November 30, 2004

Environmental Watch: AMEC hires 3 air quality experts

Lavaty

Knutson

Smith

Lavaty is working on projects at Hanford and will be based in the company's Portland office. She is president of the Pacific Northwest section of the American Industrial Hygiene Association and has 16 years of experience designing systems to protect air from mold, asbestos, lead and hazardous chemicals.

Dianne Knutson and Michael S. Smith are based in Kirkland and their expertise is in mold assessment. Knutson has 10 years of experience in industrial hygiene, including mold investigations in commercial, military housing and medical settings. Smith has 16 years of experience working on air quality for insurance companies, school districts and government agencies.

New rules for state energy facilities

OLYMPIA — Gov. Gary Locke recently announced new rules for ways major energy facilities in Washington state are regulated.

In awarding licenses to large power plants, the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council will now also consider the way plants handle fish and wildlife, wetlands, and water and air quality.

The council is an independent state board with a chair appointed by the governor and members appointed by five state agencies. In 2001, the council started working with governments and interest groups to come up with standards on how to site major energy facilities.

New siting standards and changes to the rules are posted at http://www.efsec.wa.gov/rulerev_new.html.

Get discounts on ‘waste-free' gifts

SEATTLE — County residents can get discounts of up to 50 percent on tickets, gift certificates and memberships through a program offered by the solid waste management divisions of King County and the city of Tacoma.

The "Waste Free Holidays" program's 135 partners offer discounted tickets for concerts, plays, sporting events, museum visits and restaurant meals. Tickets must be purchased before Dec. 31.

For more information, call Tom Watson at (206) 296-4481 or see http://www.wastefreeholidays.com.

WSU energy program gets DOE award

SEATTLE — The U.S. Department of Energy gave the Washington State University Extension Energy Program an award for its clearinghouses, which give professionals free information on how to run operations in energy-saving ways.

Thousands of inquiries come from around the country each year, said Lee Link, WSU Energy Program's Clearinghouse division manager. Queries come from industrial plant managers, private consultants, commercial businesses, government agencies and utilities.

The Energy Program is a self-supporting department within WSU and gets funding from federal agencies and the private sector.

King County removes mercury switches

SEATTLE — A pilot program is underway to remove switches containing mercury from King County vehicle fleets. Tilt switches, which turn lights on when trunks and hoods are raised, contain more than a gram of mercury each.

King County Solid Waste Division and the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program are running the program to help public and private vehicle fleet managers and technicians replace tilt switches with ball-bearing switches. Officials estimate up to 108 pounds of mercury from switches are released each year.

Twelve fleets are participating, including those of the cities of Auburn, Bellevue, Seattle, Renton and Tukwila.

More than 500 switches will be collected by the end of the year and taken to a hazardous waste collection facility. For more information, call Alexandra Thompson at (206) 296-8454 or see http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/facilities/hazwaste.asp.

Reforesting urban greenbelts: forum Dec. 4

SEATTLE — A free forum on how to reforest urban greenbelts will be held on Dec. 4 at Brockey Conference Center, South Seattle Community College, 6000 16th Ave. S.W. from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Participants can find out how to come up with resources to keep community-based habitat restoration projects going.

Tours of the West Duwamish Greenbelt will be part of the event, along with roundtable talks with experts in urban forestry, invasive weed control, public relations and fundraising.

Presenters include Duwamish Tribal Councilmember James Rasmussen, King County Councilmember Dow Constantine and Seattle City Councilmember Richard Conlin.

The event marks the 10th anniversary of the Natural Resource Stewardship Network, a group of government agencies, educational institutions and volunteers.

To register, call (206) 296-8312 or e-mail linda.vane@metrokc.gov.