Olympic Peninsula Environmental News

So far, so good, but continued monitoring is needed, as the story shows. The good news is that there isn’t wide spread dangerous levels being seen in waters that are easily tied to the food chain, and to the surface. But obviously, this is preliminary data, and will need more study.

An international research team is reporting the results of a research cruise they organized to study the amount, spread, and impacts of radiation released into the ocean from the tsunami-crippled reactors in Fukushima, Japan. The group of 17 researchers and technicians from eight institutions spent 15 days at sea in June 2011 studying ocean currents, and sampling water and marine organisms up to the edge of the exclusion zone around the reactors.

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More fuel for the fire of global warming science, pun intended…

Nearly 140 years after Canadian-born scientist John Murray began gathering the first comprehensive data on sea water temperatures around the world, a team of U.S. and British researchers has revisited the pioneering discoveries from the famous 1872-76 voyage of the HMS Challenger to create the clearest picture yet of the steady warming trend now threatening the planet’s marine environment.

http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/Canadian+scientist+year+data+sheds+light+global+warming/6402350/story.html

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Billy Frank, Jr. at Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission says what’s killing our fish is a poison soup of brake pad dust, oil, gasoline and other pollutants that are washed by rain or melting snow from yards, sidewalks, parking lots and roads, right into our streams and Puget Sound.

These stormwater permits have already been delayed by the political process. They need to move forward, and soon. Puget Sound chinook have been on the Endangered Species Act list for more than a decade, yet there have been no substantial improvements to the environmental laws that got us into the problem to begin with. That needs to change, and the stormwater permitting process is a step in the right direction.

Read the rest of the story at:
http://nwifc.org/2012/04/stop-the-slow-down-to-save-puget-sound/

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Snohomish Public Utility District is exploring whether undersea turbines near Fort Casey could someday generate electricity for Puget Sound homes and businesses by placing two test units in Admiralty Inlet within several years.

http://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/news/144440375.html

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Developers will get more time to bring their projects to construction under a bill sponsored by Rep. Jan Angel, R-Port Orchard, and signed into law Thursday by Gov. Chris Gregoire.

Under the new law, developers will have seven years to complete any plat approved before Dec. 31, 2014. For plats approved after that, the developer will have five years. Developers given
more time for plats

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/mar/30/developers-given-more-time-for-plats/

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Received this from Michelle McConnell of the County Department of Communicty Development. You might be on her mailing list, but if not and interested, here’s the news. Essentially, still in limbo.

County and Ecology staff last met with the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) in late-February and proposed an idea brought forth by Ecology to get the new SMP adopted and work out the in-water finfish aquaculture details later.  The suggestion under consideration is to:

1. Adopt w/ CUP– Adopt the new SMP with an allowance for in-water finfish aquaculture with a Conditional Use Permit (CUP).  This would require new applications to meet specific criteria/standards and the permit process would include public notice and a public hearing in front of the Hearing Examiner who would make the final permit decision; and

2. Moratorium – Enact a moratorium to prohibit new applications for in-water finfish aquaculture for up to 18 months to allow further evaluation; and

3. Siting Analysis – Conduct a GIS mapping exercise to evaluate how the existing guidance about where to locate in-water finfish aquaculture operations applies ‘on the ground’ in Jefferson County.  This analysis could reveal there are specific areas where in-water finfish aquaculture would be feasible from the ecological protection and use conflict perspectives, or that there are indeed no locations where such use is feasible; and

4. SMP Amendment – The outcome of the siting analysis would likely lead to  the County making a limited amendment to the new SMP, either to specify where in-water finfish aquaculture can be proposed/sited or to prohibit the use completely from Jefferson County waters.  The amendment process would include public notice, public hearings and require final approval by Ecology.

Staff believes that moving forward with the suggested approach (Adopt/Moratorium/Analysis/Amend) would have several benefits, including;

· Get the new SMP in effect after a long process.  The finfish issue is currently holding up the whole Program.  There are projects pending application that are waiting for the new shoreline provisions to be available.

· Simplify answers to public questions.  The Coaching Services now offered through the Watershed Stewardship Resource Center often requires staff to interpret two different versions of the shoreline regulations – those currently in effect, and those anticipated to be in effect upon final adoption.

· The County’s participation in a partnership project with Clallam County to better understand how to monitor and achieve the ‘no net loss of shoreline ecological functions’ requirement is being delayed as long as the new SMP is not in effect.  This project  is anticipated to be a significant revenue source.

· A project proposed by the Port Townsend Paper Corporation is stalled due to the Mill Pond location currently being in shoreline jurisdiction but that will not be included in shoreline jurisdiction upon final adoption of the new SMP.

· Ecology has indicated availability of some fiscal support to conduct the siting analysis (approx. $10 – 25K) that would provide a dedicated funding source for the work anticipated to be completed by staff and consultants.

· Once Jefferson County finds a solution to the challenge of how to regulate in-water finfish aquaculture, Ecology can provide guidance to many other jurisdictions in the Puget Sound region (and the State) that are also updating their SMPs.

At the BoCC’s direction, staff is currently working to prepare three items to assist the Board’s consideration of the suggested approach:

A. Draft CUP criteria that would be included in the new SMP;

B. Scope of work for the siting analysis; and

C. Work plan and timeline for the moratorium.

Staff will bring these three items to the BoCC as soon as they’re ready and look for further direction from the Board on how they wish to proceed.  Staff is also working with local in-water finfish aquaculture net pen operators/suppliers to arrange for a few site visits for the Commissioners to become more familiar with how these facilities look and function.

There is currently no estimate as to when the Board may take action or when the new SMP will be in effect.  This email list will be kept up to date when more information is available.

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And so it goes…
“The state Department of Ecology also was pleased.”
No doubt. To be clear, there is no real monitoring of the plume that engulfs Port Townsend on any given day. We have no idea where the current toxic chemicals are falling. Think I’m crazy?
Here’s the official list of the toxins coming out of the mill.
http://iaspub.epa.gov/enviro/tris_control.tris_print?tris_id=98368PRTTW100PA

To sum it up so you don’t have to jump links, into the air around here they are dumping 3200 pounds of lead, 20000 pounds of Hydrocloric Acid, 17000 pounds of Formaldehyde, 76000 pounds of Ammonia, 29000 pounds of Acetaldehyde, 11000 pounds of Acetaldehyde, and 380000 (right 380 hundred thousand) pounds of various Methanol, among other compounds a year. Now they want to change the mix, but don’t want to go through the process of producing an Environmental Impact Statement.

All this ‘looking the other way’ under a democratic regime in the state, and locally. Lord knows how much worse it would be with Republicans in command…

It’s really a scandal and people wonder why voter turnout is low. Third party anyone?

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Thomas McPhee has affirmed a decision by the state Department of Ecology that the Port Townsend Paper Corp.’s $55 million biomass energy project doesn’t need an environmental impact statement.

http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?FromHome=1&TypeID=1&ArticleID=31181&SectionID=36&SubSectionID=55

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Representatives Van De Wege and Tharinger held an online town hall tonight. Hundreds of constituents from across the district called in. It was, very interesting.

In this year of crashing budgets, very little environmental questions were asked. (we did miss the first few minutes, but hope to get the transcript).

When asked what they felt their achievements in environmental legislation were, Tharinger started out by saying that It was a year of restoring cuts rather than trying to get new things done. Steve said that his restoration of Salmon Recovery Lead Entities to the budget was something that he was proud of, since this is a multiyear effort that would have been crippled by de-funding it.

Representative Tharinger also sited putting back into the budget the work of the Department of Ecology in Water Resource planning. Again, a multiyear effort would have been gutted.

Representative Van De Wege mentioned that he had tried to push through the Toxic Toy Bill, HB2266 and that it is still a possibility in the Special Session. It sounded as if Kevin had become educated to the dangers of toxic toys during this effort. He seemed genuinely surprised at the findings. The background on this is that the US is the dumping ground for Chinese toys that are unsafe for sale in Europe, as the EU has already banned these toys. We still allow them in. So guess who buys them? Us. Time to stop that from happening.

The oddest thing of the meeting was a question from a woman from Port Townsend, asking about the rumor that a failed candidate for city council has been making political hay on, which is that Kevin is a member of a very conservative think tank, the group ALEC (The American Legislative Exchange Council). While conspiracy theorists in PT have gone wild over this, Kevin admitted  that he is a member, that he represents many constituents in his district, and that some of them are quite conservative. He felt that, since this organization is so active in promoting conservative agendas, he should check it out (he didn’t mention if they asked him to join). He stated he has very little in common with their goals, and this reporter can state that no one seriously in bed with ALEC would ever support the legislation that Kevin has supported. Given that Kevin’s wife is an educator, and ALEC does support education initiatives that include electronic text books, it makes some sense to see him there.  Since ALEC seems to put forward ready made legislation for folks like Kevin to vote on, he likely sees their proposals come across his desk, and needs to better understand their goals. For now, it’s a tempest in a teapot to this reporter, and we’ll have to see if hanging out with folks that John Stewart regularly lampoons turns Kevin into a Forks vampire. Frankly, it seems more benign than cancerous. Kevin always has stood with environmental legislation, sometimes needing to keep an open mind to do it, but an open mind is something rare in politics today.  Case closed for now.

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Caroline Gibson of the NW Straits Commission, and someone who lives on the Peninsula helped write this letter to the editor on saving forage fish. Short but keeps up the drumbeat to get meaningful legislation and enforcement in place. Where is the Puget Sound Partnership leadership role in all this?

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/northwestvoices/2017815000_fishlet23.html

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Note that concerns about rockfish have closed the South Sound and Hood Canal. It’s time to put Marine Protection Areas into play. – Ed.
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The sports halibut fishing season will be four days longer in Puget Sound and more fish will be available for harvest early in the season off the state’s southern coast under 2012 catch quotas adopted by the International Pacific Halibut Commission.

To protect dwindling populations of three rockfish species, there will be no halibut fishing allowed this season in the South Sound. This is the third year in a row halibut fishing has been closed in marine areas 11 and 13. Hood Canal also will be closed this year.

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/03/25/2081434/puget-sound-halibut-season-extended.html#storylink=cpy

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This is part of what may become one of the most controversial and important decisions in environmental land use laws in decades. Luckily for environmental protection, this simply states that landowners should have rapid court review if so desired. But it points out that the other issues in this case, championed by anti-environmental groups, still have to be resolved by a court that is showing itself to be willing to roll back decades of protections. More to come.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that property owners have a right to prompt review by a judge of an important tool used by the Environmental Protection Agency to address water pollution. The court sided with an Idaho couple who object to an EPA order that blocked construction of their new home near a scenic lake and threatened fines of more than $30,000 a day. The agency said part of the property was a wetlands that could not disturbed without a permit.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/03/21/2447060/court-sides-with-property-owners.html

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It’s time to stop having taxpayers fund flood insurance for new construction that happens in flood plains. Kudos to the National W.F. for bringing this to a judge to help force action. Again, the federal government under a liberal president is doing as little as under a conservative one. To be clear, as we read this case, the issue is not about  ‘grandfathered’ buildings, but new construction, especially after being flooded out. There’s an answer for this, and it’s called, “higher ground”. Or let the property owner pay the full bill for insurance. 

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A Seattle district court judge will hear arguments Tuesday in a suit brought by the National Wildlife Federation against the Federal Emergency Management Agency, saying the agency has not upheld a requirement to restrict development in flood plains as required by a mandate to protect endangered and threatened species like orca whales and the salmon they feed on. The federation’s request would prevent the federal government from issuing any new flood insurance policies for new construction in flood plains. But 16 Puget Sound cities join FEMA in saying such a restriction would halt development altogether.

Seattle court to hear argument to ban issuance of flood insurance to new developments

http://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/article_89f29b5b-21e2-5c5f-81d0-612275c38b4d.html

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Hopefully we will continue to see the recovery of the beautiful blue songbird. – Alf

It costs about $30,000 to bring Western bluebirds back to live on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. There’s travel, paperwork and permits at the U.S. border, temporary aviaries to be used before the birds move to well-equipped nesting boxes, naturalists and biologists to help with the transition and an ongoing supply of mealworms. But worth it, according to Shyanne Smith, executive director for the Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team. "They are wonderful birds to work with and really easy to reintroduce," she said. Bluebird Story – Click here

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As ocean scientists probe what ails some of the largest creatures in the sea, a wave of new research is urging them to look at the little things — specifically the tiny schooling fish like herring, smelt, sardines and squid that are the food of choice for many of the ocean’s top predators. But there is increasing pressure globally to harvest marine "forage fish" for everything from hog feed and fertilizer to fishmeal in tuna pens or as bait for recreational or commercial fishing. Craig Welch at theSeattle Times reports: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017762147_littlefish16m.html

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I think that this is a good idea. The Navy has been doing these meetings in the most out of the way places, and in locales where support is likely to be high. There is no real debate about the expansion of training activities in the Sound and Hood Canal, we are going to get them whether we want them or not.
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Christopher Dunagan blogs: “A dozen environmental groups say they will boycott the nine “scoping meetings” the Navy is holding to kick off a new round of studies regarding testing and training activities in the Northwest.”

Environmental groups will boycott Navy meetings http://pugetsoundblogs.com/waterways/2012/03/14/environmental-groups-will-boycott-navy-meetings/

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Recreational Shrimp Fishing To Open
KMAS
In all areas of Puget Sound, fishers are limited to 80 spot shrimp per day.
A valid 2012-13 fishing license is required to participate in the fishery.
Spot shrimp seasons for various areas of Puget Sound are: Hood Canal Shrimp

See all stories on this topic:

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I think there is more than enough evidence to call for a moratorium on sonar use in the Salish Sea. Anyone want to join me in this? — Alf
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Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research says that the young female killer whale, known as L112 and Sooke, which died recently didn’t die of disease or starvation. “Clearly the animal was blown up.” Balcomb says the signs of trauma on the body and on the head and, more importantly, among the tissues in the rear of the killer whale’s jaw are strikingly similar to the injuries that he witnessed in a group of stranded beaked whales several years ago in the Bahamas. He said those whales stranded themselves on a beach shortly after a military ship traveling in the same vicinity passed by with its sonar engaged. Scott Rasmussen at the Journal of the San Juans reports:

Death at sea: speculation swirls over sonar
http://www.sanjuanjournal.com/news/142522205.html

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