August 19, 2003

Environmental Watch: Adolfson adds staff

Morgan

SEATTLE -- Environmental consulting firm Adolfson Associates hired senior landscape architect Scott Morgan.

Morgan has more than 23 years of experience in landscape architecture and urban, neighborhood and natural resource planning. He will do wetland mitigation services, construction and wetland monitoring, and permit drawings.

Adolfson specializes in natural resource management, planning, Endangered Species Act compliance and environmental impact analysis.

Herrera adds staff

Hampden

SEATTLE -- Herrera Environmental Consultants added Chase Barton to its River Science and Geomorphology group and re-hired Julie Hampden as an environmental scientist and policy analyst .

Hampden recently spent eight months with King County's Watershed Coordination Services Group. She has eight years' experience in fisheries, wildlife, natural resource management and education.

Barton has seven years' experience in engineering geology with a recent emphasis on geomorphologic analysis of channel networks, open-channel engineering and development of sediment budgets. He joins restoration specialists for the Nooksack, Bogachiel and Cispus rivers.

Ecology eases fine against port

SEATTLE -- The state Department of Ecology will forgive $76,000 of a $99,000 penalty against the Port of Seattle if the port decommissions aging Harbor Island fuel transfer lines by 2004.

After a pipe leak at the port's Terminal 18 spilled more than 2,000 gallons of oil into Elliott Bay in 2001, Ecology assessed the $99,000 fine against the port. Tenant Kinder-Morgan Energy Partners, which operates the lines at the oil transfer facility, paid a separate $24,500 fine.

Under a recent settlement, a state-of-the-art facility will replace the existing one. Kinder-Morgan will own and operate the facility on an easement granted by the port. The port and Kinder-Morgan will pay for building the new pipelines.

Funding shortfall threatens Superfund cleanups

SEATTLE (AP) -- Cleanup at 13 Washington Superfund sites could be in jeopardy because of inadequate funding, according to a report commissioned by U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

With 47 active sites statewide, Washington ranks 10th among states where a lack of Superfund funding could pose problems, according to "Cleanup Slowdown: How Underfunding the Superfund Program Harms Communities Across America."

Officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Seattle regional office said cleanup has not slowed and that appropriations for Superfund nationally have remained constant -- between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion -- every year since 1995.

Ecology awards $115M to improve water-quality

OLYMPIA -- The state Department of Ecology will allocate $115.3 million in grants and low-interest loans over the next year to help cities and towns address water pollution problems.

Ecology will allocate funds for 74 projects in 28 counties. It based selections on available funding, existing or potential water-quality problems, the project's likely effectiveness at solving pollution problems, state and federal requirements, community priorities and local initiatives available to help the project succeed.

The funds will help communities upgrade municipal wastewater-treatment plants; clean up polluted lakes, rivers and streams; manage pollution from storm water, urban development and agricultural practices; reclaim waste water; and improve habitat for salmon and other threatened fish species.

For project descriptions, visit www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/funding/2004/index.html.

Comments due on trail proposal

KLICKITAT, Klickitat County -- The U.S. Forest Service is accepting comments on its proposal build a recreation trail along 15 miles of former rail bed near the Klickitat River. The agency estimates the job could cost $4 million-$5 million, the Vancouver Columbian reported.

The area is part of a 31-mile former rail corridor along the federally managed Klickitat Wild & Scenic River. The proposal to improve the rail bed between Lyle and Klickitat includes paving sections for use by cyclists, local residents and people in wheelchairs.

Submit comments on the Klickitat Rails-to-Trails Environmental Assessment by Sept. 10 to Dan Harkenrider, Manager, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, 902 Wasco St., Suite 200, Hood River, OR 97031.

Ecology stretches cleanup funds

OLYMPIA -- The state Department of Ecology's Clean Sites Initiative sparked cleanup of 25 toxic sites in the past two years, 10 more than original expectations.

Ecology stretched a one-time $11 million appropriation from the state Toxics Control Account to manage cleanup of Standard Chemical on the Thea Foss Waterway in Tacoma, City Parcel in Spokane, Red Shirt Mill in Twisp, the Lower Duwamish Waterway in Seattle and other sites around the state.

Most of the sites were "orphaned," meaning the state found no responsible parties or other resources to pay for cleanup. For more information, visit www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/cleanup.html.

Waste management workshop

SEATTLE -- Attorneys, facility operators, waste brokers and others can learn the basics of toxic and hazardous waste management at a two-day workshop next month at Seattle's Hilton Hotel.

The Lion Technology Hazardous/Toxic Waste Management 2003 Certification Workshop Sept. 18-19 will discuss EPA, DOT, OSHA and state environmental regulations, plus new standards for cargo security, release reporting, computer monitors, mercury-containing equipment and solvent-contaminated rags.

For registration information, call Lion Technology at (973) 383-0800, Ext. W715, or e-mail register@lion.com. For more information, visit www.lion.com/W715.

Refrigerant targets global warming

ATLANTA -- The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers is gathering information on a refrigerant with potential for zero depletion and low global warming.

The refrigerant, R-245fa, is suitable for low-pressure water chillers in large-building air-conditioning systems. Members of the Atlanta-based international organization are also developing equipment that uses the refrigerant in other heat transfer and working fluid applications.

The organization focuses on research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education about heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration. Current research targets indoor air quality, comfort and health, energy conservation, operating and maintenance tools, environmentally safe materials and design tools.