October 30, 2001

Environmental Watch: Corps to study Chehalis basin

SEATTLE -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is gearing up for a study of ecosystem restoration and flood mitigation in the Chehalis River basin.

The study area is over 2,600 square miles running from the headwaters of the Chehalis to Grays Harbor. It is the second largest watershed in the state.

The output of the study will recommend actions and projects that significantly improve fish and wildlife habitat and natural processes in the basin.

A public workshop on the study will be held at 7 p.m. on Nov. 14 at the Army Corps office, 4735 East Marginal Way South in Seattle. Contact Project Manager Lori Morris at (206) 764-3604 for more information.

Jones & Stokes buys Beak Portland

PORTLAND -- The environmental consulting firm Jones & Stokes has acquired the Portland office of Beak Consultants, Inc. The Portland operation was a subsidiary of Canadian company Beak International Inc.

The acquisition adds 15 people to Jones & Stokes and gives the company its first presence in the Portland area. Based in Sacramento, Jones & Stokes has had an office in Bellevue for over 20 years and has other offices in Southern California, the Bay Area, Phoenix and Ashland, Ore.

"We are very excited about the Portland operation. The historical knowledge and reputation of Beak in the Northwest is outstanding," said John Cowdery, president of Jones & Stokes.

Jones & Stokes was founded in 1970.

Ecology fines Emerald Services

OLYMPIA -- An oil recycler and a dangerous waste handler both owned by Seattle-based Emerald Services Inc. have been fined by the state Department of Ecology.

In Seattle, Emerald Petroleum Services Inc. was fined $42,500 for accepting waste in violation of its permit and discharging 77,000 gallons of chromium-tainted wastewater to King County's West Point treatment plant.

Emerald Services Inc. of Tacoma was fined $28,500 for improper waste storage and screening.

Ecology says Emerald is working with the agency to solve its problems, praising the firm's responsiveness.

Globe 2002 set for March 13-15

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The world's largest environmental business fair will be held next March in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Globe 2002 will look at how major developments in energy policy and sustainable development can be translated into technology solutions and business opportunities, according to conference materials.

Confirmed exhibitors include Golder Associates, concrete giant LaFarge Canada, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Lynnwood-based remediation technology firm Keeco and dozens more.

Pavilions will include the United States, the state of Pennsylvania and a number of other foreign governments and Canadian provinces.

To register go to http://www.globe2002.com or call (604) 775-7300. A discount is available if registration is completed before the end of October. The conference will run from March 13 through March 15.

Elk Creek Dam notching could start in Jan.

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has not given up on cutting a notch in the Elk Creek Dam to improve fish passage for threatened coho salmon in the Rogue River.

The corps is seeking a state water quality permit for some preliminary work that needs to be done before the actual notching can begin. It includes building a rip-rap wall and some rock weirs at the base of the dam, and realigning the creekbed. The public has until Nov. 23 to comment.

Pending funding from Congress, the corps plans to award a final contract for building a fish passage corridor by January, said spokeswoman Heidi Helwig.

Local political pressure has kept Congress from funding dam-breaching, but Helwig said the Corps of Engineers still feels that notching remains the best option, both scientifically and economically.

Since 1987, crews have been trapping salmon and steelhead at the base of the dam, hauling them in trucks upstream and releasing them to reach spawning habitat. The trap-haul system cost $8 million.

First authorized in 1962 as part of a three-dam, flood-control project on the Rogue River, the Elk Creek Dam was stopped by a federal injunction in 1987 after the corps failed to assess the dam's impact on Rogue River fish.

In 1995, the corps abandoned the project after spending $100 million. Two years later it proposed partial demolition to enhance fish passage.

Superfund sticker shock in Silver Valley

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) -- State officials said the uncertain costs of the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed plan to cleanup heavy metals from Silver Valley mining is unacceptable.

The plan proposed by the agency calls for initial cleanup measures at a cost of $359 million over 20 to 30 years. But it would lead to an overall cleanup alternative that would cost $1.3 billion.

"We're supposed to bring certainty here. Not more confusion," said Steve Allred, director of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.

Allred said dollar estimates for the agency's first increment are similar to the state's estimate for total cleanup.

"There is something else lurking out there," Allred said. "There is no way we would ever figure there is $1.3 billion in work required in that basin."

Allred had yet to see full proposal.

Because the agency's Record of Decision is now delayed until late winter or spring, no Superfund is likely to begin next year.

The cleanup effort may receive some funds from litigation and settlements with mining companies.

In the meantime, U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, with support from the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, has introduced a bill to authorize $250 million from the U.S. Treasury over a 20-year period.

The funds would not be intended to get mining companies or the Environmental Protection Agency off the hook. The bill would not affect agency's ability to seek recovery from mining companies or funds from Superfund.

Biodegradable packaging for OSU meals

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) -- Oregon State University plans to reduce the impact of its cafeteria waste on landfills by using completely biodegradable food packaging for takeout orders.

The packaging is made from a new material that consists primarily of limestone and renewable starch, said Rich Turnbull, director of dining services for OSU.

The environmentally friendly containers, plates and bowls will be used when food is ordered "to go," which accounts for about one-third of all orders.

Turnbull said 50,000 disposable plates and 40,000 bowls are used at campus dining centers annually.

"The shift to completely biodegradable packaging will have a positive impact on the environment," Turnbull said.

Oregon State is purchasing the new material from EarthShell Corp., which says colleges account for about $500 million of the $9 billion disposable food packaging market nationally.

"The product looks and feels like Styrofoam," Turnbull said. "But we put the plate in a blender with some water for about 10 seconds and nothing came out but water and limestone."

Wind power tax break ends Dec. 31

SEATTLE (AP) -- A federal tax credit designed to promote the development of wind power may be allowed to expire this year -- a potentially heavy blow to the burgeoning wind farming industry in the Pacific Northwest.

The credit, which is scheduled to run out on Dec. 31, grants a tax credit of 1.7 cents per kilowatt hour for new wind-power facilities for the first 10 years of a plant's operations.

Regional power-marketing agency the Bonneville Power Administration has made extensive use of the tax credit. BPA officials say several developments would be jeopardized if the credit is not extended.

"It would have a huge effect on our ability to do additional wind," said BPA spokesman George Darr. "We told the developers from the very beginning that our ability depended on renewal of the production tax credit because of the huge impact on the price."

Wind power still accounts for a very small percentage of the nation's power generation. But wind farms are less expensive than new coal or nuclear plants and, with the credit, they are competitive with new gas facilities.