As this blog stated over a week ago, the saga of net pens on the Olympic Peninsula is not over yet.
Cooke Aquaculture Pacific, LLC has filed an appeal of the state Department of Natural Resources’ denial of its leases for steelhead farms in state waters.
https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/cooke-aquaculture-files-appeal-of-dnr-decision/
Filed under: Aquaculture, Clallam County, Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles | Tagged: Cooke Aquaculture, DNR, jamestown s'klallam tribe | 2 Comments »
Here’s an update on the work at Ediz Hook in Port Angeles by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. They have been removing debris from the shore and planting eel grass to renew the nearshore habitat for fish and other species.
Below the surface, the tribe and partners Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Washington Sea Grant have been restoring eelgrass beds on the sand spit’s south shore for the past four years, with greater success than expected
Northwest Treaty Tribes January 2022
Read the whole story here. https://nwtreatytribes.org/publications/magazine/
Filed under: Around the Salish Sea, Around the Sound, Clallam County, Endangered Species, Environmental Protection, First Nations, fisheries, Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles | Comments Off on Ediz Hook enhanced for salmon, public use – NWTTM
The Tribe has been expanding shellfish and fin fish aquaculture in the last few years. This latest push, is an interesting issue. While the Tribe supported shutting non-native salmon fish farming, they never said they supported shutting down native salmon fish farming. This farm is for black cod, also known as Sablefish or Butterfish. It is native to the Pacific Northwest, but farming it by feeding it pellets, as they do with salmon, makes it not that appealing. Wild caught black cod is delicious, widely served in the Pacific NW. But I certainly will be asking if my black cod is wild caught or not. Not interested in eating fish raised in the backwater of Port Angeles harbor, near the pulp and paper mill.
It will be interesting to see how Ron Allen gets around the ruling. They likely would have to end the relationship with Cooke, which is a financial boon to the Tribe. We’ll continue to follow this as it unfolds.
Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Chairman Ron Allen vowed Tuesday to move forward with plans to establish a fish farm in Port Angeles Harbor despite a recent state Court of Appeals decision upholding the termination of its business partner’s lease. The three-judge panel Dec. 14 affirmed a Thurston County Superior Court decision that struck a blow to the joint plans of the tribe and Canadian aquaculture company Cooke Pacific LLC. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)
Filed under: Around the Sound, Clallam County, First Nations, fisheries, Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles, Straits of Juan de Fuca | Tagged: black cod, Cooke Seafood, jamestown s'klallam tribe, Ron Allen, sablefish | 1 Comment »
The ongoing story of the cleanup of the environmental superfund site in PA. This site sits just east of the downtown, you can reach it as you take the walkway east from the port area. The hope and goal is to reclaim this for future generations.
Creation of open space for potential — though only occasional — use is included in a proposed cleanup strategy for the abandoned, still-polluted Rayonier pulp mill site and adjacent Port Angeles Harbor. The voluminous three-part study, and options it includes for the 75-acre industrial parcel east of downtown Port Angeles, were presented Wednesday at an Olympic Medical Center meeting room where some participants wanted more than that…To address soil pollution, 10 acres would be excavated to 1 foot deep and 0.5 acres to more than 1 foot. An additional 10 acres would be capped. To address groundwater pollution, air sparging — or the injection of air to disperse pollutants — would be employed to oxidize ammonia and metals in phases starting near the shoreline. To address sediment pollution in Rayonier’s portion of the harbor cleanup area — several other parties including the Port of Port Angeles are cleaning the western harbor — a log pond near a soon-to-be-removed 4-acre dock would be dredged. Sand, silt and gravel would be used as fill for dredged areas and berth and approach areas. It and the remainder of a sediment remediation area would be topped by a sand layer “to address sediment contamination and to provide suitable habitat,” according to the Volume 3 report. Cleanup costs of $24 million under the proposed plan will be borne by the land owner, Jacksonville, Fla.-based Rayonier Advanced Materials. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)
State presents proposed cleanup plan for abandoned Rayonier site
Filed under: Port Angeles, Puget Sound | Tagged: Port Angeles, Puget Sound, Rayonier Cleanup | Comments Off on State presents proposed cleanup plan for abandoned Rayonier site – PDN
Please join Peninsula College’s Magic of Cinema and the Sierra Club North Olympic Group on Friday, December 7th, at 7 p.m. in the Maier Performance Hall for a screening of What Lies Upstream.
In this documentary exposé, investigative filmmaker Cullen Hoback travels to West Virginia to study the unprecedented loss of clean water for over 300,000 Americans.
In January 2014 West Virginia citizens notice that their tap water has a peculiar smell. It is discovered that a mysterious chemical, MCHM, has leaked into the Elk River, poisoning the drinking-water supply for nearly half of West Virginia. Hoback arrives at the state’s capital during the heart of the crisis, his interest piqued by his family ties to the state and a desire to understand why this contamination happened. But getting to the bottom of this seemingly simple question is about to lead him down a rabbit hole of an unimaginable scale.
Initially all the blame seems to be directed at Freedom Industries, the company that spilled MCHM, the chemical that traveled downstream before entering the water intake. But locals reveal that Freedom Industries is only one small facility in the area they call “The Chemical Valley.” While it’s obvious that Freedom Industries plays a key role in this contamination, it is equally obvious that their chemical tanks were allowed to completely erode over time without proper government oversight or inspection.
As Hoback continues his investigation, he meets West Virginia Cabinet Secretary Randy Huffman, who serves as the head of the state’s Department of Environment Protection, which regulates all the industry in the state and handles all inspections. Huffman admits that Freedom Industries’ tanks hadn’t been inspected since 1993, but initially dismisses fears that MCHM is harmful. At the same time, Dr. Rahul Gupta, who runs the local health department, is the only official who seems concerned that the chemical might have negative long-term health effects. Yet, despite little scientific evidence, the CDC determines what amount of MCHM is safe for residents to drink.
Hoback continues to expand his study of drinking water in West Virginia to include outlying areas, where it quickly becomes clear that coal and chemical production have gone unchecked for decades. Virtually all the rivers and streams aren’t suitable drinking water sources.
Upon examination, he discovers a shocking failure of regulatory framework from both state and federal agencies and a wrecked political system. While he’s deep into his work in West Virginia, a similar water crisis strikes Flint, Michigan supporting the case that the entire system to protect drinking water in America is fundamentally broken.
The film also focuses on the 80,000 plus chemicals used in the US that enter our sewer streams, contaminate our water systems, and create runoff threatening our food and waters
The public knows very little about what chemicals are in the water supply and even less about the weak regulations and enforcement practices meant to protect it. Just because you don’t live in West Virginia or Flint doesn’t mean your water is safe.
This screening is free and open to the public. Following the film, there will be a speaker on WA State water pollution.
For more information contact Dr. Helen Lovejoy@ hlovejoy@pencol.edu.
Filed under: Events, Port Angeles, Puget Sound | Tagged: Port Angeles, Puget Sound | Comments Off on EVENT: Movie – What Lies Upstream
As some of you may know, there has been a proposal to put a oyster farm with approx. 150,000 bags of oysters in an approx. 34 acre section of the nearshore inside Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge is closed to virtually all human activity other than walking on the Spit. It is illegal to fly a kite there or throw a Frisbee. The application for the farm to go in, drew widespread condemnation from a wide range of citizens, including a very detailed letter of concerns from the project leader of the Wildlife Refuge, which was detailed in an earlier article on this news site. https://olyopen.com/2018/04/10/concerns-raised-over-dungeness-spit-oyster-farm-application/
The project has raised questions from many about the appropriateness of allowing commercial aquaculture inside a national wildlife reserve. Similar issues are being raised across the country as Scott Pruitt, the head of the Department of Interior continues “opening new mineral and oil and gas leasing opportunities in protected lands, easing drilling regulations, and rolling back habitat protections for endangered species” (National Geographic 2/2/2018) including Bears Ears National Monument, which includes sacred locations of a number of tribes.
The Clallam County Department of Community Development has announced the withdrawal of the Determination of Non-Significance (DNS) issued on February 23, 2018 for the preparation of a site specific Environmental Assessment to address the impacts to the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge and other issues raised.
The Army Corps of Engineers also weighed in, stating that the project would be evaluated as a “Standard Individual Permit” so not eligible for a nationwide permit, which would have allowed the county to proceed on a DNS. The Corp stated that the impacts would be “more than minimal”.
A six month continuance was approved for the preparation of this document.
DCD will reopen the comment period when it is completed.
The full announcement is here:
Filed under: Aquaculture, Port Angeles, Puget Sound | Tagged: Clallam County, Port Angeles, Puget Sound | Comments Off on Clallam County withdraws Finding of Non Significance for Dungeness Spit aquaculture project
The Battle Against Light Pollution will be held on Thursday, May 17 at 6 PM in the Port Angeles Library Carver Meeting Room, 2210 South Peabody Street. It is being hosted by the Sierra Club North Olympic Group as part of its free series of public programs.
Come peer through the lens of the International Dark-Sky Association — its efforts to combat light pollution and recognize Dark Sky Preserves.
Explore light pollution causes, effects on wildlife and human health, and its carbon footprint.
Learn some astronomy and about our connection to the night sky.
Hear how to effectively fight and eliminate light pollution.
It’s a fight we can win, if we have the will, say David W. Ingram, Chapter Leader of Dark Skies Northwest (DSNW and John L. Goar, Astronomy Outreach Volunteer for Olympic National Park and member of the International Dark-Sky Association. (IDA)
The IDA is a non-profit organization based in Tucson, AZ. It is dedicated to preserving the natural nighttime environment by educating policymakers and the public about night sky conservation and promoting environmentally friendly methods to provide minimally intrusive outdoor lighting.
Ingram’s leadership covers Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. His work as an IDA chapter leader includes education and public outreach presentations and support and empowerment to private citizens, conservation and environmental organizations, schools, local, state and national organizations.
Ingram retired from the Boeing Company after a 34-year career in aviation and space technology. His personal focus on science, the night sky and amateur astronomy began in Indiana during his high school years in the mid-1960s. Over the past decades, he has joined numerous astronomy societies and related organizations and now serves as the Boeing Employees’ Astronomical Society President, the Seattle Astronomical Society Vice President of Education, and the IDA/Dark Skies Northwest (DKNW) representative to a number of astronomy societies in the Puget Sound area. In addition to his IDA chapter leader duties with
DKNW, Ingram provides volunteer time to the summer astronomy program at Glacier National Park in Montana. Learn more at <www.darksky.org>
John L. Goar teaches high school science at North Kitsap High School in Poulsbo WA. In addition to being the Astronomy Outreach Volunteer for Olympic National Park, and winning the 2016 George and Helen Hartzog Volunteer National Park Service Award, Goar is an officer of the Olympic Astronomical Society and the Astronomical League (Binocular Messier Program Coordinator and Asteroid Observing Program Coordinator), as well as Secretary of the Olympic Astronomical Society, Bremerton, WA.
Goar is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley. As a student project, he built a 12.5 inch Dobsonian telescope, and later built a 20 inch diameter mirror scope. Goar has been an amateur astronomer since 2000, and is passionate about preserving dark night skies. He has led free public telescope programs at Hurricane Ridge for eight summers, while also leading full moon hikes to Hurricane Hill.
Goar is a certified master observer with the Astronomical League, a confederation of astronomy clubs in the US. Hwas also awarded the Presidential Lifetime Service Award in 2017 by President Barack Obama.
Information and a schedule for summer astronomy programs in 2018 can be found at his website: <www.olympictelescope.com>
David W. Ingram John L. Goar
https://sierraclub.org/washington/north-olympic
MEDIA RELEASE
Contact: Darlene Schanfald
Sierra Club North Olympic Group
360-681-7565
Filed under: Port Angeles, Puget Sound | Tagged: Light Pollution, Port Angeles, Puget Sound | Comments Off on EVENT:The Battle Against Light Pollution – Thursday, May 17 at 6 PM
Filed under: education, Environmental Activism, environmental education, Events, Port Angeles, Puget Sound | Tagged: Clallam County, Port Angeles, Puget Sound | Comments Off on EVENT: Day of Science in Port Angeles – APRIL 22nd.
It seems that Port Angeles can’t do any kind of city project without cost overruns or scandals. It makes one wonder is overseeing their project management and bid process. It’s worth noting that a leading environmental activist over there, Darlene Schanfeld,argued against spending the money on this project in the first place, as it’s being built on a piece of property that is very likely to be inundated in any kind of major earthquake. The taxpayers of PA can only hope that comes later than sooner.
A $1 million dispute centered on building delays and construction costs has bubbled up between city officials and the builder of key components of the city’s new $47 million Combined Sewer Overflow system, the priciest public works project in the city’s history. An auditing firm will review Bellingham-based TEK Construction Inc. records today for the city, Public Works and Utilities Director Craig Fulton told City Council members at their regular meeting Tuesday. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)
Filed under: Port Angeles, Puget Sound | Tagged: Port Angeles, Puget Sound | 1 Comment »
Just got out of the world premiere of ‘Return of the River”, the film that likely will be considered the definitive work on the Elwha Dam removal. This film, years in the making, was a labor of love for the two Peninsula based filmmakers, John Gussman and Jessica Plumb. And it was great to see it premiered here at the Port Townsend Film Festival.
The film tracks in detail the history of the dam, but more importantly the place that is the Elwha River, the feel for the Olympic Peninsula then and now, and a great depth of interviews with people that were instrumental, on both sides of the controversial project. It is impossible not to come away impressed with the idea that hard things to do take a long time, and a lot of consensus building. From the interviews with leading politicians, mill managers, environmentalists, writers, biologists, and most importantly, the tribal members of the Lower Elwha Tribe, who never gave up hope to bring back the historic runs. There were so many people who played significant small roles in this drama. Gussman and Plumb treated all with the respect they deserve. There are no demeaning ‘heroes and villains’ caricatures.
It is almost trite to say that certain stories are ‘epic’ and ‘pivotal’ but the removal of the Elwha Dam has been just that. It has galvanized world attention more than almost any other single environmental event of the last ten years, because it is a message of hope. Hope that we can restore what we have destroyed. Gussman and Plumb have captured that story, distilled it to 70 minutes, and given fair treatment to all sides, and points of view. More than ever, we need stories of hope in the face of ever mounting environmental problems to solve.
In the last week, I’ve posted the story that bull trout have been seen in the upper Elwha for the first time in a century. Also that the shores of the Elwha estuary are turning back into a clam bed capable sand spit. The power of restoration is an amazing thing to watch. The restoration of this river, with it’s unique short run from sea to protected park, is possible, and is happening, right now, in front of our eyes for just taking the time to go look.
Gussman and Plumb, along with the rest of their crew, have given us the story, in all it’s facets. A well crafted storyline, beautiful filmmaking, solid editing, a wonderful original soundtrack, animation when needed of the hard concepts.
Congratulations for a remarkable piece of work. A 5 star must see film.
Filed under: Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles, Salmon | Tagged: elwha dam, elwha river, john gussman, lower elwha tribe, Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles | Comments Off on Return of the River – A homerun of a movie for Gussman and Plumb
“Tides of Change” is a new Science Minute Movie by the North Coast and Cascades Science Learning Network that takes viewers behind-the-scenes of Olympic National Park with coastal ecologist Steve Fradkin as he traverses “one of the most wild, scenic coastlines in North America” to monitor the health of the park’s rocky intertidal community. (Peninsula Daily News)
Read the whole story:
Filed under: Events, Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles, Puget Sound | Tagged: North Olympic Peninsula, Olympic National Park, Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles, Puget Sound | Comments Off on ‘Tides of Change’ explores the health of ocean waters off North Olympic Peninsula – PDN
The Skills Center Natural Resources program gets you outside doing real work in the environment. We offer project-based classes to high school-aged students (up to 21 years old without a diploma) across the North Olympic Peninsula. All classes include hands-on field work, offer high school and college credit, and help students transition to the next step of internship, college or career.
Enrollment is open now for second semester, which starts at the end of January.
Classes in Port Angeles include the new ‘Cultural and Natural Resources 1’ class, which meets after lunch daily, and 5 different ‘Natural Resources Options’ that meet after school one day per week. Sequim and Forks each have three different ‘Natural Resources Options’ that meet after school one day per week.
For more information or to enroll, please contact teacher Dan Lieberman at 360-565-1892, dlieberman@portangelesschools.org, or www.nopsc.org/naturalresources.
Filed under: Olympic Peninsula, Places, Port Angeles, Projects | Tagged: Clallam County, Classes, North Olympic Peninsula, Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles, skills | Comments Off on Enrollment now open for environmental project work for high school to 21 year olds
Clallam County Community Development Director Sheila Roark Miller could face a variety of charges stemming from a complaint about her allegedly altering records. The original complaint appears to have been for forcing unpaid overtime, but now is expanded to include what is believed to be a possible charge of back-dating a development permit to ensure the developer would not have to comply with rigorous new water conservation rules that went into effect in Jan of this year, according to my sources. If accurate, that charge apparently could be one of the felony charges mentioned. Ms. Miller, in her role as DCD head and a landowner/river water user with her farm in the Sequim Valley, has been a member of the Dungeness River Management Team, and originally ran against an environmentally supportive (and supported by the environmental community) head of DCD. DCD has also been overseeing the Clallam County Shoreline Master Program update. Likely Ms. Miller will take a prolonged leave of absence, and probably resignation would follow while she awaits the pending charges. It would (and likely already has) put a serious cloud over the SMP update. We hope that these charges are unfounded, as it would bring into question much of the work done by her office since she took the reins.
Why does this matter to Jefferson County? Because the movement to create a “Charter County” would make the DCD position an elected position, and lead to inevitable politicization of the position. Currently we do not elect our DCD head, it is a typical county position hired by looking at experience and related job backgrounds. In fact, the PDN has mentioned in the past that this is the *only* elected DCD official in the US. The fact that Clallam County is a charter county allows this position to be made into a political, rather than professional one.
Filed under: Government, Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles | Tagged: Clallam County, Clallam County DCD, Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles, sheila roard miller | Comments Off on Clallam County hires attorney for embattled county official Sheila Roark Miller – PDN
From our friend Jac at NOSC. A person who never seems to be without a smile. You’ll enjoy the day. A great way to learn about your local watershed.
***MULTIPLE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED***
WHAT: Stream Surveys with the North Olympic Salmon Coalition
WHERE: Morse Creek, just east of PA
WHEN: Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays from Aug 29th to Sept 30th
9am-1pm and/or 1-4pm. Volunteer for a partial day, full day or multiple days
WHY: NOSC will be collecting post-project monitoring data for the 3rd consective year after the Morse Creek Re-meander Project
NOSC will be measuring different stream characteristics and habitat features such as pool and riffle lengths, large woody debris, stream depths and pebble sizes. No experience necessary, training will be provided. Volunteers need to be comfortable working in water for an extended period of time. Visit www.nosc.org for more information.
RSVP: Email Jac at volunteer@nosc.org or call (360) 379-8051 to get involved and scheduled.
PLEASE BRING: Chest waders and boots (NOSC can provide some). Please bring plenty of water, snacks and warm clothes.
DIRECTIONS: We will meet at 651 Cottonwood Lane, Port Angeles. or click to see map: http://mapq.st/oB2MW7.
DAY OF EVENT CONTACT: Jac at (518) 312-2658.
Volunteers can either join us for a morning shift (9-1pm), afternoon shift (1pm-4pm) or all day (9am-4pm). It those times don’t work, let us know we are flexible. We need at least 4 volunteers each day. It is extremely helpful if you are able to volunteer on multiple occasions. This is one of my favorite events all year – great excuse to spend all day in a beautiful stream!
Thanks – Hope to see at Morse Creek
Jac
Filed under: Port Angeles | Tagged: Clallam County, environmental, morse creek, Port Angeles, stream monitoring | Comments Off on Stream Survey Volunteers Needed – Morse Creek near PA
Another reason all our work on getting rescue tugs and others involved in the protection of the Strait was a good idea. This time the rescue tug was not needed, but another tug from PA came to the rescue. I’ll update this story if there is reason to.
A cargo ship lost steering off Port Angeles just after midnight Wednesday and was towed into the Port Angeles Harbor for repair. The state Department of Ecology received a report from the state Emergency Management Division that the Grand Quest lost steering 6 nautical miles northwest of Port Angeles in the Strait of Juan de Fuca just after 12:15 a.m. The Grand Quest is a 587-foot Panama-flagged auto carrier that left Astoria, Ore., at 5:35 p.m. Tuesday, and was on its way to Tacoma, according to the ship’s GPS locator beacon. The Brian S., a Port Angeles-based tug, towed the ship to anchor in Port Angeles at about 3 a.m., said Petty Officer Katelyn Tyson, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.
Cargo ship loses steering, towed to Port Angeles for repairs http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20130704/NEWS/307049991/cargo-ship-loses-steering-towed-to-port-angeles-for-repairs
Filed under: Oil Spills, Port Angeles | Tagged: Clallam County, oil spill, Oil Spills, Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles, Rescue Tug, state, Washington | 2 Comments »
This is extremely good news to a start on finding out what kinds of pollution we are breathing and if the new biomass plants are actually doing something that needs cleaning up. That is, if they are built, which seems not a sure thing at this point in time, due to economics, not environmental concerns, unfortunately.
___________________________________________
The Olympic Clean Air Agency and the University of Washington propose to jointly study air quality in Jefferson and Clallam Counties. This project will evaluate possible air quality changes associated with new biomass co-generation facilities in Port Townsend and Port Angeles and changes in ultra-fine particle concentrations associated with both facilities. The project will support state of the art measurements of ultra-fine particles and will respond directly to concerns of the two communities around health effects and industrial development.
Background
Concerns regarding greenhouse gas emissions and climate change have encouraged the development of biomass fueled power stations, i.e. biomass cogeneration plants. The biomass fuel varies for each region and can include sugar-cane stalk, corn and rice straw, and palm and woody debris to name a few. This form of power generation is controversial within the “green” community. Proponents claim that burning biomass contributes a net zero addition to atmospheric carbon dioxide compared to fossil fuel combustion [Taylor, 2010]. The carbon released during biomass combustion will be re-used in plant material for the next cycle of energy generation, while fossil fuels represent carbon that has been stored for millennia. Since new co-generation plants are required to use Best Available Control Technology (BACT) to prevent degradation of air quality, supporters further argue that burning biomatter in the plant is cleaner than slash burning outdoors and actually helps improve air quality. Furthermore, industry has been burning biomass waste for years without converting it to usable power, and therefore claim a net gain in power produced vs. carbon released [Taylor, 2010]. The US Department of Energy recognizes biomass co-generation plants as a renewable energy source and has awarded grants to finance their design and operation. (http://www.srs.gov/general/news/releases/nr12_doe-biomass-startup.pdf)
Opponents of biomass fueled co-generation are primarily concerned about subsequent environmental damage and the cleanliness of the technology. They claim that burning biomass will endanger forest land by increasing logging operations and argue that slash should be left to decompose on the forest floor. The primary concern regarding biomass fueled power centers on the release of harmful toxins and fine particulate that can negatively impact the health of residents living near the co-generation plants. Specifically, activists are concerned about ultrafine particles –diameters less than 100 nm – that are not detected by standard air monitoring instruments [Keywooda et al., 1999] and to which recent research ascribes significant health impacts [Keywooda et al., 1999; Morawska et al., 2004].
Recently two new biomass cogeneration plants were approved for installation on the Olympic Peninsula, one at Nippon Paper Industries in Port Angeles and the other at Port Townsend Paper Company in Port Townsend. Both mills have been burning woody biomass as waste for several decades. Construction of these co-generation plants requires installation of emission control technology predicted to decrease the total PM2.5 emitted, despite increasing the mass of fuel burned by a factor of three. PM2.5 is the mass concentration of atmospheric particles with diameters less than 2.5 microns. Other gaseous emissions such as Volatile Organic Compounds and NOx will roughly increase by 35 and 18 tons per year respectively. Despite these pollution controls, and maybe because of them, there is concern that although PM2.5 will decrease, the number of ultrafine particles, which may be more hazardous to respiratory and cardio health, will increase. Research has shown that when PM2.5 decreases, co-emitted gases like SO2 and NOx have less surface area on which to condense and are thus more likely to homogeneously nucleate ultrafine particles downwind of the emission site [Weber et al., 1997]. Despite these concerns, there is very little data that show the impact of biomass cogeneration plants on local and regional air quality, including PM2.5 and ultrafine particulate.
Proposed Study
Port Angeles and Port Townsend are ideal locations to conduct a study focusing on the impacts of biomass fueled cogeneration facilities on air quality downwind of the cogeneration plants. Both towns have similar meteorology and environmental conditions. There are no other large industrial sources or major freeways to obscure ultrafine and fine particulate emissions from the biomass cogeneration plants, although emissions from residential burning in the winter constitute a large fraction of the observed PM2.5 in bothcities. Currently the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) maintains a permanent air monitoring site for PM2.5 in both Port Angeles and Port Townsend. Data on background concentrations of PM2.5, SO2, NOx, CO, and ozone are also available from Cheeka Peak, an NCore site located west of Port Angeles on the northwestern tip of the peninsula and measuring some of the cleanest air in the country. In addition to the permanent monitors, ORCAA will also install four optical particle counters (OPC) that provide data on the number concentration of particles larger than 0.3 microns at three locations in Port Angeles and at one location in Sequim. The OPCs will operate between January 2013 and December 2013. These monitors will move to Port Townsend in 2014. In both Port Angeles and Port Townsend, one of the OPCs will be collocated with the permanent air monitor, a nephelometer. ORCAA also has two aethalometers that measure black carbon concentration and can be used to differentiate between wood combustion and diesel combustion. One aethalometer will be installed at the permanent monitoring location and the other will be installed along with an OPC at one of the other temporary sites. The existence of these monitoring locations creates an infrastructure that will facilitate a study of ultrafine particles and source types of air pollution in the region.
In addition to ambient monitoring that already occurs in Clallam and Jefferson Counties the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency, in collaboration with the University of Washington, proposes to conduct an additional study to examine the concentration, sources, and lifetimes of ultrafine particulate in Port Angeles and Port Townsend.
The scientific questions to be addressed are:
1) 2) 3)
4) 5) 6) 7)
Experiment
For this project we will establish two master research sites on the Olympic Peninsula. One will be located near residential areas of Port Townsend and the Port Townsend Paper Corp. The second site will be in Port Angeles near to the Nippon Paper Industries facility. At each site we will ideally conduct a series of pre/post-expansion intensive measurements that can complement the existing measurements using nephelometers, optical particle counters, and aethalometers. The Nippon co-generation plant, located in Port Angeles, expects to begin operating in September or October, 2013 and therefore baseline, winter measurements of ultrafine particles before operations commence may not be possible. To work around this issue, meteorology and plume dispersion modeling will allow data to be segregated to times when emissions from Nippon could affect measurements at the site and those times when they would not.
How will air quality respond to the change in emissions from the facility?
What is the distribution of PM2.5 in residential areas of both communities?
Is there evidence of an increase in ultrafine particulate matter from the expanded facilities?
What is the cause of the odors in the Port Townsend area and what can be done about these?
What are the source contributions to fine and ultrafine particulate in these two areas?
How does this change between winter and summer?
Which neighborhoods are most impacted by these facilities? Are the concentrations
reasonably modeled by a Gaussian plume distribution?
How do ultrafine particulate emissions from the facilities change in the winter relative to the summer?
Measurements of PM2.5, number concentration and size distribution of ultrafine particles (diameter < 100 nanometers), particle chemical speciation, and carbon monoxide will be made at both the Port Angeles and the Port Townsend sites. Continuous stack emission measurements at the facilities will complement the ambient measurements to determine their potential influence on the ambient air quality.
A proposed schedule for this work is as follows:
Summer 2013: 6-week experiment prior to facility modifications and expansion
Winter 2013: 6-week experiment prior to facility modifications and expansion (Port Townsend) Summer 2014: 6-week experiment after facility modifications and expansion
Winter 2014: 6-week experiment after facility modifications and expansion
Instruments and measurements that will be made in addition to those already made by ORCAA:
|
Instrument |
What it measures |
|
Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), TSI 3936 |
Ultrafine particle size distribution |
|
Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) |
Aerosol chemical composition |
|
Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer (CIMS) |
Aerosol chemical composition |
|
TECO 48CTL |
Carbon Monoxide |
|
Dusttrak DRX 8543 |
Particulate matter |
Filed under: Government, Jefferson County, legislation, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Projects | Tagged: Air Pollution, air pollution, biomass, Biomass Cogeneration, Clallam County, legislature, Port Angeles, Port Townsend | 4 Comments »
Nice to see the honoring of these local legends. If you haven’t visited the Feiro you certainly should.
Two of the builders are long gone — yet they’re not. Standing beneath a 13-foot Western red cedar tree adorned with copper sea life, friends and family shared memories of Will Wirt and Art Feiro. The occasion for this gathering Friday afternoon was “Kindred Spirits,” the cedar monument freshly installed at the Arthur D. Feiro Marine Life Center on City Pier. Diane Urbani de la Paz reports.
Filed under: Port Angeles | Tagged: Clallam County, Port Angeles | Comments Off on Feiro Marine Life Center’s founders feted with new monument–PDN
Dr. Peter deFur, of Environmental Stewardship Concepts LLC, will tie together and update the public on the Rayonier and the Port Angeles Harbor cleanup efforts at a forum on Tuesday, 28 May at 7 PM in the Port Angeles Landing Mall 2nd floor meeting room. The Landing Mall is on the east side of the Pt Angeles-Victoria B.C. ferry dock.
The Department of Ecology’s Toxics Cleanup Program is working to investigate and clean up contamination around Port Angeles from Harbor sources of pollution. Cleanup sites and investigations include the Rayonier Mill, the Harbor Sediments Investigation, the Rayonier Mill Off-Property Soil Dioxin Study, (dioxins in Port Angeles area soils), the North Olympic Peninsula Regional Background study, Western Port Angeles Harbor (Nippon and areas of Ediz Hook), KPly, and the Marine Trades Area (central portion of the Harbor). Dr. deFur will present a summary of the status of these efforts and provide comments on the various reports and activities.
Dr. deFur is Technical Advisor for the Olympic Environmental Council Coalition for technical document reviews and public outreach and education.
Rayonier Mill: The Rayonier Mill was closed and demolished in 1997. At present, the Department of Ecology is reviewing Rayonier’s report about sediment contamination in the immediate area of the former mill site.
Sediments Investigation and the Western Harbor Site: Through the Puget Sound Initiative, the Department of Ecology did a large-scale sediment sampling study in Port Angeles Harbor. The study found the highest contamination in the western harbor and near the former Rayonier Mill in the eastern harbor. Ecology identified the Western Port Angeles Harbor cleanup site based on the Harbor investigation findings. The responsible parties plan to do sampling for the Western Harbor investigation this summer.
Regional Background: This spring and summer, Ecology will sample sediments in bays east of the Harbor in an effort to determine background sediment conditions for the North Olympic Peninsula region. The Department of Ecology previously conducted a similar sampling effort in the Port Gardner (Everett) region.
Dr. deFur also serves as Technical Advisor to the non-profit citizen based Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, in addition to several other major hazardous waste cleanup sites throughout the nation.
Dr. Peter deFur is Olympic Environmental Council’s Technical Advisor for the Port Angeles projects through a grant from the Washington Department of Ecology. Ecology reviewed this announcement for technical accuracy. Olympic Environmental Council positions are not those of Ecology’s.
For additional information, contact Darlene Schanfald, <darlenes@olympus.net>
Filed under: Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles | Tagged: Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles, Rayonier Cleanup | Comments Off on EVENT: 28 May–7PM–PA Harbor Cleanup Update
Feiro Marine Life Center and Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Present:
Friday, November 30 6:30-8:30 pm 2nd floor Landing Mall
Conservation and human interest is often focused on large, visible animals such as whales, seals, and sea birds. Yet, many of these species depend critically on the availability of small, schooling fish such as herrings, anchovies and sardines. The protection of the “little fish” may hold the answer to reaching broad conservation goals. Gain a greater understanding of the biology, ecology and threats to these fish, with a particular emphasis on species that reside on the Washington Coast.
Join us in welcoming Dr. Tim Essington, a marine ecologist with broad interests in marine ecology, food webs, and ecosystem-based fisheries management. Dr. Essington, an Associate Professor and Associate Director of the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington, serves on the boards of the Ecosystem Science and Management working group of the NOAA Science Advisory Board, the NCEAS Science Advisory Board, and the Marine Stewardship Council’s Technical Advisory Board. In 2011 he was selected to be a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation.
Please call Feiro at 417-6254 for more information.
Suggested Donation: $5.00
Filed under: Events, Port Angeles | Tagged: Clallam County, Feiro, Port Angeles | Comments Off on Little Fish, Big Problems: Paying attention to “the most important fish in the sea”–At Feiro 11.30.2012
An eroding bluff is inching toward the edge of Port Angeles’ closed landfill, retreating at one point to just 11 feet away from spilling the old dump’s rotting garbage 125 feet down into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. City Council members will consider the problem — and short- and long-term solutions that a consultant said could total up to $12 million — at their City Council meeting at 6 p.m. today at City Hall.
Filed under: Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles | Tagged: Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles | Comments Off on Old Port Angeles dump threatens to spill into Strait–PDN
