Environmental Watch

EPA extends Wyckoff comment period

SEATTLE -- Responding to public requests, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has extended the comment period for the proposed plan for cleaning up the Wyckoff Superfund site on Bainbridge Island. It will now close on Dec. 2.

The site, located in Eagle Harbor just across from the state ferry terminal, suffers from soil and groundwater contamination in marine sediments. The proposed cleanup plan is available at the Bainbridge Island Public Library or at the EPA's Seattle Records Center.

Comments should be sent to Hanh Gold, EPA, ECL-115, 1200 Sixth Ave., Seattle, 98101. Her telephone is (206) 553-0171.

Brownfields market disappoints

NATICK, Mass. -- A survey of architecture, engineering and environmental consulting firms conducted by Zweig White & Associates has found widespread disenchantment with the growth of the brownfields market.

Brownfields, or industrial or commercial properties that are underused because of real or potential contamination, have been considered good candidates for cleanup and redevelopment. But in its just-published "Zweig Market Intelligence Focus: Brownfields Outlook for A/E/P & Environmental Consulting Firms," Zweig White found 63 percent of respondents were disappointed with growth in the market.

Only 19 percent of respondents felt the brownfields market met their expectations, and 75 percent think the brownfields talk has been "more hype than reality," Zweig reported.

The report notes, however, that barriers to brownfield redevelopment continue to fall. For that reason, 56 percent of respondents expressed optimism about the market over the next three years. Just 6 percent expect it to decline.

Zweig White is selling copies of its report for $95 a pop, plus $4 shipping and handling. To order, call (800) 466-6275. The firm's Web address is http://www.zwa.com.

Ecology hosts water-quality workshops

OLYMPIA -- Over the next four weeks, the state Department of Ecology will host a series of workshops to show people how to prevent water-quality problems. Such problems can occur when dirt, bacteria, chemicals and other pollutants are washed into surface and groundwater.

The workshops also will discuss Ecology's draft manual, "Stormwater Management in Washington State." The manual is a guide for municipalities, industries and construction companies to use in managing stormwater and preventing water pollution.

Workshops will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the following locations.

• Nov. 10. Renton Community Center, 1715 Maple Valley Highway, Renton.
• Nov. 16. Spokane Falls Community College, Student Union Building, Room 17, 3410 W. Fort George Wright Drive, Spokane.
• Nov. 17. Benton County Public Utility District, 2721 W. 10th Ave., Richland.
• Nov. 18. Ecology's Central Region Office, 15 W. Yakima Ave., Suite 200, Yakima.
• Nov. 30. Water Resources Environmental Education Center, 4600 S.E. Columbia Way, Vancouver.
• Dec. 9. Skagit County Courthouse, Administration Building, Room B, 700 S. Second, Mount Vernon.

For more information, call Mary Getschell at Ecology, (360) 407-6157.

Condors are on the comeback trail

PHOENIX (AP) -- Nine California condors hitched a ride on an airplane Monday from Boise, Idaho, to their new home near the Grand Canyon.

The three males and six females are the latest birds sent out in a reintroduction effort that wildlife officials say has been more successful than expected.

California condors, among the most ancient of North America's birds, were shot, poisoned and electrocuted to near extinction until biologists launched a multimillion-dollar recovery program in the 1980s. Condors were first released in Arizona in 1996.

The latest batch of condors will bring the number of the giant birds in Arizona skies to 29 -- more than the world's total when the program began. Worldwide, there are 168 of the vulture-like scavengers -- 49 in the wild in Arizona and California and 119 in captive-breeding facilities.

"The condor reintroduction program has been doing fantastic in the state," said Rory Aikens, a spokesman for the Arizona Game and Fish Department, one of several state and federal agencies coordinating the effort.

Aikens credits the state's "prime condor habitat" in the Hurricane and Vermillion cliffs north of the Grand Canyon, as well as the support of residents in the area.

The birds, too, are doing their part.

The condors this summer found food on their own rather than relying on provided carcasses, said Jeff Humphrey, spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Phoenix.

Nevada forest boss quits, cites hostility

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- The Forest Service supervisor in charge of national forests in Nevada abruptly announced her resignation Monday, citing an atmosphere of "hostility and distrust" toward federal employees in Nevada.

Locked in a battle over protection of the threatened bull trout as well as mining and livestock grazing controversies in Nevada, Gloria Flora said she intends to leave her post soon after the first of the year.

"Fed-bashing is a sport here and I refuse to sit by quietly and let it happen as many others are doing," Flora, supervisor of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, said in a statement released by the agency's regional headquarters in Ogden, Utah.

"I hope that my departure will call attention to this situation and bring about constructive dialogue on how conditions can be changed," she said.

Flora, who said she'll consider reassignment to another Forest Service post, became supervisor in July 1998 of the Humboldt-Toiyabe -- the largest national forest in the Lower 48 states.

Most recently, she has angered some county, state and federal officials in a heated controversy in Elko County over the protection of the threatened bull trout and the county's desire to rebuild a road within the national forest near Jarbidge, Nev., along the Idaho border.

"We have accomplished some outstanding natural resource work, however, the atmosphere of hostility and distrust toward federal employees is unacceptable," Flora said in the statement Monday.

Forest Service scientists say reconstruction of the road, wiped out in a flood in 1995, could push the last surviving population of the fish in Nevada past the brink of extinction.

A citizen work crew led by state Assemblyman John Carpenter planned to rebuild the road in defiance of the Forest Service during a rebellion on Oct. 9, but a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order after state and federal politicians expressed concern a confrontation could lead to violence.

"I'm shocked and appalled that any individual, particularly a state assemblyman and the county chairman of the Republican Party, would choose to undertake an illegal action against essentially the American people," Flora told The Associated Press in an interview before the court order was issued Oct. 8.

Environmental Watch

Pacific Groundwater adds office, staff

SEATTLE -- Linton Wildrick has joined Pacific Groundwater Group as head of the company's new Olympia office. A former senior hydrogeologist in the state Department of Ecology's Water Resources Division, Wildrick has over 23 years of experience. He has led basin-wide watershed assessments throughout Washington state, has done analyses of interactions betweeen surface and groundwater, and advised state agencies on the hydrologic aspects of water-rights policy.

Also at Pacific Groundwater, Peter Schwartzman, Stephen Swope and Jim Mathieu have been promoted to the position of associate hydrogeologists.

Pacific Groundwater focuses on groundwater management, groundwater development, contamination assessment and hazardous waste investigations. Besides Olympia, the firm has offices in Seattle, Port Townsend and Bainbridge Island.

Corps hearing on Sea-Tac third runway

SEATAC -- In order to go forward with its plans to build a third runway at Sea-Tac Airport, the Port of Seattle must obtain permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Ecology.

A public hearing is to be held by the Corps and Ecology tomorrow evening, Nov. 3, from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Foster Performing Arts Center, 4242 S. 144th St., Tukwila.

Information gathered at the hearing will help the Corps decide whether to issue a Section 404 permit under the Clean Water Act. The port needs this permit in order to fill 18 acres of wetlands in the headwaters of salmon-bearing Miller Creek in Des Moines. Failure to obtain the permit could halt the runway project.

Have lunch with PEMA

SEATTLE -- The Professional Environmental Marketing Association will hold its monthly luncheon tomorrow, Nov. 3, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Rocksalt Steakhouse. The restaurant is located at 1232 Westlake Ave. N. in Seattle.

Local management consultant Clive Shearer will speak on "how to get more done in less time without getting stressed."

The luncheon cost is $20 for members of PEMA or the Northwest Environmental Business Council, $25 for others. For more information, contact Alan Jones at (425) 883-0405, or by e-mail.

No advance registration is required.

Most dairies handle waste properly

OLYMPIA -- The state Department of Ecology, after inspecting 70 percent of the state's dairies for compliance with a year-old law regulating animal waste, has found that 75 percent are doing a good job.

Washington state has 754 dairies. Ecology has launched a new dairy award program, called "Contribution to Clean Water," to honor those dairy farmers who have taken extra care to keep pollution out of streams and ground water. Last week Ecology announced that 16 dairies statewide had received the awards.

The dairy industry's performance, however, is not uniformly excellent. Under the Dairy Nutrient Management Act of 1998, Ecology must inspect all farms by the year 2000; of those inspected so far, the agency has taken enforcement actions at 67. The 18 penalties levied by Ecology totaled $390,000.

King County seeks eco-friendly businesses

SEATTLE -- Come April, King County will host the second annual Northwest EnviroExpo, a consumer products show featuring environmentally-friendly products and services. Accordingly, the county is looking for suitable businesses to exhibit at the show, which will run April 1-2 at the new Stadium Exhibition Center in Seattle.

Last year's event attracted hundreds of exhibitors and about 7,000 visitors.

For more information, contact Dan White at (206) 296-4430, or via e-mail.

Salvage a plant, save a salmon

SEATTLE -- This Saturday, Nov. 6, King County will lead an outing to salvage native plants in the path of a housing development in the Issaquah Highlands. The county is inviting volunteers to dress down and get dirty digging up Indian plum, sword fern, vine maple and other native plants from a site that will be developed by Port Blakely Communities. Salvage work will be done from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The plants later will be replanted along King County streams to protect and restore salmon habitat.

Volunteers should wear old "work" clothes, gloves and rubber boots, and be prepared for rain. Coffee mugs are optional.

For more information, contact Greg Rabourn at (206) 296-1923.

Rabourn also is the guy to call to sign up for a Nov. 13 "naturescaping" workshop and plant salvage event in Redmond. The workshop will be held indoors, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Lake Washington School District Resource Center, 16250 N.E. 73rd St., Redmond. No special clothing is required. The salvage outing will take place from noon to 3 p.m. at a nearby site, and requires grubby clothes as above. Volunteers may sign up for one or both events.

Alternative irrigation proposed

WASHINGTON -- American Rivers, a national river conservation group, yesterday proposed that the federal government should replace irrigation infrastructure that would be lost with removal of Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River.

American Rivers supports removal of the dam to restore salmon runs. But the organization said the 37,000 acres of farmland irrigated by water from the dam should not be left high and dry. And the cost of replacing the water should fall on the federal government, not on the farmers.

American Rivers noted that the farms in question provide 2,256 jobs and generate $72.2 million annually in economic benefits to the region.

Steelhead protection may halt other fishing

WENATCHEE (AP) -- To protect endangered steelhead runs, the Methow, Entiat, Wenatchee and Okanogan rivers must be closed to rainbow trout fishing next year, unhappy state officials say.

Fishing would be limited to whitefish from Dec. 1 to March 31 in the Methow, Entiat and Wenatchee, and to bass and walleye pike in the Okanogan under the state Department of Fish and Wildlife recommendation.

The current season on all four northcentral Washington rivers ends Sunday. The closure would prevent the accidental catch of juvenile steelhead, which are nearly indistinguishable from rainbow.

A decision by the state Fish and Wildlife Commission is expected after public comment is heard Dec. 10-11 in Vancouver, Wash.

"We're not in the least bit happy about this turn of events," said Joe Foster, the agency's regional fisheries program manager.

The closures also would cover a number of tributaries, including the Twisp, Chewuch, Little Wenatchee, Lower Napequa, Icicle, Chiwawa and White rivers.

The National Marine Fisheries Service wants the river systems closed until about 6,500 wild steelhead return to the upper Columbia River. Based on the count at Priest Rapids Dam, state officials expect fewer than 1,500 steelhead to return this year.

Environmental Watch

Wastewater-discharge fees may change

OLYMPIA -- The state Department of Ecology is seeking public comment about proposed changes to its fees for wastewater and stormwater discharge permits.

The fees pay for management of the permitting process. Though the Legislature authorized spending $22 million to manage permitting through 2001, state law requires that permit fees fully cover this cost. So Ecology is proposing adjusting the fees to generate sufficient revenue.

Ecology will hold two public hearings on the issue. Both start at 1:30 p.m.

The first is Oct. 28 in Lacey, in the Department of Ecology Auditorium, 300 Desmond Drive. The second is Oct. 29 in Moses Lake, at Big Bend Community College, Building 1600, Room 1609, 7662 Chanute.

Details of the proposed changes are available on Ecology's Web site. Written comments may be sent to Bev Poston, Dept. of Ecology, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600. The deadline is Nov. 9, 1999.

Globe 2000 conference is coming

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Globe 2000, a biennial conference and trade fair devoted to the environmental industry, will be held in Vancouver from March 22 to 24. Information about the event is posted on the Web, and includes registration forms and preliminary programs. The organizers also may be contacted by telephone at (604) 775-7300 or via e-mail .

Ecology's Site Register to be online

OLYMPIA -- The state Department of Ecology plans to post its Site Register on the Toxics Cleanup Program homepage.

The Site Register is a periodical containing information about the availability of reports, public comment periods and other activities related to cleanup of hazardous-waste sites under the state Model Toxics Control Act. It is issued twice a month.

Besides the regular Site Register, the Web site will also publish the monthly "special issue" version, which contains a list of independent cleanup reports received by the agency.

Both publications will be available by e-mail subscription. Previous subscribers who sign up for the electronic versions will be deleted from the hard-copy mailing list. Ecology officials say the new service should be online by Dec. 14.

Soundkeeper issues 'Dirty Dozen' list

SEATTLE -- Puget Soundkeeper Alliance on Monday released its third annual Clean Water Act Violations Report for Puget Sound. The report lists 50 Puget Sound industries and cities that repeatedly violated their pollution limits under the Clean Water Act in 1998. Twelve facilities, which Soundkeeper calls the "Dirty Dozen," are on the list for the third consecutive year. More than half of them are municipal sewage-treatment plants.

The report also examines the Department of Ecology's enforcement record for chronic violators. Of the 50 facilities listed, only seven were subject to any enforcement action, and only three (6 percent) were fined for their repeated violations, said Puget Soundkeeper B.J. Cummings.

The report names and summarizes the violations and enforcement actions for the 50 chronic violators in 1998. For a copy of the report, contact Puget Soundkeeper Alliance at 206.286.1309, or by email.

Environmental conference is next week

PORTLAND -- The Northwest Environmental Conference will be held Nov. 2 to 3 this year at the DoubleTree Hotel, Jantzen Beach, Ore.

To be presented by Associated Oregon Industries, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Northwest Environmental Business Council, the American Electronics Council and the Washington Department of Ecology, the conference boasts a trade show and environmental management training.

Sessions focus on pollution prevention and strategies that consider environmenal issues before they become problems.

Fees for the event range from $125 to $315, depending on program selections. Questions about program content should be directed to Marianne Fitzgerald, Department of Environmental Quality, (503) 229-5946. For registration information, call EWE-ME & Co. at (503) 644-5614. Exhibit information is available from Shelby Edwards, NEBC, at (503) 227-6361.

Northwest EnviroExpo exhibitors sought

SEATTLE -- The King County Commission for Marketing Recyclable Materials is looking for environmentally responsible manufacturers, retailers and service providers to be either exhibitors or sponsors of the Northwest EnviroExpo.

The event, to be held April 1 and 2, will target mainstream consumers from around the Puget Sound. It will include demonstrations and product discounts.

For more information about exhibiting or sponsoring, contact Dan White at (206) 296-4430.

Gig Harbor firm develops oil-spill remedy

GIG HARBOR -- Environmental Chemical Solutions, a Gig Harbor company, claims its FM 186 product can neutralize the effects of hydrocarbon spills. Ed Grubbs, of ECS, said the water-based product binds with oil and gasoline and forms a dry, inert substance. It can then be discarded in the trash as non-hazardous waste.

Grubbs said FM 186 is in use by trucking companies, service stations and delivery companies.

For more information, contact Grubbs at (253) 853-5999. Or call Bev Holland Tanis, of BT Marketing Services, at (253) 565-8224.

Environmental Watch

Learn erosion & streambank control ...

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. -- Next week the International Erosion Control Association will present three days' worth of training courses in Seattle.

The courses are as follows:

• Oct. 26, Design Procedures for Channel Protection and Streambank Stabilization;
• Oct. 27, How to Put the BEST Back Into Your Best Management Practices; and
• Oct. 28, Biotechnical Erosion Control for Slopes and Streambanks.

All will be held at the Comfort Inn & Suites at 19333 Pacific Highway. S. The price is $225 for IECA members, $245 for others. To register, call the association at (800) 455-4322. Or visit http://www.ieca.org on the Web, click on the 'education' link, then the 'courses' link.

... then learn about salmon

SEATTLE -- Anyone with an interest in salmon may attend a lecture on the fish Nov. 3. To be presented by biologists from King County and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, the talk will cover the salmon life cycle, habitat requirements, the status of local stocks, and steps individuals can take to protect salmon.

The lecture will take place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in the Carco Theater, 1717 Maple Valley Highway.

The following Saturday, Nov. 6, the public is invited to spot salmon in the Cedar River with help from volunteer naturalists. For more information, call (206) 296-9354.

Environmental trade show coming up

SEATTLE -- The city of Seattle and King County on Nov. 3 will hold an information trade show on purchasing environmentally friendly products. Entitled "Protecting the Seattle-King County Environment: Vendor Solutions," the event is intended to bring together existing or potential vendors with local government buyers. Besides Seattle and the county, some 38 cities have been invited.

The event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Seattle Center Flag Pavilion and the next-door Seattle Pavilion. It is part of Seattle's Copernicus Project, which aims to re-engineer and redesign the way in which the city buys goods and services.

For more information, contact Julie Holbrook at (206) 684-4525.

Sustainable-development website launched

ON the WEB -- The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, a nonprofit agency of the European Union, has launched a website devoted to sustainable development.

The site contains an extensive list of links to other organizations who are working on sustainable development, as well as news, reports and meeting notices.

Gray whale deaths likely due to starvation

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Starvation seems the most likely cause of death for more than 100 gray whales found dead along the North American West Coast, a Canadian agency says.

After months of testing samples from the whales that washed ashore last summer, experts at the Department of Fisheries say the marine mammals had too little blubber to sustain them on their long migration from Baja Mexico to the Bering Sea.

"These animals had very low fat reserves," said Dr. Peter Ross of the Fisheries Department. "Their blubber thickness was very thin and they essentially looked like they had starved to death."

Gray whales swim about 18,000 miles from their summer feeding waters in the Bering Sea to Baja Mexico, where they breed, said Ross.

Ross said the buildup of toxins does not appear to be a factor in the whales' deaths.

EPA lacks data on safe drinking water

WASHINGTON (AP) -- With crucial rules on safe drinking water due in stages over the next seven years, the Environmental Protection Agency might lack the needed research to protect the public and the financial health of water utilities, congressional investigators concluded.

Providers of drinking water, and those trying to ensure its safety, told investigators they were concerned with "the adequacy of the research" on arsenic, disinfectants used to treat water and other contaminants.

The General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative arm, said in a report obtained Monday that each year since fiscal 1997, the EPA has asked for less money than the amount authorized under the Safe Drinking Water Act amendments of 1996. EPA earlier this year estimated the "shortfall" in drinking water research at $10 million to $20 million annually between fiscal years 1999 and 2005, the report said.

Water experts interviewed by the investigators "believe that if EPA issues regulations that are more stringent than what is justified by the available research, then water utilities could bear unnecessarily high treatment costs," the report said.

"On the other hand, not having adequate research could have an impact on public health. If EPA decides to set a less stringent standard or defers the regulation of a contaminant because some scientific data are not available, this could mean that consumers would be exposed to harmful contaminants ... ."

The report said EPA seems adequately prepared for the first set of regulations due in August 2001, but may run into problems for the subsequent determinations due by August 2006. Public health studies can take at least four years to plan and conduct, the report noted.

Dr. Norine E. Noonan, assistant administrator at the EPA, wrote the GAO that the agency gives drinking water research "the highest priority." But she said the agency is "balancing EPA's need for research across all environmental activities and keeping in mind balanced budget constraints. EPA funding for drinking water research has doubled from a level of $20.8 million in FY 1995 to $41.5 million in FY 2000."

The report was requested by Rep. Thomas Bliley, R-Va., chairman of the House Commerce Committee. Bliley said he normally opposes giving the administration more money than it requests, but argued that safe drinking water is an exception.

"With safe drinking water, any underfunding of basic research comes at a significant price," he said. "The public health is at stake. We learned this in 1993 when a waterborne organism in Milwaukee's drinking water supply killed 100 people and sickened 400,000 more."

The report said there was a 53.9 percent gap between amounts authorized under the 1996 amendments and the administration's budget request for fiscal 1997. By the current year, fiscal 2000, the gap has been significantly cut but still stands at 14.4 percent.

The GAO said it has learned from some water experts that:

• Studies on arsenic in water "will not be completed in time, in part, because the research was started too late for the results to be available when needed." Some of the experts believe sufficient information exists to take some interim action.

• Research on the effects of certain pathogens, disinfectants and disinfection by-products on children and pregnant women will not be completed in time for the new rules.

• There is concern whether researchers will be able to identify reliable methods for detecting contaminants such as cryptosporidium, the organism that got into the Milwaukee water supply.

Environmental Watch

Natural Step links business, environment

SEATTLE -- A group called Washington Friends of the Natural Step has launched a campaign to make the environmentally friendly business philosophy more widely used in the Northwest.

The Natural Step is an international non-profit environmental education organization active in Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The organization started when Swedish oncologist Dr. Karl-Henrik Robert grew concerned over the growing numbers of children he was treating for cancers, and began looking at environmental causes for these cancers. Since its founding in 1989, The Natural Step has been adopted by companies in the U.S. and around the world, including Nike, McDonalds (Sweden), Electrolux, Interface and the Neil Kelly Co.

According to local proponent Mike Ruby, the Natural Step provides a framework that companies can use to gain strategic competitive advantage through sound environmental choices.

Rather than asking business to pay more and earn less in order to save the environment, the Natural Step uses a systems perspective to carefully examine uses of natural resources and synthetic chemicals. Based on those results, a company can often generate new product ideas with greater profit margins, a stronger customer market, improved employee motivation and reduced environmental impacts, Ruby said.

Several local and regional groups are working to promote TNS in Oregon and Washington. The Washington Friends of The Natural Step is a voluntary group established in 1997. It organized a conference featuring Dr. Karl Henrik Robert in May, 1998, and is continuing to develop further events and activities.

The Oregon Natural Step Network has an active and growing business outreach program based in Portland. In l999, they hosted a 5-day international conference for The Natural Step. Other sustainability interest groups in Olympia, Bellingham, Victoria and Vancouver B.C. are also actively working to engage the business community with the TNS framework.

"There are a lot of companies in the Seattle area who are involved in sustainability and which are trying to reengineer (themselves)," he said. "They really haven't organized."

Washington Friends of the Natural Step (WFNS) will be hosting an Open House, Oct. 28, from 5pm-7pm at the Mountaineers Club, 300 Third Ave. W., in Seattle. The event will feature Brian and Mary Altomare, co-directors of Corporate Initiatives for the TNS-U.S. office in San Francisco. Their recent book, "The Natural Step for Business," profiles four companies that have successfully used the program.

For more information on the open house event, contact Mike Ruby,(206) 633-4456.

ERM adds staff in local office

BELLEVUE -- Environmental Resource Management has named Paul Hausmann as management consultant, and Christopher Bailey as senior engineer. Both work in the firm's Bellevue office.

Hausmann has more than 11 years' experience in environmental consulting, including investigations of liability. As management consultant, he will assist clients with due diligence for mergers and acquisitions, and further assist with environmental compliance issues.

Bailey, a chemical engineer, will manage site investigations, feasibility studies and remediation system design.

Comment period extended for Gorge burn

YAKIMA -- The state Department of Ecology has extended the comment period for a test burn of tire-derived fuel at a sawmill in Bingen.

SDS Lumber is seeking a determination of non-significance and a permit for the burn, which is designed to test whether tire-derived fuel would improve the operation of its hog-fuel boilers.

Sue Billings, of Ecology's air program office in Yakima, said the extended comment period will allow the department time to evaluate comments submitted so far, and will give the public more time to comment.

For more information, contact Joyce Redfield-Wilder at Ecology, (509) 575-2610.

New Carissa proves to be a stubborn wreck

COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) -- Divers battled 10- to 12 foot swells as they reinforced a patch on the beached stern of the New Carissa so that it can be towed out to sea.

Hope had been high that divers would be able to refloat the broken section of the freighter by Saturday, but the heavy seas could add yet another delay, Arnold Witte of the Donjon/Devine Joint Venture salvage operation said Saturday.

Workers are putting the final touches on a 1- by 3-foot patch on the engine room bulkhead, but reflooded the stern to keep it firmly on the bottom.

Salvage workers want to keep the stern from becoming buoyant and rolling against a forward section of seriously damaged steel that will sit on the beach until the bulkhead is hauled away.

The towing operations would require calmer seas of less than 5 feet to prevent another crack in the hull, salvage workers have said.

"As long as we have time and are waiting, we're going to do some further strengthening," Witte said of the patching work. "We're hopeful that Monday might provide an opportunity for a move."

The New Carissa remains hooked to the tug Salvage Chief, which is ready to begin dredging a channel through the sand and pulling against sea anchors to winch the 200-foot stern section off the beach as soon as it can be pumped dry.

Environmental Watch

Ecology expands permit assistance

OLYMPIA -- The state Department of Ecology has just made it easier to get information about permit requirements for projects of all sizes.

The information resides in the department's Permit Assistance Center. It is available by calling the center's toll-free, 24-hour computerized system (800-917-0043) or by visiting one of Ecology's regional field offices.

To make an appointment with a regional office, call one of these individuals:

• Ann Kenney, in the Northwest Regional Office, Bellevue, (425) 649-4310;
• Wendy Bolender, in the Southwest Regional Office, Lacey, (360) 407-6957;
• Doug Jayne, in the Eastern Regional Office, Spokane, (509) 456-3162;
• Randall Doneen, in the Central Regional Office, (509) 457-7125.

More information is available at Ecology's Web page.

Anchor Environmental adds staff

SEATTLE -- Anchor Environmental, L.L.C., an environmental science and engineering consulting firm, has hired Margaret McCauley to perform field coordination, biological assessments, engineering analysis and preparation of reports and feasibility studies.

McCauley is an environmental engineer and scientist with a background in wetlands ecology, aquatic chemistry, water resources and wastewater treatment.

Anchor is working on projects across North America, including the Northwest, the West Coast, the Great Lakes, the Gulf Coast, the Midwest, Alaska and Canada. For more information, contact John Verduin at (206) 287-9130 or see the firm's web site.

Staff changes at Montgomery Watson

BELLEVUE -- The Bellevue office of Montgomery Watson has promoted William Blaylock to vice president. A 10-year veteran with the firm, he also manages the Bellevue office. At the same time, Jay Cooke has been promoted to senior engineer and Wendy Gibble has advanced to supervising engineer. Carrie Zitka has joined the marketing department.

Blaylock currently is project manager for the Landsburg fish passage project for Seattle Public Utilities.

Global warming blitz to be announced

SEATTLE -- A coalition of business, health, science and environmental groups tomorrow will launch a massive, statewide public-education campaign on global warming. The multimillion-dollar blitz is designed to raise the public's awareness of global warming and to spur people to action.

The Washington Coalition for Global Warming Solutions includes the National Environmental Trust, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Trace Engineering, Earthday 2000, the Union of Concerned Scientists, Climate Solutions and Univeristy of Washington faculty.

Salmon restoration projects blooming

KING COUNTY -- Two salmon-stream restoration projects had volunteers out by the hundreds last Saturday. One of them, Newaukum Creek, near Enumclaw, attracted King County Executive Ron Sims, County Councilmember Larry Phillips and State Rep. Mike Stensen, who hailed it as a model of cooperation among disparate interest groups.

Among the groups were local landowners, the Muckelshoot Indian Tribe, Weyerhaeuser, Arco, Dairy Women of King and Pierce Counties, the Dairy Federation and others. They have worked together since 1991 to restore habitat for Chinook, coho and chum salmon. The effort has engaged over 4,000 people.

Farther north, the Sammamish River in Woodinville got a boost from 400 volunteers who planted more than 4,000 native trees and shrubs along 1,000 feet of the waterway, just south of Wilmot Gateway Park. It was just the first of four planned days to improve habitat in the Sammamish.

Eventually, the county and cities of Bothell, Woodinville and Redmond hope to line the entire river with shade trees for salmon. The partnership, called Sammamish ReLeaf, builds on the work of past restoration projects, in which volunteers planted 23,000 trees and shrubs.

For more information contact Carolyn Duncan at (206) 296-8304.

Some people aren't there yet

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Workers will go to Johnson Creek in southeast Portland this week to move rocks by hand to make sure fish can get to their upstream spawning beds.

The crushed rock was dumped into the creek bed by workers under the direction of a city engineer. The idea was to shore up an exposed sewer line in the creek, but the workers overdid it and tore up a beaver dam while they were at it.

Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman says he's encouraging city workers to be move environmentally sensitive.

Evil weed is on the march

PHOENIX (AP) -- Agriculture officials are looking for ways to fight a fast-growing weed threatening to clog waterways and snuff out native plants and animals in the lower Colorado River.

The plant, Salvinia molesta, was found in the river last month. Botanists say it proliferates so quickly it can double in mass in as little as three days and cover 40 square miles within a few months. The plant retains heat, making water too hot for fish, and reduces the water's oxygen content.

"It's like a big green solar blanket. Heat goes into the blanket and wouldn't necessarily come back out. That's like a slow cooker," said Chuck Minckley, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife in Parker.

Salvinia molesta was found in an irrigation drain on the California side of the lower Colorado River that runs from Blythe to Palo Verde. The weed -- a native to Brazil -- already has clogged water reservoirs in Texas and Louisiana and has turned up in Alabama, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma and Hawaii.

It is illegal to possess or sell Salvinia molesta in the United States, but it has been sold as plants for ponds and aquariums, officials said.

The weed could spring up anywhere in Arizona since it can grow in temperature ranges from freezing to more than 100 degrees, Minckley said Wednesday.

In the worst-case scenario, the weed could affect game fishing, water recreation and irrigation flow, he said.

Arizona agriculture officials are working to prevent that from happening in the Central Arizona Project, the canal that transports Colorado River water to central and southern Arizona. Among the methods being considered are herbicides, mechanical collection and weed-chomping beetles or carp.

Plant-eating carp were used successfully in California to eliminate another alien plant -- hydrilla -- in the 1970s and '80s. They are bred to be sterile to eliminate competition with other fish.

Officials at the Imperial Irrigation District in California -- where Salvinia was found last month -- say they hope the carp will work again.

The weed often is spread by boats and Jet Skis, when fragments of the plant break off and are inadvertently taken to other waters. Such spreading could be prevented by thoroughly cleaning boats and other equipment.

"It has lots of potential. Very bad potential," Minckley said. "Sooner or later it's going to go exponential if we can't stop it."