Jun 16, 1998

Girl Scouts

The Girl Scouts Totem Council announced several new appointees to its board of directors. Ann Hunt, a neurologist with Group Health; Jeff Watt, vice president with J&H Marsh & McLennan; Nancy Thygensen Day, a student at the University of Washington Law School; and Geda Maso, a student in the Seattle University masters of business administration program, are now on the board of the group which serves 17,300 girls in 10 counties.

Washington Office of the Treasurer

Washington State Treasurer Michael Murphy announced that Chelan County Treasurer Allan J. Michael has been named senior manager to the lease purchase program. He will head up a new local government financing program which was recently approved by the 1998 legislature. Michael will be responsible for creating a business plan and marketing it to local government entities. The program begins Sept. 1 and allows local governments access to municipal securities markets and tax-exempt interest rates when buying equipment.

Snohomish County PUD

On June 23, the Snohomish County PUD will appoint Mark Schinman as the utility's general manager to replace Richard E. Johnson who has resigned. Schinman will serve as general manager until the commission finds a permanent manager. Schinman worked for the PUD for 28 years before retiring last fall.

LCL

Lease Crutcher Lewis has added three lead project engineers to its staff. They include David Wemer, Kristyn Clayton and Bernie O'Donnell.Wemer holds degrees in building construction, architecture and economics. He has been assigned to the company's Cedar Court office project in Redmond. Clayton has expertise in energy conservation and historic preservation and is working on the new Lakeside Middle School in North Seattle. O'Donnell holds an architecture degree from the University of Washington and spent nine years at the university working on projects like the Tacoma Branch Campus and the Allen Library.

Olympic Associates

John Cunningham and Russell Woodruff have joined Olympic Associates Co.'s project/construction management division. Cunningham is providing CM support to Microsoft's new Pinehurst Conference Center. He has over 18 years of industry-related experience. Woodruff is providing CM support for Microsoft's Troon office complex. He has 14 years of experience in construction.

Quantum Construction

Anacortes-based Quantum Construction Inc. has opened a new Internet Website: http://www.quantumci.com. The site provides a brief overview of the company, profiles its key employees and has a list of its completed projects.

State pursues investigation of Spokane River

SPOKANE (AP) -- Washington state officials say the Spokane River is so heavily laced with heavy metals from mining in Idaho that the federal government should expand its Superfund investigation. No other major river in Washington contains such high levels of lead, cadmium and zinc, the state of Washington contended in documents filed with U.S. District Court in Boise. During high runoff in 1997, lead in the Spokane River was three to six times higher than federal standards for fish and other aquatic life, the state said. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently decided to expand its investigation beyond the Bunker Hill Superfund site near Kellogg, Idaho. That "was welcome news for state agencies and environmental groups in Washington, who are concerned about metals contamination of the Spokane River for the threat it poses to the environment and potentially to public health," the documents said. The state's position is at odds with Kootenai County, Idaho, and the city of Coeur d'Alene, which filed legal motions last month aimed at stopping the EPA from testing for lead and other contaminants beyond the official Bunker Hill Superfund site. Kootenai County and Coeur d'Alene officials say they weren't given enough notice of the EPA's plans to probe Lake Coeur d'Alene and the Spokane River.

Another Arco exec joins Parametrix

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Bob Griffeth has joined Parametrix Alaska as environmental and external relations coordinator for oil and gas projects. Formerly with Arco Alaska Inc., Griffeth worked most recently as a consultant to Arco. He has more than 15 years of experience in environmental and socioeconomic consulting for Alaska's oil and gas industry. He served as a consultant on the Alpine Development Project, one of Arco's major oil and gas discoveries. Parametrix Alaska also recently hired Mark Schindler as manager of the company's oil and gas industry consulting group in Anchorage. Parametrix Alaska is a unit of Sumner-based Parametrix Inc.

Emcon announces staff additions

BOTHELL -- Emcon recently hired four new people at its Bothell office. They are:

• Robert Newman, branch services manager in Emcon's facility-services division;
• Brian Phillips, a chemical engineer in the facility-services division;
• Kelly Rankich, an environmental engineer in the company's site-restoration division, and
• Jennifer Barkes, administrative assistant.

In addition, John Kinsella, Emcon's Northwest area operations manager, has been promoted to vice president.

Comments sought on water-quality grants

OLYMPIA -- The state Department of Ecology is proposing $74 million in grants and loans to help improve and protect water quality throughout the state. The public is invited to comment on the 70 projects Ecology is proposing to fund. Most projects involve building or upgrading municipal wastewater-treatment plants, implementing pollution controls on stormwater and improving and protecting groundwater. Many projects proposed this year did not get funding. Communities asked Ecology to fund 168 projects totaling $107 million -- nearly one-third more money than is available. The portion of the money earmarked for salmon restoration amounts to $2.6 million for the following 15 projects:

• Benton Conservation District, irrigation management, $35,259;
• Bremerton-Kitsap County Health District, Dogfish Creek Basin restoration, $134,482;
• Chelan County Conservation District, Wenatchee watershed improvement, $249,900;
• City of Issaquah, stormwater outfall improvements, $108,059;
• Clallam County, Dungeness Bay shellfish protection, $56,617;
• Clark County Conservation District, small farm water improvement, $214,971;
• Mason Conservation District, Skokomish watershed education, $250,000;
• Snohomish County, erosion control, $209,131;
• Snohomish County Surface Water Management, Swamp Creek discharge cleanup, $91,800;
• Snohomish Conservation District, Hedgerow/"Living Fences," $233,850;
• Underwood Conservation District, White Salmon restoration, $138,360;
• Wahkiakum Conservation District, Cowlitz watershed restoration, $234,678;
• Walla Walla County Conservation District, watershed restoration, $185,558;
• Whatcom Conservation District, watershed restoration, $250,000;
• Yelm Community Schools, Nisqually River student-run restoration, $161,363.

Ecology is accepting comments through June 30 on the projects proposed for funding. Written comments should be sent to: Kim McKee, Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600.