August 26, 2003

Environmental Watch: Herrera expands Portland office

Dragoy

Dragoy is working as an in-house consultant for Clean Water Services in Hillsboro, Ore. Her role includes reviewing natural resource assessment reports, wetland delineation reports and restoration/landscape enhancement plans. Her project work focuses on NEPA document preparation and environmental permitting as well as wetlands, water quality and freshwater ecology.

Hazmat group looks at space shuttle crash

SEATTLE -- The Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Academy of Hazardous Materials Management will hold its quarterly meeting Sept. 2 at the Rock Salt Steakhouse at 1232 Westlake Ave.

Michael J. Szerlog, on-scene coordinator with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, will discuss EPA's response to environmental threats posed by the Columbia shuttle incident. The meeting starts a 6 p.m., with dinner at 7 p.m. and Szerlog's presentation at 8 p.m.

The cost is $25 with a reservation and $30 without one. For reservations, call Peggy Willingham at (206) 574-1976 or email peggy.willingham@alaskaair.com.

Columbia dredging project may hit wall

LACEY -- A state panel may decide this week whether to postpone state permits for deepening the Columbia River navigation channel, The (Longview) Daily News reported.

The Columbia River Alliance for Nurturing the Environment asked the Pollution Control Hearings Board last week to overturn the state Department of Ecology's decision to give permits to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The environmental group wants a stay on the state permits until the case can be tried next year.

A Port of Kalama attorney told the newspaper that such a delay would harm ports by preventing them from starting work on environmental restoration measures required as part of dredging.

Pageler joins international enviro group

SEATTLE -- Seattle City Council member Margaret Pageler was elected to the Executive Committee of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, a group of municipal leaders who discuss and promote environmental measures.

Pageler is the council's senior member and current chair of its Water & Health Committee, which oversees Seattle Public Utilities. Born in China, she is the only representative on the 21-member committee from the United States and one of three members from North America.

Pageler led efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and led conservation efforts that reduced Seattle's water use to 1970 levels. ICLEI was formed in 1990 to promote sustainable development and environmentally friendly programs. More than 445 cities, towns and counties participate.

Ecology: Lake Spokane fish safe to eat

SPOKANE (AP) -- A new state Department of Health study shows fish from Lake Spokane are safe to eat.

Concern about PCB-contaminated fish prompted the health department, state Department of Ecology and Spokane Regional Health District to issue an advisory limiting consumption of fish from the Spokane River.

Data in the new study show that fish in Lake Spokane are lower in PCBs than other parts of the river. Existing fish consumption advisories remain in effect on other stretches of the river. Lake Spokane is the reservoir behind Long Lake Dam, about 25 miles northwest of Spokane.

The health department encourages people to eat fish caught in Lake Spokane, but to reduce exposure to PCBs through fish preparation and cooking methods.

Sierra joins green construction program

SEATTLE -- High recycling rates during a recent project helped qualify Sierra Construction for King County's Construction Works program.

As the newest member of the program, which promotes recycling and waste-reduction, the Woodinville company will get free technical assistance.

Sierra, which applied for membership, achieved a 94 percent recycling rate on the 11,400-square-foot Issaquah Highlands Fire Station project. Vendors and subcontractors contributed to recycling and waste prevention efforts.

Construction Works is sponsored by the county's Solid Waste Division and the Business and Industry Resource Venture, a program of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce and Seattle Public Utilities.

To join, companies must recycle 60 percent of construction debris, launch six waste-prevention strategies, use six recycled-content building materials, and offer three public-education activities on waste prevention and recycling. For information, visit www.metrokc.gov/greenworks and click on Construction Works.

Hanford cleanup topic of new book

SEATTLE -- Author Roy E. Gephart will discuss his book "Hanford: A Conversation about Nuclear Waste and Cleanup" Sept. 17 at the University Book Store at 4326 University Way N.E.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford site was used to create tons of plutonium for nuclear weapons, starting with the top-secret Manhattan Project, and tons of waste remain at the site. The 7 p.m. discussion will focus on the facts, values, conflicts and choices involved in cleanup and remediation at the 586-square-mile site along the Columbia River in southeastern Washington.

A geohydrologist and senior program manager with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Gephart has more than 30 years' experience in environmental studies and nuclear waste. For information about the discussion, call (206) 634-3400. For details about Gephart's book, visit www.battelle.org/bclscrpt/Bookstore/hanfordconvers.cfm.

$400K Portland program to boost recycling

PORTLAND (AP) -- Portland's regional government is spending more than $400,000 this year to coach businesses to recycle paper, metal and other wastes, and to buy recycled products.

The initiative provides recycling consultants to evaluate office practices; free cardboard boxes to serve as desk-side recycling bins; and an Internet database offering a list of manufacturers selling recycled products.

Businesses generate nearly a half of the Portland region's landfill-bound trash. Metro wants to boost the region's recycling rate to 62 percent by 2005.

Tests come clean for Oregon beaches

FLORENCE, Ore. (AP) -- Oregon beachgoers have little to worry about, according to a state water quality testing program implemented this summer.

The Division of Health Services program examined water samples from 52 beaches for dangerous bacteria such as E.coli. Two batches revealed bacteria levels above federal water quality guidelines, but further tests found the numbers within healthy levels. None of the beach findings required public warnings or closures.

The program responds to environmentalists' concerns that septic tanks, sewage plants, urban runoff and animal waste are marring Oregon's beaches. Funded by the federal Beach Act of 2000, the state program received $300,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency this year.