Nov 24, 1998

Is the environmental industry obsolete?

SEATTLE -- The question above will be discussed by the Northwest Environmental Business Council on Friday, Dec. 4, in a forum to be held at the Edgewater Hotel on Seattle's waterfront. The event will get underway at 11:30 a.m. and conclude at 2:30 p.m. Grant Ferrier, publisher of the Environmental Business Journal, and David Berg, of the U.S. Department of Commerce, will lead the discussion. Also on the agenda are the Environmental Technology Verification program and the Trade Lead Matching Service. Those who wish to attend should contact Alice DeVault at NEBC, (206) 528-3410. The price is $35 for NEBC members, $50 for others. Please register by Wednesday, Dec. 1.

Plant a tree, remediate hazwaste

SEATTLE -- Anyone with an interest in cleaning up hazardous waste sites with vegetation should attend the next dinner meeting of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Academy of Hazardous Materials Management. To be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Dec. 1 at Latitude 47 restaurant in Seattle, the program will feature Phil Thompson, a Seattle University professor of civil and environmental engineering. Thompson will describe his research on the uptake of explosives, such as TNT and RDX, from soil by poplar trees. The cost is $25 per person with reservations, $30 without. To make reservations, call Chip Romain at (206) 296-6187. The deadline for reservations is 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25.

Diana Gale, Public Official of the Year

SEATTLE -- The managing director of Seattle Public Utilities has received Governing Magazine's Public Official of the Year 1998 award. That would be Diana Gale, described by the magazine's editor as one of those who "attempted things that the most knowledgeable cynics were certain could not succeed." Among Gale's achievements: By revamping the city's trash-handling system and recycling collection program, she reduced Seattle's waste stream by 32 percent between 1988 and 1995. Gale currently is tackling water-supply problems and habitat conservation planning.

Environmental heroes, take a bow

SEATTLE -- The Washington Environmental Council last week named its 1998 Environmental Heroes Award winners. They are:

• Tim Coleman, of Republic, who has worked for a decade to protect the Colville National Forest;
• Brady Engvall, of Aberdeen, for efforts to maintain clean water;
• Elsa Gruber, of La Conner, for defending the land and waters of the Skagit Valley;
• Ilene Marckx, of Federal Way, for preserving and donating lands that became a park and protected wetland; and
• Mark Skatrud, of Loomis, for leading a campaign to protect habitat for lynx and other wildlife.

A $25,000 hazmat mishandling fine

OLYMPIA -- Phillip Services Corp., in Tacoma, has been fined $25,000 by the state Department of Ecology for improper handling of hazardous materials. Ecology said the company, which does business as Burlington Environmental, failed to notify local, state and federal agencies of a significant release from a dangerous-waste treatment tank on June 26. The company also failed to maintain and repair secondary containment for a dangerous-waste tank system; failed to properly train employees; and failed to maintain site security. Ecology's action follows an Oct. 28 fine against Phillip Services by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which cited the company for failing to report the same toxic release in a timely manner. Phillip Services is one of the state's largest waste handlers. It accepts various chemical wastes, including acids from chipboard manufacturers. The company either ships them away for disposal or stores them in its tank farm. Besides the fine, Phillip Services' new hazardous-waste permit will contain requirements for improving operations.

Changes proposed for water-rights permits

OLYMPIA -- The state Department of Ecology and Walla Walla County are proposing to change the way some water-right permits are processed in the Walla Walla River Basin. The new procedure would allow Ecology to process certain applications for changes to water rights ahead of requests for new water-right permits. Current law requires Ecology to process water-right applications on the basis of public health and safety, enhancement to the environment, and then by the oldest applications first within a given basin. In the Walla Walla River Basin there there are about 50 pending applications for new water-right permits, and about 62 applications for changes to existing rights. Such changes could involve the purpose of the water (irrigation to domestic, for example), the point of water withdrawal, the place of use, or adding points of withdrawal. Under the new permit processing system, any proposed water right change would have to:

• result in a water saving of at least 10 percent;
• enhance the natural environment; or
• involve construction of a municipal water-supply system.

Hanford chinook salmon run is down

VERNITA, Wash. (AP) -- Biologists say the number of fall chinook spawning in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River is probably down a little compared with last year. A final count is expected in December, but estimates are for fewer than 1997's 35,000 fish, said Gary Garnant, a spokesman for the Grant County Public Utility District. Representatives from public utilities, fish agencies in the Northwest, the Bonneville Power Administration and Indian tribes were out counting fish Monday at Vernita Bar on the 51-mile reach, the last free-flowing stretch of the river in the United States. Grant County PUD operates the Priest Rapids Dam, four miles upstream from Vernita Bar. About one-third of the fall chinook that spawn in the reach do so in the gravel of the Vernita Bar, where biologist counted 194 redds, or nests, BPA spokeswoman Crystal Ball said. The 35,000 is a mid-range count for spawning salmon. From 1964 to 1984, the average was 26,500 fish. From 1985-96, the average was 51,800, Garnant said. "They still characterize it as a good return," he said. The return this year has a lot of 5-year-old fish, which are bigger and carry more eggs than the more common 3- and 4-year-olds, Garnant said. Under the Vernita Bar agreement of 1988 among the utilities, the BPA, the fisheries agencies and the tribes, water flows are controlled in the river to enhance spawning in the months of October and November, he said. Jon Savelle is the Journal's environment editor. He can be contacted at (206) 622-8272.

Q-pharma Inc.

Q-pharma Inc., an Edmonds-based marketer of Q-Dent antioxidant toothpaste, has added James Glavin as a member of the board of directors. Glavin is a founder and chairman of The Immune Response Corp., a California-based biopharmaceutical company.

Salish Lodge & Spa

Suzanne Erler has been named director of sales and marketing of the Salish Lodge & Spa. Erler formerly served as public relations and advertising manager at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hawaii hotel.

Northwest Hospital

Deborah Burzynski has been added to Northwest Hospital's marketing department as a product line developer. Burzynski will be responsible for managing the marketing efforts for the physician clinics and the breast and prostate cancer practices. Burzynski previously served as an account executive at MWW/Savitt in Seattle.

Plan for Tomorrow Today

Washington State's career guide, Plan for Tomorrow Today, has been added to an internet site through the Washington State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board. The site has information on more than 320 occupations, where education and training is available for those occupations, and other career services.

Palisade

Palisade executive chef John Howie has been invited to prepare a six-course "Oceans of the World" dinner at The James Beard House in New York City. The Beard House, founded by Julia Child for the father of American gastronomy, is the nation's culinary center for food and wine professionals.

Reed McClure

Seattle law firm Reed McClure recently added Steven Beeghly, David S. Cottnair, Jessica V. Newman and Mark A. Rowland as associates.

Schuchart

Marv Hedeen has been promoted to vice president and senior project manager at the Seattle office of general contractor Schuchart Corp.

ABC

The Associated Builders and Contractors has named John C. Gaylor its Contractor of the Year. Gaylor is president of Carmel, Ind.-based Gaylor Electric. The national association selected Gaylor because his company has withstood an ongoing union organizing campaign. Gaylor will receive his award Feb. 1 at ABC's national convention in Maui, Hawaii.