June 7, 2005

Environmental Watch: Pioneer Industries wins waste award

SEATTLE — King County recently recognized Seattle sheet metal manufacturer Pioneer Industries for its industrial waste program. The county gave 51 certificates to big users of the industrial waste system that have gone for at least a year without violations at one of their industrial sites.

Pioneer has more than 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space in two facilities, where it assembles commercial and aerospace machinery. Work includes laser and water jet cutting, punching, shearing and welding.

King County officials talk with business people about ways to prevent pollution, as well as cut waste and water use. For more information, see http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/indwaste/map.htm.

Ecology issues penalties of $500K

BELLEVUE — The Department of Ecology has issued penalties of $508,501 this year to companies for pollution. A quarterly list of companies penalized more than $1,000 came out recently. Here are those fined $10,000 or more in January, February and March.

• Shelton’s D&E Septic Services was issued a $268,740 fine for illegally dumping septic tank waste and sewer sludge in Mason County.

• Auburn’s Safeway got a $96,000 fine for releasing polluted water from a construction project.

• Asotin County’s Rock’N J Properties got a $25,000 fine for damage to the Grande Ronde River shoreline. Construction work was done without proper permits.

• Lakewood’s Specialty Products mishandled tons of highly flammable hazardous materials and failed to report spills, resulting in a $16,000 penalty.

• Clark County’s Tomasos Brothers was issued a $12,000 penalty for spilling an estimated 519 gallons of bunker oil into the Columbia River from the vessel M/T Rosa Tomasos.

• Kelso-based Stowe Woodward Co. got a $12,000 fine for violating pollution limits of its water discharge permit.

• Gary Correll of Nine Mile Falls in Spokane County got a $10,000 fine for violating the terms of his shoreline conditional-use permit.

$200K to help fish during drought

OLYMPIA — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has set aside about $200,000 to carry out projects designed to help fish survive this year's drought.

The emergency funding will pay for about two dozen projects to save and move fish. Money will be used to get more water for four state hatcheries, treat fish disease and extend boat launches. Poor water quality and high temperatures can lead to more fish diseases in hatcheries. The department is also is getting ready to move any fish that get stranded in shallow streams.

Projects are set to happen in southeast and south-central Washington, with more now being planned for late summer and early fall.

"We are most concerned about July, August and September, when adult fish return," said Steve Keller, the department's drought-response coordinator. Teams will track weather conditions and stream flows.

Citizens are being asked not to pile rocks in streams in ways that form small dams. The practice is illegal and could devastate local fish populations, especially during a drought year.

Survey finds 391 fish barriers in 8 streams

EVERETT — The Adopt-A-Stream Foundation will hold a press conference Wednesday to release results of a study on barriers to salmon migration. The talk starts at 8:30 a.m. at the Northwest Stream Center, 600 128th St. S.E. in Everett.

For five years, the foundation looked for barriers in creeks: McAleer, Lyon, Swamp, North, Little Bear, Bear, Quilceda and Allen. They found 391 barriers in just eight small streams. Undersized culverts and concrete dams are among the items blocking fish passage.

More than half of the blocked passages were on private property. "We knew from past experience that people have created a lot of obstacles for salmon," said the foundation's senior ecologist Tom Hardy. "But even we were surprised by how many we found in these small stream systems."

Funds for the study came from the Washington State Department of Ecology, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington State Department of Natural Resources and King and Snohomish counties.

For more information see http://www.streamkeeper.org or call Tom Murdoch, AASF Director, at (425) 316-8592.

Stimson Marina wins EnviroStar award

SEATTLE — King County officials recently gave Seattle's Stimson Marina its highest rating under EnviroStars, a program that rewards businesses that volunteer to reduce their pollution.

Two other Seattle-area marinas are also EnviroStars: Shilshole Bay Marina and Elliott Bay Marina.

Stimson got the highest five-star rating on the EnviroStars Clean Marina scale. Stimson is at 5265 Shilshole Ave. N.W. in Ballard.

Several groups helped Stimson get certification: Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, King County's Local Hazardous Waste Management Program and the Northwest Marine Trade Association.

For more information about the EnviroStars Cooperative, call King County's Laurel Tomchick at (206) 263-3063, or Chris Wilke at Puget Soundkeeper Alliance at (206) 297-7002. Also see www.envirostars.org and www.pugetsoundkeeper.org.