise roams. The area is "better for us to maneuver on," said Maj. Barry Johnson, the training center's public affairs officer.

More Army studies using new counting techniques suggest the site the service wants to turn into a training zone has only a fraction of the tortoises originally believed to inhabit the area.

The BLM made the suggestion more than a year ago that the Army revisit expansion plans to the south, with certain conditions. The impact on tortoises could be minimized, the bureau said, either by building fences or by relocating the tortoises.

The Army made its latest proposal to the BLM and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Friday, detailing the plan to expand toward the southwest.

The Army said it would adopt the BLM proposal, but wanted only some of the offered land. The Army also wanted some land to the southwest known as the Superior Valley that is situated between Barstow and the Navy's China Lake facility. The BLM controls the majority of that area.

The bureau has to review the Army's request, including how the Army plans to minimize the impact on the desert tortoise population.

But some environmentalists object to expansion into desert tortoise habitat.

"We have enormous problems with that," said Elden Hughes, head of the Sierra Club's California desert community.

Herbicide spraying permit challenged

SEATTLE -- Environmentalist David Ortman has appealed the state Department of Ecology's issuance of a permit to the state Agriculture Department spray herbicide on Puget Sound shorelines.

The appeal was filed April 12 with the state Pollution Control Hearings Board. It seeks to overturn a permit allowing aerial spraying and other applications of Rodeo, a herbicide that is toxic to fish, to Puget Sound shorelines in King, Island, Kitsap, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom counties.

"Apparently, the Department of Ecology hasn't heard that Puget Sound salmon are on the endangered species list," Ortman said.

Agriculture wants to use the product, which contains glyphosphate, to control spartina grass. However, Ortman said the same chemical is listed by Ecology as a "chemical of special concern in Washington state."

Ortman further charges that the Ecology permit does not adhere to the 1993 Noxious Emergent Plant Management Final Environmental Impact Statement; it allows multiple applications of Rodeo whereas the FEIS considers only one; and that the proposed application does not have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit as required by the federal Clean Water Act.