May 6, 2003

Environmental Watch: Kirkland firm has new senior engineer

KIRKLAND -- Associated Earth Sciences has hired J. Scott Kindred as senior engineer.

He has more than 12 years of technical and project management experience in ground water resource management and hazardous waste site remediation. He will focus on providing services to local governments and other public agencies, private developers and utilities.

AESI has 55 employees whose expertise includes geotechnical engineering, geology, hydrogeology, biology and environmental sciences.

Foss mops up Portland diesel spill

PORTLAND -- A Port of Portland mobile fueling truck overfilled during fueling operations at Terminal 6 Friday night, spilling approximately 3,800 gallons of diesel. About 2,700 gallons of diesel were released into state waters, the port said.

Port officials said they contracted with Foss Environmental to start cleanup. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Coast Guard and states of Oregon and Washington also responded.

The Coast Guard said Saturday morning non-recoverable, light sheening was spotted about 8 miles downstream on the Columbia River. The sheen dissipated by Sunday, according to the port.

Port officials said minimal wildlife injuries were observed. A port official said yesterday that the cause of the spill was under investigation.

Tacoma cleanup bids come in high

TACOMA -- The Superfund cleanup of the Wheeler-Osgood and Thea Foss waterways will be more expensive than anticipated.

Mary Henley, the city's project manager, said Tacoma's consultant estimated the work would cost $37.7 million, but the bids came in higher.

The project involves dredging and disposing 525,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments and placing 210,000 tons of capping materials. Option I for disposal is filling an area in the water and creating an uplands area. Option II calls for disposal at a regional landfill.

Manson Construction of Seattle bid $44.8 million on Option I and $58.9 million on Option II. Wilder Construction of Everett bid nearly $49.5 million on the first option and nearly $56.8 on the second.

Comments due on Edmonds Unocal cleanup

EDMONDS -- A public meeting to discuss the proposed interim action cleanup of the Unocal Edmonds Bulk Fuel Terminal will be at 5:30 p.m. May 14 at Edmonds City Hall, 121 Fifth Ave. N.

The cleanup is to be performed this summer. The comment period on the action report and state Environmental Policy Act has begun and will last until May 30.

The plan calls for excavation of contaminated soils. This is not the final cleanup action of the site, according to the state Department of Ecology.

Denny Creek salmon work wins award

SEATTLE -- The National, Stone, Sand & Gravel Association has presented its Pantheon Award to King County for a Denny Creek salmon-restoration project in Holmes Point north of Kirkland.

The project included building a fish ladder to bypass a concrete weir and bridge that blocked passage of fish. Sixteen step pools were built, permitting the creek to return to its original path.

County Councilwoman Jane Hague said hundreds of volunteers donated thousands of hours to engineering, biological assessments and habitat improvement.

State grant aimed at protecting Willapa Bay

OLYMPIA -- Gov. Gary Locke has awarded a grant to Pacific County to lend homeowners money to fix failing septic systems.

The county is home to Willapa Bay, a major shellfish farming estuary that is damaged when septic systems fail. The county Board of Health will use the $60,750 grant to create a low-interest loan program to fund septic repairs.

The grant originates from the Oyster Reserve Account, which shellfish growers worked with the Legislature to establish in 2001. Shorebank Enterprise Pacific will manage the loan program. Interest rates will range from 0 to 5 percent, depending on a homeowner's income.

The Puget Sound Action Team plans to work in other counties to offer similar septic repair programs.

Oregon to monitor ocean for fecal pollution

PORTLAND -- State officials will soon start testing Oregon's ocean for tiny bacteria that can contaminate water when feces runs to the sea, the Portland Oregonian reports.

These microscopic bugs can survive the salty Pacific long enough to colonize new intestinal systems -- those of swimmers and others who enter tainted waters.

If officials find unhealthy levels of bacteria, they will post signs at the beach and Internet warnings, and regularly retest until they can declare the water clear, said Michael Holcomb, a toxicologist with the Oregon Department of Human Services.

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality workers will collect and analyze samples from 53 beaches.

A $230,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant funds Oregon's testing. A federal act passed in 2002 requires states to test coastal waters.

Meetings set on state aquatic reserves

OLYMPIA -- The Washington Department of Natural Resources will host a series of open houses regarding six state aquatic reserves.

The two-hour meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. The Maury Island reserve will be discussed May 14 at Vashon High School, 20120 Vashon Highway S.W.; the meeting on the Olympic View and Middle Waterway reserves will be May 20 at Tacoma's Anna Wheelock Library, 3722 N. 26th St., the open house on the Fidalgo Bay and Cypress Island reserves will be May 22 at the Port of Anacortes Seafarers’ Memorial Park meeting room on Seafarers' Way off Q Avenue in Anacortes; and the public can comment on the Cherry Point reserve June 5 at the Port of Bellingham Boat House, 2600 Harbor Loop - Squalicum Harbor in Bellingham.

The Aquatic Reserve Program was established last year to provide the DNR with a process to designate reserves on state-owned aquatic lands with unique ecological features.

Eco award applications due June 6

OLYMPIA -- June 6 is the application deadline for the Governor's Award for Pollution Prevention and Sustainable Practices.

Any Washington business, organization, agency or school is eligible. The award recognizes organizations that have incorporated pollution prevention and sustainable practices into their operations.

From beavers to irrigation systems

SEATTLE -- The following classes are planned: