January 14, 2003

Environmental Watch: Chinese coming to talk about cleanups

SEATTLE -- A delegation of Chinese environmental decision makers will be in town next week to talk to consultants about hazardous waste work.

China appears to be a promising market for U.S. environmental products and technology. In 1999, the nation produced 750 million tons of industrial solid waste. It's estimated China produces up to 30 million tons of hazardous waste a year.

China is searching for equipment, technology, engineering and management to develop and maintain hazardous-waste treatment sites.

Delegates will talk about many of China's 26 top priority hazardous waste projects at a Jan. 22 meeting that the Washington State China Relations Council is sponsoring. Officials are particularly interested in talking to companies that specialize in handling medical waste, florescent light disposal or resource recycling and recovery.

The day-long event begins at 8:30 a.m. at Seattle's China Harbor Restaurant, 2040 Westlake Ave. N. The cost is $35. Pre-registration is required and can be done at www.wscrc.org or by calling the WSCRC's Scott Heinlein at (206) 441-4419.

I-80 petition deadline is today

SEATTLE -- Attention will be on City Hall today to see if the backers of Initiative 80 meet the deadline to collect enough signatures to put their measure on the city ballot.

I-80 calls for restoring urban creeks by requiring certain actions by private developers and the city. For instance, developers of creekside projects of more than half an acre would be required to restore surface and buried creeks. Twenty-six creeks and their tributaries would be affected.

Concerned about the broad scope of the measure, Mayor Greg Nickels has proposed an alternative ballot measure. The City Council could adopt I-80 as law, put it on the ballot by itself or put it on the ballot with an alternative.

As of Friday, initiative proponents had collected 16,523 valid signatures, according to elections officials. That was 706 shy of what's needed for the measure to make the ballot.

City Councilwoman Margaret Pageler, chairwoman of the city's Water and Health Committee, says she thinks the city can use existing mechanisms to improve watersheds.

"I don't think voting is a good way to make public policy on environmental issues," she said, "so, no, I wouldn't put (an alternative to I-80) on the ballot."

Report looks at state's water quality progress

OLYMPIA -- A new Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team publication outlines the progress of the last two years to improve the sound's health.

"Successes and Challenges of the 2001-03 Puget Sound Water Quality Work Plan" highlights several projects from Bellingham Bay to the Port of Olympia. Go to http://www.wa.gov/puget_sound/Publications/ 01_03_biennial_report/0103_report/biennial_rpt_index.htm to view a copy.

Also, the Action Team has released its Work Plan for 2003-05. Among the nearly $33.4 million plan's priorities: salmon and other at-risk species; shellfish protection; stormwater, on-site sewage systems; aquatic nuisance species; monitoring; and education.

Go to http://www.wa.gov/puget_sound/Publications/workplan_03/ wp03/04_intro.htm to see the plan.

Is kudzu a threat in Washington?

OLYMPIA -- A weed that has wreaked havoc in the southeastern United States could soon be on Washington's list of Least Wanted Weeds.

Kudzu, a vine native to Asia, was discovered in Clark County in 2001 and destroyed. The aggressive weed hasn't been seen in Washington since, but several recent sightings in Oregon prompted a proposal to classify it as a Class A weed in Washington.

Spartina densiflora, an invasive, aquatic weed, is also suggested for Class A designation. Two small infestations of the cordgrass, discovered in 2001 in Grays Harbor and Island counties, have been cleared. The weed, native to Chile, is closely related to other grasses that invaded marine tide flats in 10 counties in Western Washington, threatening the native plant and fish population.

Class A weeds cannot be grown on purpose, and must be destroyed.

A committee of the state Noxious Weed Control Board has proposed classifying several other weeds as noxious, adding them to the 114 already listed. The board will hear comments on the proposed weed list for 2003 at a 1 p.m. hearing Jan. 22 in Room 172 of the Natural Resources Building, 1111 Washington St., Olympia.

To get a copy of the proposed 2003 weed list, contact Steve McGonigal of the Noxious Weed Board at (360) 902 2053 .

The deadline for written comments is Jan. 17. Comments can be mailed to the board at P.O. Box 42560, Olympia, WA 98504, e-mailed to smcgonigal@agr.wa.gov or faxed to (360) 902-2094.

NW missing from big green exhibit

WASHINGTON -- Recent chatter among the Puget Sound area's environment industry is that the region could cash in on its green reputation and position itself as a world center of sustainable technology.

Based on the number of Northwest contributors to a major sustainability exhibit opening Friday in Washington, D.C., sustainability experts in Cascadia need to tune up their public relations engines.

"Big & Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century," which demonstrates the possibility of large-scale sustainable building, features not one Northwest project, according to a National Building Museum spokeswoman. She said it does not appear that any Northwest firms worked on any of the 50 featured projects, either.

This occurred even though 16 percent of all U.S Green Building Council LEED-registered projects are from the Northwest and 18 percent of LEED-accredited designers reside in the Northwest. LEED stands for Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design. The LEED Green Building Rating System is a national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.

Upcoming events for the 'e' community

SEATTLE -- The following environmental conferences and events are coming up soon in Washington state:

• "Science and Technology for Sustainability," a free lecture by Harvard University's William Clark will be at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at the University of Washington Husky Union Building's West Ballroom. The presentation is an Oceans to Stars Lecture that the UW's College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences sponsors. Clark focuses on linking research to policy decisions by moving from arguments over statistics and reports to mutually agreed-on environmental data. For more information, see www.cofs.washington.edu/oceanlecture/index.html or call (206) 616-6692.

• Eileen Sobeck of the U.S. Department of Justice will present the keynote address at the 10th annual Endangered Species Act Conference Jan. 23- 24 in Seattle at the Renaissance Madison. "Owls to Salmon, the Evolution of ESA Law in the Pacific Northwest" is the title of her speech. The Seminar Group is presenting the conference, which ranges in cost from $297 per student to $595 for single registrations. For more details or to register: www.theseminargroup.net; registrar@theseminargroup.net; 1 (800) 574-4852 or (206) 463-4400; or The Seminar Group, PO Box 523, Vashon, WA 98070.

• Pacific Northwest Pesticide Issues Conference will be Feb. 26 at the Doubletree Hotel in Yakima. The conference targets grower associations, growers, foresters, agrichemical dealers and industry, crop consultants, state and federal regulators, the medical community, university researchers and extension educators. It's sponsored by Washington State University and the University of Washington. The fee is $90 before Feb. 4 and $120 after that. For information, contact the WSU Cooperative Extension Event and Program Support Office at (509) 335-2830 or see http://depts.washington.edu/pnash/ceconference/main.html.