May 7, 2002

Environmental Watch: Water quality conference in June

SEATTLE -- A two-day conference on water quality and stormwater will be held in Seattle next month.

The conference will focus on emerging regulatory issues in the region. Speakers include Galen Schuler of Perkins Coie, Ronald Lavigne of the state Department of Ecology, Will Stelle of Preston Gates & Ellis, Marcia Lagerloef of the Environmental Protection Agency and Robert Turner of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The conference begins Monday, June 17 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. Regular tuition is $595 for both days. Attendance qualifies for 14.5 continuing legal education credits. Real estate and planning credits are pending. To register or for more information call (206) 621-1938.

Turbine test for McNary Dam

WALLA WALLA -- Two Pacific Northwest federal agencies are teaming up to explore improvements to the Columbia River hydroelectric power plant at McNary Dam.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bonneville Power Administration plan to install and test a fully operational prototype turbine in the McNary Dam powerhouse near Umatilla, Ore.

The improvements will include new turbines designed to improve fish passage and energy output. The project could result in replacing all 14 turbines and related electrical equipment at the dam.

The Walla Walla District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently soliciting proposals to evaluate potential contractors for prototype turbine designs. Some of the contractors will be chosen to design and build scale models. The models will be subjected to an extensive series of hydraulic and performance tests and then evaluated for biological suitability, power efficiency and price.

Cause of shrinking island debated

REEDSPORT, Ore. (AP) -- Brandy Bar was named after the first American vessel to navigate the Umpqua River ran aground on it in 1850 and the crew washed away its sorrows with brandy.

Neighbors of the bar 10 miles east of Reedsport fear the island itself may be washing away, and that gravel dredging may be to blame. Aerial photos show the seven-acre island has lost nearly a third of its mass since 1981, and locals say it continues to shrink. They blame the dredging.

Federal and state officials, however, say rivers are constantly changing course and wearing away banks and islands.

But aerial photos have led the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Oregon Division of State Lands to cite the dredging company, Umpqua River Navigation, for violations of its dredging permit.

The permits allow Umpqua River Navigation to remove up to 200,000 cubic yards of material, enough to fill about 6,500 dump trucks, each year.

The state plans to assess a $506 fine against the company for digging too close to the island and for failing to keep the proper slope in the dredged holes.

Robert Rose of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the erosion could be natural. "Rivers are alive," he said. "We could leave it alone forever and it will move or disappear."

GE buys Enron wind assets

NEW YORK (Dow Jones/AP) -- The judge in Enron Corp.'s bankruptcy case has approved a company proposal for allocating the $325 million cash proceeds from the sale of its wind-turbine business.

Judge Arthur Gonzalez's approval removed the last official hurdle for Enron's asset sales to General Electric Co. Earlier in the day, the deal also won the nod from European antitrust regulators.

With the bankruptcy judge's ruling, Enron's European operations that own the wind-turbine assets will get 63 percent, or $204 million, of the sale proceeds from General Electric. The rest of the proceeds, about $121 million, will go to Enron's U.S. owners of the assets.

At a hearing Tuesday, several Enron creditors in the U.S. objected to the proposed distribution as unfair to Enron's U.S. entities, and thus jeopardizing the U.S. creditors' financial recovery.

But Steven Zelin, senior managing director at the Blackstone Group -- Enron's restructuring adviser -- defended the proposed allocation as consistent with the nature of the sale.

"This is an acquisition of Enron Wind (by GE) as a going concern" and so the valuation and proceed-distribution decisions should be based on the assets' earnings capability, Zelin said.

Turkey manure aids new wetlands

LYNNVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- The transformation of one of the state's largest abandoned coal mines into a wetland is relying on an unusual ingredient -- about 1,200 truckloads of turkey manure.

At least that's what Indiana Division of Reclamation officials are banking on as they roll up their sleeves and plug their noses in southeastern Indiana.

"There's no doubt about it, it will take your breath away," Steve Herbert, the agency's assistant director for restoration, said about the $5.2 million project. "Even a quarter of a mile away, it will bring tears to your eyes."

The turkey manure -- with its high nitrogen content -- will be used to fertilize the wetlands, which are designed as a passive treatment system to purify acidic mine run-off water.

Turkey manure "used to be a liability, but these days it's almost an asset," said Roger Seger, part-owner of Wabash Valley Produce in nearby Dubois.

Seger's store is selling 30,000 tons of it to the state at $15 a ton for the project, said Jeff Bussing, the project manager for state contractor Koester Contracting Corp. of Evansville.

In recent years, building wetlands using turkey or chicken manure has proven an effective method to purify water on abandoned mine sites in Illinois and other mining states, said Mick Ahrens, a natural resources specialist with the federal Office of Surface Mining in Alton, Ill.

"When it comes out, it should be good water," Ahrens said. "Turkey manure is one of those things that's cheap, but it's very good for these. You can use commercial fertilizer, but this is a better product."