Environmental Watch: June 1 seminar on green interiors

PORTLAND — The Corporate Realty, Design & Management Institute is offering a June 1 seminar in Seattle on how to create green interiors. It will be at the Renaissance Hotel, 515 Madison St., from 7:45 a.m. to noon.

The seminar is targeted to building owners and managers, covering topics such as legal pitfalls, LEED rating systems for existing buildings and ways to distinguish between what is sustainable and what is "greenwash."

Corporate Realty's Glenn Fischer says more people are asking how to do green design for interiors. Alan Whitson, who is also with Corporate Realty and will be a speaker, writes on this and other green design topics.

Other speakers will be Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership's Elaine Wine, Cathy Stieg of Stieg Design and Paul Berry, who was an owner's project manager for the city of Seattle.

Business conference on energy issues

BELLEVUE — Energy groups and utilities are offering a conference May 24 at Bellevue's Meydenbauer Center, 11100 N.E. Sixth St, that will look at ways people can operate facilities more efficiently.

The "Powerful Business Conference" topics will include energy management issues commercial facility owners and managers face, as well as ways people can partner in order to save energy and money.

Northwest Energy Efficiency Council and the Electric League of the Pacific Northwest are sponsors along with Seattle City Light, Puget Sound Energy and Snohomish County PUD. Cost is $125. For more information, call (425) 646-4727 or see http://www.electricleague.net.

State testing ferns to remove arsenic

OLYMPIA — The Department of Ecology is doing a study on an arsenic-absorbing Asian fern that could help clean contaminated soils on Vashon and Maury islands.

Ecology officials say soils in parts of the islands have high concentrations of arsenic caused by emissions from an Asarco smelter, which ran for nearly a century before it closed in 1986.

Ecology's two-year study of Chinese brake fern (Pteris vittatae) will look at how well the plants grow in this climate, how much arsenic they absorb, and if they are a risk as an invasive species.

Funds for the $30,000 project come from taxes on hazardous substances.

Test plots will be set up in Dockton Park on Maury Island and on Vashon school district property on Vashon Island. Public Health-Seattle & King County will periodically take samples of the soil and plants. Ecology is looking for volunteers to help tend plots. For more information, see http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/sites/tacoma_smelter/ts_hp.htm.

$400K for King County brownfields study

SEATTLE — King County Executive Ron Sims recently announced the county will get $400,000 in grant funds to study brownfield sites. Grants go to businesses, organizations and municipalities to study vacant or underused sites that could have contamination.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Solid Waste and Environmental Response awarded the county two $200,000 assessment grants, bringing the county's total for these kinds of funds from the agency to $1.3 million since 1998. King County could use the funds for studies of a former oil facility in the city of Enumclaw and a gasoline plume in the city of North Bend.

For more information, contact Lucy Auster, a senior planner at King County Solid Waste Division, at (206) 296-8476 or lucy.auster@metrokc.gov. Also see http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/brownfields/index.asp.

Meeting set for Sultan dam relicensing

EVERETT — Snohomish County PUD and the city of Everett will hold public meetings this month and next month as part of a relicensing process for hydroelectric facilities.

The PUD operates the Jackson Hydroelectric Project in the Sultan Basin east of Everett, which it says provides energy and water for 80 percent of the people who live in Snohomish County. The PUD and the city are co-licensees, and their license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission expires in 2011. They're looking for a new 50-year license. Public meetings to talk about the project will be:

Open house, May 23 at the Community Center Building, 319 Main St., Sultan, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Tour June 6 of Jackson Project facilities and recreation sites beginning in Sultan Park. It starts at 9 a.m and ends at 5 p.m. RSVP is required.

Stakeholders meeting June 7 at the PUD Building, 2320 California St. in Everett, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. People can talk about their concerns about the relicensing process.

SSA Marine eyes biodiesel

SEATTLE — Increasing fuel costs are prompting Seattle-based SSA Marine to look at using biodiesel in place of traditional fuels.

"This is something I am very interested in," company President and Chief Executive Officer Jon Hemingway told the Port of Seattle Commission last week. He added he wants to work with the port on fostering development of a biodiesel distribution system.

Is Hawaii volcano a health risk?

VOLCANO, Hawaii (AP) — Kilauea volcano, one of Hawaii's most popular tourist attractions, is also by far the state's worst air polluter. Researchers now are trying to determine if that also makes it one of the state's biggest health risks.

Since it began erupting on Jan. 3, 1983, the volcano has been sending an average of 1,000 metric tons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere each day, according to the Hawaii chapter of the American Lung Association.

This is 6,000 times the amount emitted by a major industrial polluter on the mainland, making Kilauea the nation's top producer of sulfur dioxide.

The sulfur dioxide from Kilauea reacts with other chemicals in the air to form a hazy, naturally occurring pollution known locally as "vog," or volcanic smog. When the lava enters the ocean, concentrations of hydrochloric acid are also formed.

Although research teams have conducted a number of studies over the past two decades, definitive conclusions on vog dangers have yet to emerge.

Environmental Watch: Stormwater Management adds three

PORTLAND — Stormwater Management recently added three engineers in training to its technical sales team: Robert Bartels, Emily Newell and Geoff Mok. They'll provide engineering support for the company's water quality products for clients around the country.

Bartels spent six years in the U.S. Naval Reserve, and received a certificate in information systems and operations through the Naval Post Graduate School. Newell was an intern at an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based consulting engineering firm. Mok will be based in Elkridge, Md., and work with East Coast clients.

Snohomish County updates shoreline plan

EVERETT — Snohomish County officials will hold open houses May 17-18 to inform people about the county's Shoreline Management Program updates. Open houses are targeted at property owners with land along rivers, lakes or marine shorelines. They will be held:

• May 17 in Everett at Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

• May 18 in Arlington at Arlington High School Commons, 18821 Crown Ridge Blvd., from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Getting community input is a required part of the Shoreline Management Program update. For more information, call project manager Karen Stewart at (425) 388-3311 ext. 2420.

Low impact development seminar May 18

KIRKLAND — Lorman Education Services is offering a May 18 seminar in Bellevue on "Low Impact Development in Puget Sound." It will be at Master Builders Assocation of King & Snohomish Counties, 335 116th Ave. S.E. in Bellevue.

Principals from Kirkland-based Triad Associates will be among the speakers. Triad spokesperson David Manning says residential developers and builders are doing more with less as stormwater detention standards and land prices get higher.

The upcoming seminar will cover how low impact development works, when it should be used, and ways developers and jurisdictions can mitigate legal responsibilities.

Other speakers include CamWest Development's founder Eric Campbell, and the writers of a low impact development manual for Puget Sound, Curtis Koger and Curtis Hinman. Randolph R. Sleight is chief engineering officer of Snohomish County Department of Planning and Development Servcies, and worked on the Critical Areas Regulations.

Sessions will be from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Registration starts at 8:30 p.m., cost is $329. For more information, call (888) 678-5565.

Cedar River watershed tour May 21

NORTH BEND — Seattle Public Utilities is offering a van tour of Cedar River watershed wetlands on May 21 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The tour starts at the Cedar River Watershed Education Center, east of North Bend.

Tour guide Clay Antieau will talk about wetlands environments in the region, such as an 80-acre bog, sedge meadows at Chester Morse Lake and a recently restored beaver wetland system in the Rock Creek basin. The tour costs $15. Register by calling (206) 233-1515 or writing to crwprograms@seattle.gov.

Snohomish PUD looks at future power

EVERETT — Snohomish County Public Utility District seeks public comment through May 31 on the types of power resources it will use in coming years. These will be in addition to power the utility gets from the Bonneville Power Administration.

The PUD is set to issue a final plan in early June on power resources it plans to use. For more information, see http://www.snopud.com or call (425) 783-8275.

Gas Works Park section may open

BELLEVUE — The Department of Ecology seeks public comment on a proposal to open the northwestern part of Gas Works Park to the public, following completion of a cleanup of contaminated soil.

Opening the area would mean amending an agreement between Ecology, the city of Seattle and the former property owner, Puget Sound Energy. The agreement covers overall park cleanup and monitoring.

A public comment period on the proposal runs through June 2. Send comments to John Keeling, site manager, Washington Department of Ecology, Toxics Cleanup Program, 3190 160th Ave. S.E., Bellevue WA 98008. Or call (425) 649-7052 or e-mail jkee461@ecy.wa.gov. For more information, see http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/sites/gaswkspk/gaswks.htm.

Seattle garbage truck driver wins award

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Seattle garbage truck driver Darrell Merkel was picked by the Environmental Industry Associations as public sector driver of the year.

Bruce Parker, the association's president and chief executive officer, recognized Merkel for his safety record. Merkel has been driving for 30 years without an accident on record. "I get along with the customers because I try to stay out of the way," he said.

He is a senior member of Seattle's trucking team, and shows new drivers how to operate equipment.

Environmental Industry Associations is a nonprofit trade association that represents for-profit companies in the waste service and equipment industry.

Trucking company fined $24,500 for I-5 spill

BELLEVUE — The Department of Ecology has fined the owner of a tank truck that crashed and burned on July 12, 2003, on Interstate 5 in Lynnwood $24,500 for spilling gasoline into nearby waters and wetlands.

Ecology found that Portland-based Harris Transportation Co.'s negligence contributed to that spill.

According to a Washington State Patrol report, the truck and trailer — carrying 11,300 gallons of gasoline — veered off the right side of the northbound roadway, striking the railing of the 44th Avenue overpass after the driver fell asleep at the wheel. The driver has been sentenced in Snohomish County District Court for reckless driving.

The truck and trailer caught fire after hitting the rail. The trailer rolled onto its side. About 2,244 gallons of gasoline and an undetermined amount of fire-fighting foam entered drainage channels, a freeway stormwater pond and wetlands of Scriber Creek. The creek feeds into Swamp Creek, which drains to Lake Washington.

About 2,835 gallons of gasoline soaked into soil along the freeway. As part of cleanup, more than 70 cubic yards of contaminated soil were removed. About 3,449 gallons of gasoline were recovered from the wreck.

Harris can appeal the penalty to Ecology or to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board.

Environmental Watch: Carter to head Audubon Washington

Carter

SEATTLE — Nina Carter is the new executive director of Audubon Washington, the state field office of the National Audubon Society.

Carter has 21 years of experience in public policy and environmental work, and was at the state departments of Fish and Wildlife, Ecology, and Parks and Recreation. She was on the city council in Olympia and was an environmental studies professor at Evergreen State College.

She has directed Audubon Washington's policy team for four years and will continue to do so, along with field director Heath Packard, who will contact elected officials and agency staff in Olympia and across the state.

Audubon's policy team is connected with 26 affiliated Audubon societies in Washington. Audubon Washington aims to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds and other wildlife, and their habitats.

Floyd|Snider moves to new space

SEATTLE — The environmental consulting firm Floyd|Snider moved from Pioneer Square to new offices at Two Union Square, 601 Union St., Suite 600 in Seattle.

The phone number, fax number and Web address are the same. Phone is (206) 292-2078, fax is (206) 682-7867. The Web address is http://www.floydsnider.com. Floyd|Snider provides engineering, strategic project management and scientific expertise.

Ecology gives B.C. firm Ecopro award

OLYMPIA — Vancouver, B.C.-based company Island Tug and Barge Ltd. recently received an award from the Department of Ecology for its maritime safety standards.

The award is called Ecopro, or Exceptional Compliance Program Award, which Ecology says goes to companies that go beyond basic compliance. Island Tug is the first tug and barge company to win this recognition since the program started six years ago.

Island Tug meets all 26 of Ecology's maritime safety standards for tank barges such as management practices, maintenance and inspection, emergency preparedness, vessel tracking and security issues.

Island Tug President Robert Shields says his company handles a large part of Western Canada's marine petroleum transportation requirements. Ecology officials say recent maritime casualties around the world have made it more important to keep improving international maritime regulations, training and procedures.

Stormwater merges with Vortechnics

PORTLAND — Portland-based company Stormwater Management has merged with a Maine company called Vortechnics.

Both are part of Middletown, Ohio-based Contech Construction Products, a company that offers services and products for site development such as corrugated metal, geotextiles, erosion control products and retaining wall systems.

Stormwater and Vortechnics were acquired by Contech. They both focus on treating stormwtater. The combined company is yet to be named, but will be headquartered in Scarborough, Maine. Sales offices and facilities for both will remain at their current locations. Together, they'll have two testing labs, 160 employees and revenues of nearly $60 million.

The new management for the combined company will be as follows: Vortechnics' David R. Miley is chief executive officer and Stormwater Management's David Pollock is chief operating officer. Eric Roach is chief financial officer, Jim Lenhart is chief technology officer, Lanz Fritz is vice president of operations, Fran Tighe is vice president of development and Tom Gorrivan is national sales manager.

Jay Manning to speak on water law

SEATTLE — Law Seminars International holds its 14th annual conference on Washington Water Law May 19-20 at the Renaissance Seattle Hotel, 515 Madison St. in Seattle.

Jay Manning, the new director of the Washington State Department of Ecology, will give a talk on May 19 at 8:45 a.m. A keynote address by King County Executive Ron Sims will be on May 20 at 8:30 a.m.

The conference is targeted to water law practitioners and water resources managers. Co-chairs are Sarah Mack of the Mentor Law Group in Seattle and Matthew D. Wells of Preston Gates & Ellis in Seattle.

The conference will focus on how the legal, policy and environmental landscape for Washington water law is changing, with a new administration in Olympia, new programs that address competing interests on the Columbia River, and new information on global climate change and how it affects water resources. For more information, call Scott Paine at (206) 567-4490.

Use It Again, Seattle! May 14 and 22

SEATTLE — Seattle Public Utilities hosts two events this month for people to drop off or pick up reusable items for free.

The "Use It Again, Seattle Road Show" will take place May 14 and May 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Sand Point's Magnuson Park, at Northeast 65th Street and Sand Point Way.

Appliances in good working condition will be accepted for reuse, except refrigerators and freezers. Toilets and other porcelain will be taken for recycling, as will metal frames, bicycles and old tools. Good, reusable clothing will be accepted and donated to charity. Free mulch will be offered while supplies last.

Items that won't be accepted: tires, mattresses or box springs, TVs and computer equipment.

For more information, call (206) 615-0701. To find out how to properly get rid of household hazardous waste, call (206) 296-4692. Also see http://www.seattle.gov/util/useitagain.

Eco-friendly yard care items on sale

TACOMA — Pierce County home improvement stores are offering discounted eco-friendly yard care items through May 15 as part of Northwest Natural Yard Days, a program co-sponsored by Tacoma Public Works Environmental Services and Tacoma Water.

Products such as mulching mowers, organic fertilizer, moss killer, slug control and soaker hoses will be offered at reduced prices at all Pierce County Lowe's and Home Depot stores, and Ace Hardware stores in Lakewood and Tacoma.

Environmental Watch: Mason, Bruce adds services, staff

Holt	Greene
Voth	Reese

PORTLAND — The natural resources consulting firm Mason, Bruce & Girard has added staff in its Portland headquarters, opened a new line of business in forest certification and expanded forest planning services.

Brad Holt will do forest certification. He has 27 years of forest and ecosystem management experience with Boise Cascade, including five years as forest certification manager. Roger Greene's 30 years of forest management experience includes work on projects as large as 1.2 million acres. Greene has been a lecturer at the University of Maine and at the Maine Maritime Academy.

Ellen Voth will be a project manager in MB&G's forestry inventory and biometrics group. She worked for Boise Cascade and has eight years of experience as a forest analyst.

GIS technician Sarah Robinson is the fifth person in the company's GIS Service Group. Robinson has six years of experience in GIS data integration and production. Gayla Reese is the new marketing manager, with 19 years of experience in the A/E/C industry.

Mason, Bruce & Girard has staff in Washington, Idaho, California, Maine and Virginia. The company says last year its most financially successful in 85 years.

Geotech engineer rejoins Hart Crowser

Chen

SEATTLE — Engineer Barry S. Chen has rejoined the Seattle office of Hart Crowser as a principal in the geotechnical engineering division.

Chen's 20 years of experience includes work on building and campus development, transportation and infrastructure projects. He worked on the new Amgen Helix Campus, Pier 59 Seattle Aquarium Retrofit and Seattle Central Library.

Hart Crower provides geotechnical engineering, environmental engineering and natural resource services, with offices are in Seattle, Edmonds, Portland and Anchorage.

ASES seeks nominees for solar awards

BOULDER, Colo. — The American Solar Energy Society is taking nominations for its annual awards.

The society will recognize people who are contributing to the field of solar and renewable energy at an awards ceremony during the National Solar Energy Conference. One award will go to a person whose work has helped women advance in the solar energy field. Another will go to a graduate student working on solar energy applications.

To submit a nomination, see http://www.ases.org. The deadline is May 1. Send completed forms to: ASES, 2400 Central Ave., A, Boulder, CO 80301, or fax to (303) 443-3212, or e-mail to: ases@ases.org.

EPA to regulate air on reservations

SEATTLE — New federal rules that take effect June 7 will put some restrictions on air emissions on Indian reservations. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Acting Administrator Steve Johnson signed what are being called the Federal Air Rules for Reservations.

The rules will regulate air emissions on 39 Indian reservations in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

"No Pacific Northwest tribes have EPA-approved rules," said Ron Kreizenbeck, acting administrator of EPA's regional office in Seattle. Few federal Clean Air Act rules exist now for Indian reservation land because states don't have jurisdiction there.

The new rules will apply to tribal and non-tribal individuals and businesses within the federally recognized boundaries of Indian reservations. Sources would have to report emissions and there would be procedures for air pollution emergencies and rules for open burning. Industrial sources would be regulated for particulates, sulfur dioxide and fugitive emissions.

For more information contact EPA at (800) 424-4372 or see http://www.epa.gov/r10earth/FARR.htm.

Seattle’s sustainability series continues

SEATTLE — The city of Seattle is running a series of lectures on urban sustainability. Here’s what’s planned for the coming months.

Building Healthy Places today with Richard Jackson, state public health officer of the California Department of Health Services.

Inspiring Urban Revitalization on May 2 with Tom Bloxham, co-founder of Manchester, U.K.-based Urban Splash.

Civic Innovation & Sustainable Communities on May 9 with William Shutkin, chief executive officer of the Orton Family Foundation.

Public Spaces, Public Life on June 6 with Jan Gehl, founding partner of Gehl Architects and a professor of urban design at the school of architecture, Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.

A talk on rainwater harvesting and green roof technology is tentatively scheduled for June 16 with German experts Klaus Konig, an architect, and Marco Schmidt, a research associate at Berlin Technical University.

Seattle’s Ecological Footprint: Present and Future on June 20, with Dahlia Chazan, who co-directs the sustainability indicators program for an Oakland, Calif.-based group called Redefining Progress.

Green Development = Economic Development on July 11 with Bert Gregory, president of Mithun.

LEED for Neighborhood Development on Aug. 8 with Doug Farr, principal of Farr Associates and a co-chair of the LEED for Neighborhoods.

An Oct. 28 talk (tentative) on green development for profitability will be led by Joe Van Belleghem, a developer in Victoria, B.C., who will share his experience on ways developers can increase profitability by doing green development. For more information, contact Lynne Barker, DPD Sustainable Development Planner, at (206) 684-0806 or lynne.barker@seattle.gov.

Environmental Watch: Kennedy/Jenks opens Eugene office

Walz	Detweiler	Hazelhurst
Stevenson	Wright

PORTLAND — A new office in Eugene, Ore., will let Kennedy/Jenks Consultants work more closely with clients in southern Oregon and northern California. The staff is made of people who have done work in these places, and focus on water and wastewater projects.

Ronald Walz has 16 years of experience in wastewater planning and treatment plant hydraulic design. John Detweiler has two dozen years of experience in design and construction of municipal and industrial water and wastewater projects.

Monty Hazlehurst does water and wastewater treatment plant projects. Gene Stevenson has 32 years of experience designing and drafting infrastructure projects in CAD. Charles Wright's experience is in design and construction management of wastewater facilities.

Brad Musick will help the Eugene staff from his base in nearby Corvallis, working with water and wastewater utilities.

Kennedy/Jenks is a San Francisco-based engineering and environmental consulting firm with 21 offices throughout the west.

Hosaka joins Landau in Tigard

Hosaka

EDMONDS — Landau Associates named Terry Hosaka manager of its Tigard, Ore., office. He will focus on technical, managerial and business development at the growing office. Hosaka managed the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's cleanup and emergency response program, setting program policy and overseeing restoration projects.

He also oversaw environmental restoration as a project manager at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, run by the Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Edmonds-based Landau is an 80-person environmental, geotechnical and natural resources consulting services firm. It has offices in Tacoma and Spokane.

BBL adds staff in Seattle office

SEATTLE — Environmental consulting firm Blasland, Bouck & Lee added Barry Kellems to its Seattle office. The environmental engineer will focus on sediment and upland remediation, as well as stormwater and wastewater treatment systems.

With 20 years of experience, Kellems specializes in evaluating treatment technologies and putting them into practice. He has done engineering work at shipyards, tank farms and along rivers.

BBL says it has been adding staff steadily in the last three years to work on projects at ports and harbors. Kellems is project engineer for water treatment at an engineered containment facility to be built in Hamilton Harbour in Lake Ontario, Canada.

Helbrecht to manage Biodiversity Council

OLYMPIA — The Washington Biodiversity Council named Lynn Helbrecht as its new executive coordinator.

Helbrecht was at the Washington Department of Ecology as a senior environmental planner and was a sustainability coordinator in the Governor's Executive Policy Office. She represented Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington on the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable board of directors.

Helbrecht will manage the work of the Biodiversity Council, created last year by then Governor Gary Locke to promote conservation of Washington's biodiversity. The council is developing a 30-year plan to conserve biodiversity. Landowner incentives and public outreach could be part of that plan.

Biodiversity includes habitats, the ways species and habitats interact, and processes that support those interactions, the council says. Threats to biodiversity include habitat fragmentation, degradation and conversion, as well as global climate change and invasion of exotic plant and animal species.

Alt-fuel vehicle rally Saturday

SEATTLE — The city of Seattle will hold an event Saturday to show the public alternatives to gasoline-powered vehicles.

The Alternatively Fueled Vehicle Rally will be held at Magnuson Park, 7400 Sand Point Way N.E. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Seattle Parks and Recreation and other city staff are sponsors.

On display will be electric cars, bicycles, trucks and natural gas-fueled vehicles from independent companies. Industry representatives will be able to answer questions.

Officials say in the central Puget Sound region about 60 percent of emissions that speed global warming comes from tailpipes. About 70 percent of toxic air pollution comes from diesel emissions from trucks, buses, ships, and other sources.

For more information, call the Discovery Park Environmental Learning Center at (206) 733-9434.

Sustainability conference in Seattle

SEATTLE — Forty Northwest-area sustainability experts will be in Seattle this weekend at a conference.

The event is offered by the Northwest Environmental Education Council and will be held April 22-24 at the Mountaineers Conference Center.

Speakers include Northwest Environmental Watch Executive Director Alan Durning, King County Executive Ron Sims and Puget Sound Action Team Director Brad Ack, documentary filmmaker John DeGraaf, author Cecile Andrews, and Bob Orenalas, former mayor of Arcata, Calif., and founder of Mad River Brewing.

Cost is $50 for a three-day pass or $20 per day. For more information, call Rachel Smith at (206) 762-1976 or rsmith@nweec.org.

EnviroExpo, conference in Boston

CHICAGO — The 17th annual EnviroExpo & Conference will be held May 3-4 in Boston. The conference theme is "Managing the Environment in the 21st Century" and it is targeted to environmental professionals in industry and government.

For information, contact Michael Scheibach, conference director, at mscheibach@zweigwhite.com or (816) 350-2049.

Environmental Watch: Tacoma port names Lin enviro manager

Lin

TACOMA — Environmental engineer Cindy Lin moved to Tacoma from Nashville, Tenn., for two reasons: work and family. The Port of Tacoma appointed her environmental compliance manager, and her mother and siblings live near Kirkland.

Lin will focus on stormwater management as part of the Port's pollution prevention efforts. She'll also work with managers at other Puget Sound-area ports to gather data on maritime diesel emissions for a study that starts this summer.

Lin has 19 years of experience in environmental engineering, most recently with HCA., Inc., a Nashville-based company that builds and runs health care facilities. She started her career on the regulatory side, working for the state of Kansas, after studying civil engineering at a university in Taiwan and at Oklahoma State University, where she got a PhD.

The Port of Tacoma handles more than $29 billion in annual trade and is a major center for bulk cargoes and automobiles.

Farallon Consulting geologist gets license

Mulhern

BELLINGHAM — Farallon Consulting staff geologist Tracey Mulhern has passed a national exam to get licensed as a geologist in the state of Washington. Exams are administered by the National Association of State Boards of Geology.

Mulhern does site assessments for contaminated properties around the state with Farallon, an environmental consulting firm that focuses on site characterization and remediation services. It has 32 staff in offices in Issaquah and Bellingham.

Redmond's R-Trip wins EPA award

REDMOND — The city of Redmond won an award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week for its program to cut commuter trips.

Redmond's R-Trip, or Trip Reduction Incentive Program, was one of 13 the EPA recognized for air quality improvement. Local and state governments, industries and citizen groups competed for the award.

Redmond city officials say R-Trip is part of the city's commitment to the Kyoto Protocol to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Last year 80,000 vehicle trips were eliminated, corresponding to a cut of 200,000 pounds of pollutants.

R-Trip is a public/private partnership between the city of Redmond, King County Metro Transit, the Greater Redmond Transportation Management Association and Redmond employers. For more information, see http://www.gortrip.com or call (425) 702-8001 ext. 202.

Chambers Creek workshops start April 14

TACOMA — Pierce County holds the first of a series of public workshops on the update of the Chambers Creek Properties Master Site Plan this week.

The Chambers Creek Properties Master Site Plan guides the development of the 930-acre property, located along Puget Sound in the city of University Place.

The plan will be updated to include completed projects, priorities for the next 10 years and potential new uses.

Sessions will be held Thursday through Saturday at the Pierce County Environmental Services Building, 9850 64th St. W., University Place. Other workshops will be held May 5-7 and May 26-28.

For more information, see http://www.piercecountywa.org/ccp or call Anne-Marie Marshall-Dody at (253) 798-4140.

Creation Station joins LinkUp

SEATTLE — Creation Station, a crafts store and art studio, is the newest partner in King County's LinkUp program, which was started to expand markets for recycled materials.

Creation Station sells surplus and recycled materials, including plastics (film canisters, pipette trays and bottles), paper (food labels, scrap paper and file folders) and wood (utility spools and colored sticks). About 60 percent of its retail sales are recycled items.

King County officials say paper, wood, metals, yard waste, food waste and electronics make up 60 percent of waste in the county's landfill.

Creation Station has been in business for about 16 years and is located at 19511 64th Ave. W. in Lynnwood. LinkUp will help update its Web site (http://www.creationstationinc.com), and may also assist with marketing.

EcoBuilding Guild's Earth Day event

SPOKANE — The Northwest EcoBuilding Guild's Inland chapter offers an Earth Day event on April 23 in Spokane.

Its theme is "Sustaining the Earth," which is based on indicators of sustainability developed by the Northwest Environment Watch: energy, economy, health, pollution, transportation, forests and population.

The event will be held at Riverfront Park Gondola Meadows from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. To get involved or for more information, contact Tom Angell at (509) 747-7647 or tomangell@earthlink.net.

PSU looks at behavior, climate change

PORTLAND — Researchers at Portland State University are looking at how human behavior impacts urban climates, such as how public policy may influence heat waves or air quality, focusing on Houston and Portland.

The study, called "Complex Interactions Among Urban Climate, Air Quality and Adaptive-Reactive Human Response," is funded by a $1.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation's Biocomplexity in the Environment initiative. The project runs through February 2009.

Environmental Watch: Ack reappointed as Action Team chair

Ack

SEATTLE — Gov. Christine Gregoire announced she was reappointing Brad Ack to lead the Puget Sound Action Team partnership.

"I am directing him to lead our efforts to scale up the state's response to the continuing challenges in the sound," she said. There is a $31.5 million budget proposal for the 2005-2007 Puget Sound Conservation and Recovery plan and $5 million for Hood Canal recovery efforts.

Ack's experience includes work in environmental policy and management in Latin America and the southwestern U.S. He became Action Team chair in 2003.

DNR names Acker south sound manager

OLYMPIA — Commissioner of Public Lands Doug Sutherland last week named Randy Acker to manage the Department of Natural Resources' south Puget Sound region. Acker replaces Eric Schroff, who will manage DNR's Pacific Cascade region.

Acker was director of government relations. He started his career here in 1986 as non-partisan staff to the Ways and Means Committee in the Washington House of Representatives. He later worked for the House Appropriations, Capital, and Natural Resources and Parks committees. He was also state forester, representing Washington in the National Association of State Foresters and the Council of Western State Foresters.

Kennedy/Jenks moves Portland office

PORTLAND — Kennedy/Jenks Consultants, Engineers & Scientists moved its Portland office from Naito Parkway to the 200 Market Place Building near downtown Portland.

Kennedy/Jenks opened a Portland office 11 years ago with a staff of 10. The group now has 50 employees who were in four separate suites in the same building.

PSE to help county save energy

SEATTLE — King County and Puget Sound Energy have launched a conservation program expected to save the county $200,000 in the program's first year.

Executive Ron Sims last week announced the partnership, saying King County will start conserving in the Department of Natural Resources and Parks, and eventually expand countywide.

PSE will pay 25 percent of the first year's salary for a resource conservation manager to get the program running. It will also provide a grant to buy resource-tracking software.

Savings are expected to come from making more efficient use of electricity and natural gas, as well as cutting the amount of solid waste produced and water consumed.

PSE officials say small savings can be achieved with little or no investment in new equipment, and can yield 10 percent to 15 percent cost reductions within three years.

'What Makes it Green?' April 28-29

SEATTLE — AIA Seattle's Committee on the Environment will hold a sustainability event April 28-29 in Seattle to celebrate Earth Day. It takes place in the Bertha Knight Landes Room at City Hall.

On the morning of the 28th there will be an eco-charette led by moderators from the design and building industries. "Exploring Sustainable Design Through Collaboration" will be moderated by Nathan Good, who is involved in AIA and Better Bricks.

Projects submitted to a competition called "What Makes it Green?" will be the topic of the afternoon discussion, and will be critiqued by audience and panel members.

The next day there will be a tour of green projects. Sponsors include the city of Seattle, the Lighting Design Lab and area architecture and engineering companies.

Cost is $100 for AIA members, or $150. Register online at www.aiaseattle.org/wmig2005. For more information, call AIA Seattle at (206) 448-4938.

Ecology funds weed control study

OLYMPIA — The state Department of Ecology awarded a $10,500 grant to the state Department of Agriculture to study ways of controlling yellow flag iris, a noxious weed that invades lake shorelines and high quality wetlands.

The Department of Agriculture will contract with Washington State University to check effectiveness of chemical weed killers on the plant.

They'll also look at how well non-chemical control methods work, like pulling seedlings by hand, digging out mature plants, cutting or mowing.

Agriculture also will come up with a brochure about the yellow flag iris to inform people about ways to control the weed.

The Ecology grant comes from the Aquatic Weeds Management Fund. This fiscal year Ecology offered about $450,000 from this fund to local governments for high priority projects.

Environmental Watch: WWU students study sea grass, volcano

Photo courtesy of WWU WWU student Richard Davis uses a submersible to take samples from an underwater volcano. Dives were funded by NOAA.

BELLINGHAM — Two Western Washington University graduate students recently won grants for environmental studies.

Graduate student Richard Gwozdz won a $10,000 scholarship to research sea grasses in Padilla Bay, an estuary at the northern edge of the Skagit River delta. Biology graduate student Richard Davis dove nearly a mile deep to collect samples from vents at an underwater volcano near Hawaii.

Gwozdz will study how sea grasses react to changes in sedimentation, elevation and sea level in the bay. Data will be used to predict how floodwater diversion affects sea grass habitat.

Davis collected microbial samples near a large crater at the summit of Loihi Seamount, a volcano that will one day be the next island in the Hawaiian Islands chain. The volcano had a major eruption in 1996 and has since been expelling hot hydrothermal fluids that support the growth of microbial mats. Changes can be tracked by correlating shifting bacteria species with nutrients coming out of vents. Work is part of the Iron Microbial Observatory project, a five-year study funded by the National Science Foundation.

Safeway fined $96K for pollution

OLYMPIA — The Department of Ecology fined Safeway $96,000 for actions by its contractors that polluted underground and surface water.

Ecology said this pollution occurred between September 2003 and December 2004 at the corner of Northwest Ellingston Road and C Street Southeast in Auburn, at a 105-acre site where a 766,000-square-foot grocery warehouse and a 514,000-square-foot refrigerated warehouse were being constructed. Contractors mixed concrete and cleaned concrete equipment without proper safeguards to protect water quality, according to Ecology officials.

They say Safeway agreed to install bermed asphalt pads and lined detention ponds to keep contaminated water from discharging into the ground, as part of Ecology's permit for the project. But Ecology said inspectors found places where safeguards weren't used or were incomplete.

Safeway's director of public and government affairs, Cherie Myers, said Safeway will carry out its own investigation. Safeway may appeal the fine to Ecology or to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board.

Ecology may take sites off toxic list

BELLEVUE — The Department of Ecology has proposed removing two properties from its list of hazardous sites. A property known as the General Disposal site at 1415 N.W. Ballard Way has undergone cleanup. So has a two-acre lot in Kirkland known as the former Katco Sales site at 12735 Willows Rd.

Ecology invites public comment through April 21 before it removes the sites from the list. For more information, see http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0509061.html and http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0509062.html.

Puget Sound/Georgia Basin conference

SEATTLE — The 2005 Puget Sound/Georgia Basin Conference starts today and runs for three days at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center downtown.

The focus is on recent research and ongoing efforts to improve the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin ecosystem. Topics include coastal science research, stormwater management and the nearshore environment. One thousand people are expected to participate, including researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, who will cover ways to deal with climate change. For more information, see http://www.engr.washington.edu/epp/psgb/save.html.

Local company wins NOAA award

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently gave Taylor Shellfish Farms of Shelton an award for business leadership.

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell visited the company's Mason County headquarters to view expansion efforts there, and nominated Taylor for the award.

NOAA officials presented the award to Taylor Shellfish Farms President Bill Taylor and his brother Paul in Washington, D.C. The company was recognized for leadership in promoting coastal stewardship.

Taylor Shellfish Farms is a family-owned company with 370 employees farming shellfish on 9,000 acres of tideland, both owned and leased, in Puget Sound and Willapa Bay. The company produces Manila clams, Mediterranean mussels, geoducks and frozen oysters for national and international markets.

Workshops on drought-tolerant plants

SEATTLE — King County and Seattle Public Utilities are offering free workshops today and tomorrow on how to make landscapes that can tolerate droughts. Today's workshop will be at Rainier Beach High School, 8815 Seward Park Ave S., in Seattle. Tomorrow's is at Carnation Elementary School, 4950 Tolt Ave. in Carnation.

Workshops will cover native plants, how to improve soil, shrink lawns and reduce the amount of time and energy spent on yard work. Participants will be eligible to travel to a site to dig native plants for personal projects.

To learn more about naturescaping with native plants or for directions to the workshops, see http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/PI/calendar.htm or contact Greg Rabourn at (206) 296-1923 or greg.rabourn@metrokc.gov.

Seattle's series on sustainability

SEATTLE — The city of Seattle is running a series on urban sustainability, and here are some of the upcoming events:

• Local Politics of Sustainability on April 4 with Robert Costanza, director of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, University of Vermont.

• Building Healthy Places on April 26 with Richard Jackson, state public health officer of the California Department of Health Services.

• Inspiring Urban Revitalization on May 2 with Tom Bloxham, co-founder of Manchester, U.K.-based Urban Splash.

• Civic Innovation & Sustainable Communities on May 9 with William Shutkin, chief executive officer of the Orton Family Foundation.

Other events are scheduled for June through August. For more information, contact Lynne Barker, DPD Sustainable Development Planner, at (206) 684-0806 or lynne.barker@seattle.gov.

Environmental Watch: Herrera adds staff in Seattle

Lancaster

Levin

SEATTLE — Herrera Environmental Consultants added Alice Lancaster as a project engineer. Lancaster is working on a combined sewer overflow reduction project for Seattle Public Utilities and doing an environmental assessment for a multimodal terminal in Mukilteo. Lancaster specializes in surface water and hydraulic engineering, and works on urban stream rehabilitation design.

Erika Levin joined as a project assistant in Herrera's planning and natural resources groups.

Blasland, Bouck & Lee adds staff

SEATTLE — Blasland, Bouck & Lee added to its Portland office Sam Fisher, an engineer-in-training who will work on upland source control for the Port of Portland. Mollie Hart is an administrative assistant with 14 years of experience in office management and will work on human resources at the company's Portland office.

Also in Portland is Jeremy Kobor, a scientist who did water-quality monitoring during a cap placement at the Pacific Sound Resources Superfund site in Elliott Bay. Jesse Starr is a scientist with experience in field sampling, surface mapping and computer modeling.

Billie-Jo Thibault is a scientist who will be based in the Beverly, Mass., office and do groundwater sampling and site assessments.

Gas Works cleanup comments sought

SEATTLE — The Washington Department of Ecology seeks comment on an agreed order for site cleanup of a sediment area off-shore from the Gas Works Park on the north shore of Lake Union.

A public meeting on the order between Ecology, the city of Seattle and Puget Sound Energy will be held March 31 at St. Benedict School, 4811 Wallingford Ave. N. in Seattle from 7 to 9 p.m. The comment period runs through April 16.

Gas companies operated a plant there that converted coal and oil into manufactured gas. Nearby the American Tar Co. refined coal tar that was a byproduct of those processes, and made coal tar-based products. Contaminants include petroleum compounds, PAHs and benzene. Cleanup took place between 2000 and 2001 and monitoring continues.

Ecological restoration group to meet here

SEATTLE — The Society for Ecological Restoration's Northwest chapter hosts a regional conference in Seattle April 4-8 at Washington State Convention & Trade Center in Seattle.

Speakers include University of Washington geomorphology professor David R. Montgomery, ecological design author Stuart Cowan and environmental expert Terry Tempest Williams.

As part of the conference, the talk "Where in the World are We Going? How Nature, Cities and Culture can Flourish in the 21st Century" will be held April 6 at Seattle's Town Hall from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $15, call (800) 838-3006.

For more information, contact University of Washington, 10303 Meridian Ave. N. #301, Seattle WA 98133-9483 or call (206) 543-5539 or (866) 791-1275. Register online at https://www.engr.washington.edu/epp/ser/registration.html. Also see http://www.sernw.org.

GreenWorld forum on sustainable design

SEATTLE — Jean-Michel Cousteau will be the featured speaker at the April 7 GreenWorld forum on sustainable design, to be held at Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle from 5 to 10:30 p.m.

GreenWorld is an annual community forum on sustainable design for designers, architects, manufacturers, suppliers and people of the greater Northwest to learn about sustainable design.

Cousteau is an explorer, educator and film producer and the son of oceanographer Jacques Cousteau.

The expo is being offered by the International Interior Design Association's Northern Pacific chapter. More than 400 are expected to attend.

Seattle nonprofit Sustainable Style Foundation hosts a reception afterwards. Tickets are $35 for students, $55 for the general public. Contact Justine Kish at justinekish@comcast.net or (425) 260-0418. Also see http://www.sustainablestyle.org.

Mercury scrap bill debated in Olympia

SEATTLE — The state Senate recently voted 35-13 to require auto makers to pay to remove mercury components from scrap vehicles. The Environmental Protection Agency says such scraps are the country's biggest source of unregulated mercury emissions.

The bill is being debated in Olympia and would require vehicle manufacturers to fund a system to remove and manage mercury switches. At least 90 percent of mercury switches would have to be removed from scrap vehicles.

The legislation was developed by a coalition of auto recyclers, steel shredders, steel mills, local governments and environmental organizations.

For more information, contact Mo McBroom, staff attorney, Washington Public Interest Research Group at (206) 799-1589.

Ecology proposes hatchery permit update

OLYMPIA -— The Washington Department of Ecology has proposed updates to a permit that governs water discharged by the state's non-federal and non-tribal fish hatcheries.

Some of the revisions would require hatcheries to submit plans for preventing pollution, manage solid wastes, sample water quality and use a checklist to report chemicals they use.

Public comment is being sought on the proposal to amend and reissue the permit, which comes up for renewal every five years. A public workshop and hearing will be held today in Lacey at Ecology's main auditorium, 300 Desmond Dr. at 7 p.m.

About 80 public and private fish hatcheries operate under the permits, which direct steps they must take to limit pollution. It regulates fish fecal matter, fish food, dead fish and chemicals in water discharged from the hatcheries.

For more information or to comment on the proposal, contact Lori LeVander at (425) 649-7039, by e-mail at llev461@ecy.wa.gov, or by mail at Department of Ecology, 3190 160th Ave. S.E., Bellevue 98008-5452. The comment period runs through April 1. The draft is posted at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/permits.

Environmental Watch: Free workshop on low streamflows March 21

SEATTLE — Scientists with the Pacific Northwest Climate Impacts Group are offering a free workshop March 21 on ways water managers, and business and government leaders can cope with the low streamflows expected this year.

The Washington Water Outlook workshop will be held in Seattle at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration campus, Building 9, 7500, Sandpoint Way N.E.

Scientists that have developed techniques to predict streamflows six months in advance include those at the University of Washington, the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service and the National Weather Service.

The workshop will take a look at this year's expected flows and climate conditions that influenced them.

For more information and to register, see http://cses.washington.edu/cig/outreach/washwateroutlook.shtml. Also, call Philip Mote at (206) 616-5346 or e-mail philip@atmos.washington.edu.

Clean energy index now trading on AMEX

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — PowerShares Capital Management has introduced a new exchange traded fund based on the WilderHill Clean Energy Index, which is comprised of companies that focus on renewable and clean energy within the energy sector.

The "PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio" (AMEX: PBW) began trading on the American Stock Exchange this month.

The index uses modified equal dollar weighting and is composed of companies focusing in: cleaner utilities, energy conversion, cleaner fuels, energy storage, renewable energy harvesting, and power delivery and conservation.

Robert Wilder created the index as a benchmark for the clean and renewable energy sector. Wilder says the total clean energy market for wind, solar and fuel cells will grow to $92 billion in 2013, roughly seven times its present size. The cost of wind and solar technology has declined by 80 percent over the past two decades. For more information, see www.WilderShares.com or call (303) 665-4200.

Green/Duwamish group puts out fish plan

SEATTLE — The Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed group is calling for public comment on its draft plan for salmon habitat.

The draft lists high-value habitat to protect, programs to address stormwater, land use and public involvement, and specific restoration projects. The watershed includes the Green/Duwamish River basin and the smaller streams from Seattle to Federal Way.

Evening open houses will be held:

• March 22 at Renton City Hall, 1055 S. Grady Way in Renton

• March 23 at Auburn City Hall, 25 W. Main in Auburn

A public comment period runs through April 25. Comments can be sent through the Web site, http://dnr.metrokc.gov/Wrias/9/HabitatPlan.htm. A copy of the draft is posted here and copies are also at city halls and libraries.

A final version will become part of the wider Puget Sound Shared Strategy approach to salmon recovery. For more information, contact Dennis Clark at (206) 296-1909 or dennis.clark@metrokc.gov.

Seattle green home lecture series starts

SEATTLE — Seattle Public Utilities and the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild are sponsoring a free lecture series on how people can make their homes greener. Lectures will be held at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave. and start March 22. Others are set for March 29, April 12, April 20, May 2 and May 10.

Design professionals, contractors, and homeowners who have used green strategies on remodels and landscapes will cover topics such as green roofs, architectural salvage, water efficient landscaping and solar energy systems.

The city's guides to green home remodels are posted at www.seattle.gov/sustainablebuilding/greenhome.htm.

$87K for monitoring South Prairie Creek

OLYMPIA — The Pierce Conservation District received a grant for nearly $87,000 from the Department of Ecology for monitoring and recovery efforts of South Prairie Creek in Pierce County. Money will be used to train volunteers.

South Prairie Creek has unacceptably high levels of fecal coliform contaminants and other problems, but it is a productive salmon spawning area in the Puyallup River system. Failing septic systems and waste from livestock operations leeching into the creek, removal of trees and other things have caused an increase in the water's temperature, threatening salmon eggs.

The 22-mile creek begins east of Burnett and empties into the Carbon River a few miles east of Orting.

Free workshop on waste prevention March 31

SEATTLE — A free half-day workshop on waste prevention and recycling will be held in Seattle on March 31 at 201 S. Jackson St. Topics include electronics recycling, green building and the Starbucks internal recycling program.

There will be representatives from Kitsap County's WasteWise Program, Wilder Environmental Consulting, King County's green building program and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. To sign up, contact Tom Watson at tom.watson@metrokc.gov or (206) 296-4481.

King County offers fluorescent lamp recycling

SEATTLE — King County is offering free fluorescent lamp recycling services for small businesses this month.

Businesses can recycle up to 25 fluorescent or high intensity discharge lamps for free at locations in King County. Recycling costs are usually about eight to 10 cents per foot.

Call to confirm schedules and locations at these participating businesses: Ecolights in Seattle (206) 343-1247, PSC in Georgetown and Kent (800) 228-7872, Keep It Clean Recycling (425) 868-3535, Safety-Kleen in Lynnwood and Auburn (425) 775-7030 or (253) 939-2022. For more information see www.govlink.org/hazwaste/business/fluor or call (206) 296-3976.

Port sets aside $10.1M for environment work

SEATTLE — Port of Seattle commissioners have appropriated $10.1 million for environmental investigations and outside professional service agreements.

Commissioners also appropriated $2 million for a series of outside professional service agreements to provide lab services. The port will use open-order agreements, meaning the port will select several companies to do the work. Selected firms will be placed on the port's rosters.

Environmental Watch: New enviro firm: Clear Creek Solutions

Beyerlein

EVERETT — Three people have bought the Northwest offices of Everett-based Aqua Terra Consultants to start Clear Creek Solutions, an environmental consulting firm that will provide stormwater-related software and consulting services.

Co-founders Doug Beyerlein, Joe Brascher and Shanon White have 50 years of combined experience creating and using computational tools for stormwater and water resources design.

Clear Creek works on software development and support services for the Washington state Department of Ecology and San Francisco Bay Area local government agencies. It also provides hydrologic modeling to local jurisdictions and engineering consulting firms.

Clear Creek will publish a book next month to help stormwater design specialists use some of the Department of Ecology's modeling software. For more information contact Doug Beyerlein at (425) 337-6778 or e-mail Beyerlein@clearcreeksolutions.com.

Stormwater Management adds staff

Hagen

PORTLAND — Portland company Stormwater Management added Tim Hagen as a filtration media specialist. The company provides stormwater treatment products and expertise.

Hagen has 19 years of experience in finding ways to pelletize peat and other organic materials. He will work on new types of filtration media to treat stormwater. Hagen got a patent in 2002 for a method of turning peat into a dense pellet with unique disintegration and expansion properties when it is exposed to water.

USDA offers energy grant workshops

OLYMPIA — U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural development group is offering free workshops today and tomorrow to tell rural small business owners and agricultural producers about energy efficiency grants they may be eligible for.

The workshop will be today in Mount Vernon at Skagit 911 Center Training Room at 2911 E. College Way. On Wednesday it will be in Port Hadlock at Washington State University Extension, 201 W. Patison.

Business owners can get grants to help cut their energy costs. Agricultural producers can apply for funds for projects designed to boost the market value of their products.

Eligible projects include systems that generate energy from wind, solar, biomass, or geothermal sources, or that produce hydrogen derived from biomass or water using a renewable energy source. Energy efficiency improvement projects also count.

Since the program started four years ago, more than $2 million has been distributed to 25 recipients in Washington. For more information, contact Cassandra Gonzalez at (360) 428-4322 ext. 156. Find out about the USDA Rural Development at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/wa.

EnviroIssues adds staff in Portland

PORTLAND — Local public involvement and facilitation firm EnviroIssues added Nate Lesiuk as an associate in Portland. Lesiuk was an associate account executive at global public relations firm Weber Shandwick.

EnviroIssues consults with government and industry groups on complex technical and regulatory projects. The company provides services in public involvement, facilitation, mediation and technical integration. Lesiuk will work on the city of Portland's watershed planning efforts. EnviroIssues also has offices in Seattle and Richland. This is its 15th year.

New board members for USGBC chapter

PORTLAND — The Cascadia chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council has added new board members and invites its members to meet them in Portland on Friday. The meeting will be at the chapter's office building, the Ecotrust Building, 721 N.W. Ninth Ave., from 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. No RSVP is required.

Newly elected board members are Dennis Wilde of Gerding/Edlen Development in Portland, Freda Pagani of University of British Columbia Sustainability in Vancouver, and Dale Mikkelsen of the city of Vancouver.

The board named Rob Bennett as chair, Peter Clark as vice chair, Randell Leach as treasurer and Kathleen O'Brien as secretary. The chapter has 19 board members.

Two EcoBuilding Guild events in Spokane

SPOKANE — Tomorrow Alan Durning of Northwest Environment Watch will give a presentation on energy issues. The talk will be held at Spokane City Council Chambers, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd., Spokane, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Durning is the founder and executive director of Northwest Environment Watch, a research center that promotes sustainability in the Northwest. He will cover the Cascadia Scorecard, a project that tracks what the organization says are indicators of progress in the Northwest.

On March 17 the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild holds its chapter meeting in Spokane at Valley Library, 12004 E. Main Ave., Spokane, from 7 to 9 p.m. Members and guests are invited to meet officers and board members.

For more information contact Ginger Denning ernestlee11@msn.com or Thomas W. Angell, president of EcoBuilding Guild's Inland chapter at (509) 747-7647 or tomangell@earthlink.net.

Volunteers needed for salmon projects

SEATTLE — King County seeks volunteers to help plant native trees and shrubs along the Snoqualmie River on Saturday. The goal is to reforest an area next to prime spawning grounds for chum, pink and chinook salmon. Volunteers are needed from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Chinook Bend Natural Area in the Snoqualmie Valley.

Volunteers are also needed April 2 for habitat restoration projects at Tolt MacDonald Park, which is located in Carnation.

For more information, contact Tina Miller at (206) 296-2990 or see http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/pi/waiver.htm.