February 14, 2006

Environmental Watch: Hydrogeologist joins Kleinfelder

SEATTLE — Kleinfelder said Jim Bailey, RG, L.HG., joined the firm as a principal hydrogeologist and well services director in the Seattle office. Bailey has 22 years of experience in water supply, well services and hydrogeology.

His role will include development of a water supply services group, project management and a technical resource for other Kleinfelder offices.

He has worked on well rehabilitation projects for ASR wells in Portland, horizontal wells in Chillocothe, Ohio, and at well sites in Germany.

A look at toxic chemicals in Puget Sound

SEATTLE — People For Puget Sound and the Puget Sound Action Team are co-hosting, along with other groups and agencies, an evening program on the dangers of toxic chemicals in Puget Sound to orcas, seals and humans.

"Toxics in the Mammals of Puget Sound: Orcas, Seals and Humans" will be held on Wednesday, April 5, from 7-8:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave. in Seattle.

The presenters are orca researcher Peter Ross and Robert Duff, who is involved in human health policy in Washington. It is part of a day-long public forum called "Toxics in Puget Sound: Connecting the Marine Environment to Human Health and the Economy."

Cost is $10 in advance, or $15 at the door, and child care is free. For information or to RSVP go to http://www.pugetsound.org or call Heather Trim at People For Puget Sound, (206) 382-7007.

Beach armoring alternatives studied

SEATTLE — The Puget Sound Action Team awarded a $25,000 contract to Sound GeoServices of Olympia to study shoreline properties that use alternatives to armoring such as bulkheads.

Sound GeoServices will look at projects throughout Puget Sound. The report will be published in July and will be directed at developers, landowners and local government staff.

Alternatives include beach nourishment, bioengineering methods, native plant landscaping and others. For information contact Doug Myers at (360) 725-5451 or dmyers@psat.wa.gov.

Key Peninsula-Islands draft plan done

TACOMA — After two years of study, Pierce County Water Programs is ready to unveil the draft of the Key Peninsula-Islands Basin Plan for public review.

The plan is a guide to surface water management in the Key Peninsula-Islands Basin, addressing water quality, flooding and habitat issues. It also lays out capital improvement needs for the area for the next several years.

A public meeting will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, at the Key Peninsula Civic Center in Vaughn. The Watershed Council will hold a presentation by Water Programs staff and URS Corp. at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, in the Peninsula Light Business Office, 13315 Goodnough Drive N.W. in Purdy.

The basin includes the Key Peninsula, the Burley-Minter area, as well as Fox, Anderson, Ketron, and Herron islands.

For information contact Barbara Ann Smolko, water programs project manager, (253) 798-6156.

Roseburg, Ore., fined $15K by Corps

PORTLAND — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a final order for a Class 1 administrative penalty of $15,600 against the city of Roseburg for violation of a permit granted under the Clean Water Act.

The permit was issued in 1996 and authorized construction of five transportation and infrastructure projects. The city proposed compensatory mitigation on Newton Creek and Stewart Park.

Corps officials said the permit was violated on two counts. Planting mitigation failed, and the city failed to achieve wetland vegetation standards in later years.

The final order for the penalty becomes effective March 5. The city may file an appeal or request a hearing.

Corps seeks comments on Bradford Island

PORTLAND — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is seeking public comments on alternatives to remove contaminated sediments from Bradford Island at Bonneville Lock and Dam. Written comments on the proposed interim action must be postmarked by March 3.

The Corps has been investigating and doing cleanup work at Bradford Island since 1997.

The report on the alternatives is on the Web at http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/issues/bradford/documents.

Written comments should be addressed to Bob Schwarz, Project Manager, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, 400 E. Scenic Drive, Suite 307, The Dalles, OR 97058. E-mail comments should be addressed to Schwarz.bob@deq.state.or.us.

Home environmentalist training offered

SEATTLE — The American Lung Association of Washington is accepting applications for the Master Home Environmentalist spring 2006 volunteer training.

Classes are held March 7 through May 9 in Seattle. The free 35-hour training is Tuesdays from 6 p.m.-9:30 p.m., and occasional Saturdays.

Volunteers learn to recognize indoor health hazards, find low or no-cost solutions and conduct home assessments.

Applications are due Feb. 27. For information, contact Georgene Chiou at (206) 441-5100, gchiou@alaw.org or see http://www.alaw.org.

Study: Zooplankton key to salmon

NEWPORT, Ore. (AP) — Tiny sea creatures known as zooplankton may be the key to fattening up juvenile salmon enough to survive in the ocean, a new study says.

A species of zooplankton called copepods that thrive in cold water in the northeast Pacific Ocean have a high level of lipids — or fats — possibly boosting the food chain and allowing salmon to grow fast enough to survive their first year at sea.

The copepods store high amounts of the fats in order to hibernate during the winter, much like bears, according to Oregon State University researchers.

The copepods, in turn, are eaten by juvenile anchovies, herring, smelt and krill, boosting the fat content of those species and making them highly nutritious for young coho and chinook salmon, as well as other predators.

"A fat salmon is a happy salmon," said William Peterson, an oceanographer at the university's Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.

For years, scientists and the fishing industry have known that "good ocean conditions" are critical to salmon survival and are linked with strong upwelling that brings nutrient-rich deeper waters to the surface. But studies by Peterson and his colleagues shed new light on what makes those conditions favorable for juvenile salmon.

One of the keys to survival is rapid growth for salmon once they enter the ocean, said Peterson, a NOAA Fisheries scientist who also teaches at the university.

"The salmon are roughly 6 or 7 inches long when they enter the ocean and are about the same size as adult herring and anchovies that make them ideal prey for birds and larger fish," Peterson said.

"But salmon have the ability to grow tremendously fast — and they have to," he said.

The salmon also must store enough fat to prevent starvation during their first winter.