June 14, 2005

Environmental Watch: Spokane may try more natural drainage

SPOKANE — The city of Spokane is considering bigger natural drainage projects than the swales alongside some parking lots, according to Spokane-based architect Tom Angell.

Angell heads the Northwest Eco-Building Guild's inland chapter. He said surface drainage in the Spokane area has been low priority for many years. In some parts of the city, basements are getting flooded, Angell said, because when water can't seep into soils, it moves laterally instead.

He said this is happening in places where the city has been expanding in the last 15 years. The city is looking at ways to manage stormwater runoff aside from putting in gutters and pipes.

Natural drainage could be used around Hazel's Creek, for example. If it gets approval by the city council and the City Planning Commission, a new master plan for Hazel's Creek would guide development there.

Elise LeBarron is on the team writing the master plan. She is working on a master's in landscape architecture that focuses on stormwater issues in Spokane's Five-Mile Prairie area.

LeBarron will give a talk on the topic Thursday in Spokane. The Northwest EcoBuilding Guild's inland chapter is the sponsor of this event, which will be at the Global Credit Union office, 1530 W. Third Ave. from 7 to 9 p.m. For more information call Bruce Gage at (509) 924-8803 or see www.ecobuilding.org.

EPA settles with county over PCBs

SEATTLE — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has settled with King County on cleanup of toxic substances from leaky flourescent lights at a Bellevue daycare.

An investigation last year of polychlorinated bi-phenyls, or PCB, contamination from the fixtures led to the daycare being closed. King County owned the facility located at 609 112th Ave. S.E. and a lessee named Surrydowns Children Center ran the daycare.

Surrydowns has not responded to an offer from EPA to settle penalty claims. EPA has issued a complaint against Surrydowns carrying a proposed $44,925 penalty.

A King County health inspector notified EPA last July about the leaky light ballasts. EPA lab results confirmed there was substantial leakage of liquid PCBs throughout the main office and in pre-school, kindergarden and after-school areas. Levels of PCBs were well above the regulated 50 parts per million.

The daycare was closed and King County spent $81,500 to clean and dispose of the PCBs under an EPA-approved plan. EPA officials say Surrydowns elected not to participate in the cleanup.

Scott Downey, an EPA toxic substances control enforcement manager, says those who own and run schools and daycares should ensure any PCB contamination is recognized and cleaned up immediately.

Talk today on fighting invasive weeds

SEATTLE — Today noxious weed expert Sasha Shaw will present a slideshow on invasive plants that are threatening urban areas, focusing on weeds that infiltrate community parks, waterways and natural areas.

King County will hold the workshop at Olympic View Elementary, 504 N.E. 95th Street in Seattle from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Participants can find out how invasive weeds spread, where they come from and what communities can do to stop them. To register, contact Sasha Shaw at sasha.shaw@metrokc.gov or (206) 263-6468.

Last year King County's noxious weed program staff worked with 3,500 property owners and land managers to control noxious weeds on 5,100 properties. For more information, see http://www.dnr.metrokc.gov/weeds.

Nearly 50,000 get rebates for washers

SEATTLE — Sometime before the middle of next month, the 50,000th person to come in to buy an efficient washing machine will get it for free.

People who buy approved models of the energy- and water-efficient machines, branded WashWise, have been getting $100 rebates since a program started eight years ago.

"A decade ago, water and energy efficient washers represented less than three percent of the market," said Seattle Public Utilities program manager David Broustis. Today more than 125 models are eligible for rebates.

The rebates are funded by Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle City Light and 17 local water districts. SPU is the first water utility in the country to offer washer rebates, according to officials at the city of Seattle. The Seattle-area has saved over one billion gallons of water thanks to the program.

Customers can save as much as $144 a year on some models, which use up to 55 percent less energy and water than other machine brands. WashWise is expected to give rebates on more than 6,000 washers sold locally this year.

Kent site could be taken off toxic list

BELLEVUE — The Department of Ecology proposes to remove a Kent property from the statewide list of contaminated sites. The 3.1-acre lot is located in an industrial and commercial area on North Fourth Avenue, just north of state Route 167.

It was formerly the General Electric Apparatus Service Center, but is now occupied by Brundage Bone Concrete Pumping Corp.

Cleanup work took place intermittently from 1990 to 1992. Contaminated soil was excavated, treated and disposed off-site at a hazardous waste landfill. Crews removed underground storage tanks and oil/water separator tanks, installed monitoring systems for soil and gas, took out sludge from catch basins and monitored groundwater wells. In April 2002 Ecology issued a letter for No Further Action.

Contamination remained, but the site was clean enough for industrial use. Ecology signed a restrictive covenant with the property owner, which put limits on the use of the site to industrial purposes and prohibits disturbance of soil and groundwater.

Ecology invites public comment on the delisting through July 1. For details and contact information, see http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/0509081.pdf. Documents can be reviewed at Ecology's Northwest regional office 3190 160th Ave. S.E. in Bellevue. Call (425) 649-7190 for an appointment.