June 1, 2004

Environmental Watch: Louis Berger adds staff

Lynde

Ginney

Killgore

Lynde worked for National Marine Fisheries Services and several environmental consultants in the Northwest. Ginney has 11 years' experience in geomorphology, hydrology and natural resources.

Killgore was a principal water resources engineer.

Berger's environmental consulting work focuses on water resources. Northwest clients include Puget Sound Energy, Avista Utilities and Chelan County PUD.

Roundtable on financing green development

SEATTLE -- The Cascade chapter of the Sierra Club hosts a roundtable on green development on June 15. The open forum takes place at Seattle R.E.I.'s conference room at 6:30 p.m. It will cover financing and other difficulties faced by developers who want to build green.

Panelists include Bert Gregory of Mithun, Mark Huppert of Catapult Community Development, Douglas Howe of Touchstone Corp. and Hamilton Hazelhurst of Vulcan. Representatives from the University of Washington and the Sierra Club will moderate. For more information, contact Alan Byars, treasurer of the Cascade Sierra Club at (206) 683-4544.

Input sought for The Cascade Agenda

SEATTLE -- Cascade Land Conservancy, a nonprofit land trust, will host public meetings on June 8, 17, 23 and 25 in Issaquah, Everett and Tacoma.

Locals are encouraged to share knowledge of the area and talk about what they hope their community will be like in 100 years. Digital mapping company CommEn Space will create visuals to show what landscapes could look like in the future.

Citizens, community groups, business leaders and public officials will talk about a strategic vision to conserve ranches, farms, timberlands and open space. A steering committee will collate information for Cascade to create its action plan, The Cascade Agenda.

Discovery Park cleanup June 12

SEATTLE -- Earth Share of Washington's Day in the Park is June 12 at Discovery Park & Golden Gardens. Earth Share expects to attract 1,000 volunteers, who will remove invasive plants, clean beaches and rebuild trails.

For more information, contact Earth Share of Washington at (206) 622-9840 or eswinformation@esw.org. Or visit www.dayinthepark.org.

Wetlands scientists meet here in July

SEATTLE -- The 25th Society of Wetland Scientists conference will be held from July 18 to 23 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. It is expected to attract 1,000 scientists, policy makers and regulators who will talk about wetland research, implications of ecosystem management and how effective mitigation is.

They will look at global restoration efforts, including the cultural significance of the "Eden Again" project, which aims to restore Mesopotamian marshes in Iraq and Iran.

Conference speakers include Dr. Mark Sudol, who is chief of the regulatory program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Dr. David Goode, a biodiversity conservation and sustainable development expert. There will also be workshops on mitigation, and field trips to area wetlands. For more information, visit www.sws.org/seattle2004.

Puget Sound Action Team grants SEEDs

OLYMPIA -- Thirteen organizations including environmental and homeowners groups, local and tribal governments, and Washington State University will receive $36,000 from Puget Sound Action Team.

Grants from its program SEED, Small Environmental Education Dividends, will be used for projects that encourage education and public involvement in programs to protect Puget Sound's marine environment.

Projects will continue through May 2005. For more information visit www.psat.wa.gov/Programs/PIE_app.htm.

City Light Skagit tours start Saturday

SEATTLE -- Seattle City Light announced its tours in North Cascades National Park will begin Saturday. Last year, 5,000 visitors learned about wildlife and the power of falling water in the Upper Skagit River.

Tours have operated for more than 75 years and also cover the cultural history of Newhalem, Seattle City Light's "company town." For information contact (206) 684-3030 or visit www.SkagitTours.com.

WSCTC gets $200,000 for lights

SEATTLE -- Seattle City Light contributed $207,142 to the Washington State Convention & Trade Center to install 6,000 energy-efficient lighting fixtures.

The lights are estimated to save the center $129,000 in energy costs each year. The project's total cost was $323,330. City Light will soon contract with the center on another project to replace neon lighting with light-emitting-diode technology.

New technology eyed for West Point

SEATTLE -- Wastewater engineering design firm Camp Dresser & McKee and ThermoEnergy Corp., a Little Rock, Ark.-based company, is looking at ways to use new technologies at King County Metro's West Point wastewater treatment plant.

One of ThermoEnergy's technologies converts sludge to a high-energy fuel, which can be used by cement and power plants. Another is an adsorption process that removes and recovers ammonia from dilute waste streams.

Groups appeal Pend Oreille mine permit

SPOKANE (AP) -- Environmental groups appealed a state wastewater discharge permit issued to a lead and zinc mine in Pend Oreille County. A subsidiary of Vancouver, B.C.-based Teck Cominco Ltd. spent $70 million to reopen the Pend Oreille Mine, which has been idle since 1977 and is located near Metalline Falls.

Public interest groups say the permit allows discharges of lead, arsenic, mercury and other toxic metals into the Pend Oreille River and that it doesn't comply with the Clean Water Act. They say Ecology relied on outdated studies, ignoring new technologies for reducing pollution.

But Ecology spokeswoman Jani Gilbert said the permit allows neither groundwater nor surface water pollution. Gilbert said Teck Cominco is using sulfate-reducing bacteria treatment technology to reduce heavy metals.