July 22, 2003

Environmental Watch: AMEC hires senior project manager

KIRKLAND -- Engineering services company AMEC Earth & Environmental hired J. Michael "Mike" Harris, a certified industrial hygienist with nearly two decades of environmental and occupational safety experience, for its Seattle office.

Harris has managed asbestos-abatement and other hazardous-materials projects and has developed health and safety plans. He did regulatory oversight for Alcoa Aluminum, Boeing, Hines and Weyerhaeuser, and was a primary consultant for the Space Needle during demolition, renovation and new construction. He has also taught classes in hazard communication, hazardous waste emergency response, lead and silica awareness and Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act disciplines.

Anchor Environmental hires scientist

SEATTLE -- Anchor Environmental hired environmental scientist James Keithly to focus on sediment and water-related projects for industrial and municipal clients.

Anchor focuses on shoreline projects, addressing sediment management, environmental review, natural resources and waterway, coastal and geotechnical engineering. Keithly has more than a decade of sediment, chemistry and toxicity experience.

Sediment work starts at Pacific Sound site

SEATTLE -- The Port of Seattle has begun cleaning up contaminated sediments at the Pacific Sound Resources site on the south shore of Elliott Bay near Harbor Island, the last phase of cleanup for the nearly decade-old Superfund site. Cleanup is expected to take three to five years.

Hurlen Construction will remove about 700 treated wood pilings and related structures that make up old piers. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Hurlen will dredge about 10,000 yards of sediment to maintain water depth for barge and tug traffic and to allow extension of an existing stormwater outfall. Hurlen will dispose of dredged material at a solid waste landfill and place a clean sediment cap of sand, gravel and broken stone over about 58 acres of contaminated sediments in Elliott Bay.

Upland cleanup started after the former wood-preservation site made the United States Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List in 1994. Creosote, pentachlorophenol, and solutions of copper, arsenic and zinc were used for decades as wood preservatives, contaminating groundwater and soil. The port bought the site, paid for most upland cleanup, and redeveloped the site. It is now used for container transfer.

Work will stop during migration of juvenile salmon, which will benefit from a sloped cap. Clean fill will allow harvesting of shellfish, and woody debris and plants will improve habitat for native species.

Ecology unveils new Web page

OLYMPIA -- If you've been looking for more detailed, timely information on state environmental meetings, hearings, permits, cleanups and other regulatory actions, you can now find it on an updated state department of Ecology Web site.

Public involvement opportunities have been posted on Ecology's Web site for several years, but the information was scattered and difficult to locate. According to an Ecology news release, the new site should make it easier to find details about local and statewide environmental issues.

The Web site is searchable by date, city, county and topic, as well as by type of involvement opportunity, such as hearing or comment period. For more information, visit www.ecy.wa.gov.

ECOSS gets grant for Tacoma projects

TACOMA -- The Environmental Coalition of South Seattle will use a $100,000 Russell Family Foundation grant to launch two environmental pilot projects that focus on Tacoma-area businesses.

Based on current Healthy Homes programs, the Workplace Health and Environmental Education Learning Program will try to help Tacoma-area businesses cut absenteeism and lower insurance costs through practices that lead to healthier workplaces.

The Tacoma Environmental Extension Service pilot project, like ECOSS's current extension service, will offer assistance on pollution prevention, contaminated site cleanup and other topics. This summer ECOSS staff will spend one or two days a week in Tacoma meeting with business, government and environmental leaders.

Frank Russell Co.'s Russell Family Foundation is a leading grantor to area environmental projects.

Hands-on workshop on building with cob

SEATTLE -- Those interested in fueling the Pacific Northwest's cob revival can learn about the ancient building technique at a slide-show and hands-on workshop in the Brick Building behind the Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N., tomorrow night.

A mixture of sand, clay and straw, cob is mixed on a tarp until pliable and hand-sculpted into walls, ovens, benches and houses. Presenter Catherine Burke, who works with novice builders to build cob homes, benches and wood-fired pizza ovens, will lead a slideshow from 7 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. The workshop with then move three blocks to the Linden Orchard P-Patch for mixing and sculpting.

The workshop is free to Northwest EcoBuilding Guild members and $5 for non-members. For more information, contact Karen Price, president of the guild's Central Puget Sound Chapter, at (206) 389-7281, or visit www.ecobuilding.org.

July 31 meeting on Cascade People's Center

SEATTLE -- Residents of Seattle's Cascade neighborhood currently visit the Cascade People's Center for services and community events. The decades-old 309 Pontius Ave. N. building has been a retail business and a day-care center.

It could soon also become a demonstration site for eco-technologies such as solar power, rainwater harvesting and graywater reclamation.

A Cascade People's Center design meeting on July 31 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Seattle's REI store at 222 Yale Ave. N. will discuss sustainable building strategies for the center and nearby Cascade Park. The project architect is Jones & Jones.

Cascade representative Patty Borman said the group is on its way to raising the estimated $550,000 it will cost to update the building and nearby Cascade Park. She said Wright Construction, Turner Construction, Skanska, Pemco Insurance, Harbor Properties, Vulcan Real Estate and other groups have contributed about $200,000 in cash and in-kind donations for construction-related services.

The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods will also provide funds. The group is still accepting donations and will hold another design meeting in August.

"Obviously, the less cash we have to raise, the better," she said. "But the other exciting part is that so many people get to contribute and help make this happen."