April 8, 2003

Environmental Watch: Adolfson Associates makes addition to staff

SEATTLE -- Denise Lathrop has joined Adolfson Associates as a senior planner.

She has more than 17 years of planning experience with expertise managing and developing comprehensive plans, growth management strategies, national and state environmental policy acts and CEQA environmental review documents, regulatory compliance and community involvement. She is lead analyst for the land use, public services and utilities sections of King County’s Brightwater wastewater treatment plant.

Herrera has new civil and 'e' engineering members

SEATTLE -- Herrera Environmental Consultants has added staff to its resources engineering and hazardous materials groups.

Kevin Houck, once a Herrera intern, has rejoined the civil design engineers working on King County's Sweyolocken pump station and siting and conveyance design for the county's Brightwater project.

Julie Howe specializes in environmental site assessments with experience on CERCLA and RCRA projects.

Gina Catarra has expertise in analytical chemistry and wetland science. And Katie Bullock is an environmental engineer specializing in environmental site assessments.

The new staff members work on Herrera's on-call hazardous materials contracts with the state Department of Transportation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Livestock operations need water-quality permit

OLYMPIA -- As a result of a revised federal rule, owners of large-scale livestock operations must apply by April 14 for coverage under a state water quality permit.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ruled that farmers must apply under a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit. Farmers also need to submit an annual report and develop plans for handling manure and waste water.

The rule does give states some flexibility. The Washington Legislature and state agencies are exploring how to address the revised rule.

"We haven't had time to get a livestock program developed in Washington, but the law does require these facilities to apply for permits," said Megan White, a state Ecology official. "Those who want to be on the safe side should get their application in by the deadline."

Applications are available at www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/permits/index.html.

ANWR drilling back for another round

WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Republicans have revived President Bush's top energy priority, opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, after the Senate rejected it.

Republicans included ANWR drilling as part of a broader package of energy proposals approved last Wednesday by the Resources Committee. While the measure has a good chance of passing the House, it is certain to again run into trouble in the Senate, which rejected refuge drilling by a 52-48 vote two weeks ago.

In addition to Arctic drilling, the emerging House energy legislation would provide an array of financial breaks for oil and gas developers, require increased use of ethanol in gasoline and streamline approval for hydroelectric dams.

Canada may lift offshore drilling ban

VANCOUVER, B.C. -- The Canadian government will conduct a scientific review and public hearings that could lead to the end of a long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling along the British Columbia coast.

The decision has cheered economic development boosters, particularly in the province's northern reaches near the border with Alaska, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

According to Canadian government geologists, the Queen Charlotte Basin around the Queen Charlotte Islands could contain as much as 9.8 billion barrels of oil and 25.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Iowa wind project could be world's biggest

DES MOINES, Iowa -- MidAmerican Energy Co. has announced plans to build the world's largest land-based wind project in Iowa.

Information from the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratories shows MidAmerican’s new wind project will have up to 200 wind turbines at a site to be selected. The target completion date is 2006.

Environment meetings planned for April

SEATTLE -- The following meetings are scheduled:

• IslandWood on Bainbridge Island is hosting two courses this weekend. Bert Gregory president of Mithun Architects+Designers+Planners, presents "Sustainable Design at IslandWood" Saturday, and Henning Gatz president of Aquacare Environment, presents "Ecological Wastewater Recycling Systems" Sunday. Both are 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and cost $75. Gregory will discuss current sustainable design principles, and Gatz will explain Living Machines, an advanced water-treatment system that mimics nature by using a diverse ecology to treat wastewater for reuse as irrigation and or/toilet flush water. To register: call (206) 855-4300, write registrar@islandwood.org.

• Seattle Public Utilities will host public meetings on the Solid Waste Facilities Master Plan April 15 in Fremont and April 17 in South Park. Both meetings start at 6:30 p.m. The plan will guide improvements to the recycling and disposal stations in the neighborhoods and a possible new intermodal solid waste transfer facility to transport garbage from trucks to trains. The Fremont meeting is at B.F. Day Elementary, 3921 Linden Ave. N., and the South Park meeting is at the SPARC Building, 8201 10th Ave. S. See www.seattle.gov./util or telephone Henry Friedman at (206) 733-9147.

• The first meeting of Adopt-A-Stream Foundation's North Creek Watershed Coalition is 7 p.m. April 23 at Northwest Stream Center Visitors Building, 600 128th St. S.E. in Everett. The group's goal is to make the creek suitable for salmon 100 years from now in the face of expected growth in the watershed. The center is on the south side of McCollum Park, a half mile east of the 128th Street exit of Interstate 5 between Mill Creek and Everett. The contact is Tom Murdoch at (425) 316-8592 or tomm@streamkeeper.org.

• Seattle Public Utilities will host two meetings to solicit input on preparing the new comprehensive drainage plan on managing stormwater. The first meeting is April 14 at the SPARC Building, 8201 10th Ave. S., and the second is April 21 at the City Light North Service Center, 1300 N. 97th St. Both start at 6:30 p.m. For more information, contact Darla Inglis at (206) 733-9196, write drainage.plan@seattle.gov or see "What's new" at www.seattle.gov/util.