April 25, 2006

Environmental Watch: Tribe wants to move hungry elk herd

SEQUIM — The Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal Council has decided to move the Sequim elk herd, which is getting too fat and happy eating crops from farmers' fields.

In one case, elk ate a hybrid cauliflower seed crop worth $25,000.

The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Council is trying to figure out where to move the 69-member herd. There are two options, said Jeremy Sage, wildlife biologist for the Point No Point Treaty Council. One is an area several miles south of Sequim. The other is Snow Creek or Salmon Creek on the Jefferson/Clallam County line.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Clallam County and the City of Sequim support the tribe’s recommendation, but Sage is not certain the elk will stay where they are moved. “That’s the big question,” he said.

State offers $6.7M for bioenergy projects

OLYMPIA — The Washington State Dept. of Agriculture has $6.75 million to lend local governments and port districts for bioenergy production facilities. The low-interest loans, called Energy Freedom Loans, are for biodiesel manufacturing from oilseed crushers and methane production from anaerobic digesters, which convert organic matter into methane to generate electricity.

Energy Freedom Loans have a 10-year term and a 1 percent annual interest rate. May 12 is the deadline to apply. For more info, see http://www.agr.wa.gov/bioenergy.

USDA grants fund 2 energy projects

YAKIMA — Two renewable energy projects in Yakima County are getting grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture this week.

In Outlook, the George DeRuyter & Sons Dairy will get a $500,000 grant for an anaerobic digester. In Sunnyside, Natural Selection Farms will receive a $100,000 grant to buy a seed crusher to process canola for biofuel.

The USDA Rural Development's grant program, created in 2002, helps farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses improve energy efficiency and buy renewable energy systems.

Canada looks to willows for energy

OTTAWA, Canada — The Canadian government wants to use willow plants for alternative energy.

The plants grow very fast and re-sprout from their stumps after harvest. Coppice willow is widely used as an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels in Northern Europe.

In demonstration projects sponsored by Natural Resources Canada, farmers in Alberta and Saskatchewan are growing willow plants and irrigating them with wastewater. The projects are funded by the Canadian Biomass Innovation Network, which coordinates government research and development into biofuels.

Milestone reached in Thea Foss cleanup

TACOMA — The city of Tacoma celebrated a $103 million cleanup of the Thea Foss Waterway in Commencement Bay last week. Contractor Manson Construction removed about 425,000 cubic yards of sediments, enough to fill almost half of the Tacoma Dome, along 1.5 miles of the waterway.

The sediments contained heavy metals and pesticides, petroleum and PCBs.

The Thea Foss Waterway, which became a Superfund site in 1983, has been the city’s responsibility since 1994. Tacoma contributed $94.5 million toward the $103 million cleanup, the majority of which it borrowed.

Sediment monitoring will continue for 10 years. One area at the head of the waterway may already be recontaminated with chemicals called phthalates, which have accumulated to unacceptable levels, city officials said.

Beijing ordered to go green

BEIJING — The price of development is catching up with China's capital city.

Last week, Reuters reported that Beijing is experiencing the worst pollution in six years. A sand storm hit the capital, turning the sky yellow and covering everything in brown dust. Beijing's normal spring sand storms have gotten worse, Reuters reported, partly because of "cold, windy weather, a glut of construction sites and poor plant cover around Beijing."

Chinese premier Wen Jiabao recently told officials in Beijing to improve environmental protection, reported the Guardian. The premier referred to Beijing's 25-year policy of unrestricted growth as "illogical."

Seattle gets recycling award

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Forest & Paper Association has given Seattle its 2006 Community Recycling Award, recognizing the improvements Seattle has made to its recycling program.

In 2003, Seattle passed an ordinance that prohibits recyclables from residential and commercial garbage, and has spent $1 million to educate citizens about the new ordinance.

The city collected more than 160 million pounds of recyclables last year and sold them for $4.4 million.

"It's a growing market," said Brett Stav of Seattle Public Utilities. "We ship them off to mills around the world."

Forums on Puget Sound cleanup plan

SEATTLE — The Puget Sound Partnership will hold public forums around the state in May to talk about its fast-track plan to clean up Puget Sound. The Partnership was initiated by Governor Chris Gregoire last December.

The Seattle forum will be held May 15 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Seattle Aquarium, 1483 Alaskan Way. Public forums will also be held in Everett, Port Townsend, Shelton, Bellingham and Tacoma. For more info, visit http://www.pugetsoundpartnership.org.