March 21, 2006

Environmental Watch: Hyer joins Landau Associates

EDMONDS — J. Walter Hyer, III has joined Landau Associates' board of directors as the firm's first outside board member. Hyer has worked for AT&T Wireless as senior vice president, deputy general counsel and assistant secretary.

Landau Associates is an environmental consulting firm headquartered in Edmonds. For more information, visit http://www.landauinc.com.

Corps shows off new fish scanner

PORTLAND — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a cool new fish trick: a high-flow antenna that can scan fish equipped with tracking devices. It will be shown off this week at Bonneville Dam.

Fish swim into a 16-foot by 16-foot device, which will be installed inside a bypass route to move fish safely past Bonneville Lock and Dam. The antenna can detect tracked fish every one-third of a second.

The Corps designed this scanner with the Bonneville Power Administration to determine the species, origin and age of the fish which travel through it.

The antenna housing was fabricated by Polycycle Industrial Products of Pittsburgh, Pa. and the electrical components were designed by Digital Angel.

The Corps is required by the Endangered Species Act to track how many fish are migrating through the Columbia and Snake River systems.

What does it cost to protect salmon?

SEATTLE — U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris (R-Wash.) wants ratepayers to see in their bills how much it costs to protect salmon.

Bonneville Power Administration customers in the Northwest pay about $500 million per year for salmon protection through the Endangered Species Act, BPA says.

HR 4857, the Endangered Species Compliance and Transparency Act, would require BPA and other power providers to report salmon protection costs every month to their wholesale power customers, who would pass that information on to retail customers.

Corps, Nature Conservancy join forces

PORTLAND — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Nature Conservancy said they are going to work together to protect rivers and surrounding natural areas in Oregon.

For example, the Conservancy is currently helping the Corps evaluate how some dams and reservoirs along the Middle and Coast Forks of the Willamette River are being operated. They are also collaborating on an ecosystem restoration project in the Zumwalt Prairie Preserve near Enterprise, Ore.

Living Barge coming to the Duwamish

SEATTLE — A temporary floating island will appear on the Duwamish River this week, when artists Sarah Kavage and Nicole Kistler start to cover an 86-foot by 20-foot industrial barge at the Duwamish Shipyard with native plants.

When the "Living Barge" is complete, it will be towed to the east bank of the Duwamish between the First Avenue South Bridge and the South Park Bridge.

There will be a reception for the Living Barge on Saturday, April 1, from 6-8 p.m. at Gateway Park South in South Park. The barge is a project of South Park Arts, and is part of a month-long celebration in conjunction with Earth Day. At the end of April plants from the barge will be re-planted at Cesar Chavez Park in South Park.

For more information see http://www.livingbarge.com and http://www.pugetsound.org/index/earth_day_2006.

Agency to oversee electronic waste

OLYMPIA — New state legislation requiring that electronic waste be recycled is awaiting Governor Chris Gregoire's signature.

Senate Bill 6428, which passed on Feb. 8, creates a recycling system for electronic waste that will be paid for by manufacturers and overseen by the state Department of Ecology. Under the legislation, no electronic products can be sold in Washington state after Jan. 1, 2007, without a permanent label that can be used to trace the manufacturer and collect from them part of the cost of recycling. The existing stock of unlabeled products can be sold.

A new public authority, the Washington Materials Management and Financing Authority, will be created by this legislation to collect and recycle used electronics. Electronics manufacturers must decide by Jan. 1, 2009, whether they will participate in a plan operated by the authority. Manufacturers can opt for an independent plan, which must be reviewed by Ecology by Feb. 1, 2008.

Clark County to give Sammy awards

VANCOUVER — Clark County is seeking nominations for the Sammy awards, which recognize contributions to salmon recovery in Clark County.

Nominations are due by Thursday, April 20, to Joni McAnally, Clark County ESA Program, PO Box 5000, Vancouver, WA 98666. For more information, call McAnally at 397-2022 ext. 3 or e-mail joni.mcanally@clark.wa.gov.

The awards ceremony will be held on June 15 at the Water Resources Education Center in Vancouver.

Globe coming to Vancouver, B.C.

VANCOUVER, BC — Environmental technology leaders from around the world will gather at the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre from March 29 to 31 for the Globe 2006 biennial trade fair and conference. The ninth annual conference is expected to draw 10,000 participants, 2,000 delegates and 400 exhibitors from 75 countries.

Globe is organized around the themes of energy and the environment, building better cities and corporate sustainability. The trade fair will include advanced energy-efficient vehicles, and the latest in green building technology.

The conference costs $1,350 Canadian, with discounts for groups. For more information, see http://www.globe2006.com or call (604) 775-7300.

EPA's Bogert to speak at NEBC lunch

SEATTLE — Michael Bogert of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will speak about the agency’s current activities in the Northwest at the April 5 meeting of the Northwest Environmental Business Council in Seattle.

Bogert manages EPA’s Region 10, which covers the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. The NEBC meeting will be held at McCormick & Schmick’s Harborside on Lake Union, 1200 Westlake Ave. N., on Wednesday, April 5, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For more information, call (503) 227-6361 or email sue@nebc.org.