4/12 Ocean acid, L112, bag ban, Skagit water, oil spill barge, boat fire, Bainbridge sewage, PenPly

On Brussels time. Slightly overcast, jet lagged but happy to be off the plane. Mike

Researchers said Wednesday they have conclusive evidence that ocean acidification is at least partly responsible for killing oysters on the West Coast.  Acidity in ocean killed NW oysters, new study says  

The Royal Canadian Navy’s use of sonar in Juan de Fuca Strait is unlikely to have had anything to do with the death of an endangered killer whale, according to U.S. investigators. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is investigating the death of three-year-old L112, also known as Sooke, whose body washed up on Long Beach, Washington, on Feb. 11, days after HMCS Ottawa conducted sonar exercises and set off two underwater charges in Juan de Fuca Strait. Canadian navy unlikely to be involved in killer whale’s death

Bainbridge became the first city in Kitsap — and fifth in the state — to ban plastic bags. By a unanimous vote Wednesday evening, the City Council approved an ordinance prohibiting thin-film bags common at supermarkets. The ban takes effect Nov. 1. Bainbridge bans plastic  

Washington state’s Swinomish tribe faces a water rights battle in the Skagit River basin, the likes of which we have seen before. It’s reminiscent of the dispute that broke out around a decade ago in the Klamath River basin in California and Oregon. That dispute led to a fish kill of about 70,000 salmon after federal intervention severely reduced water flows in the Klamath and its tributaries.  Snatching Skagit River Water Is In The Public Interest?

More than 200 workers at Bellingham Shipping Terminal are busy assembling the giant components of an oil well spill containment system that will be installed on a 315-foot barge expected to be in service in the Arctic Ocean by this summer.  The big rig is being put together by Greenberry Industrial, a Vancouver, Wash.-based firm with manufacturing facilities in Ferndale. Superior Energy Services of Houston will own and operate it. The work is being done on land leased from the Port of Bellingham.  Oil well spill response barge taking shape on city waterfront


No one was injured, but two boats sank and two others were damaged in a fire that broke out Tuesday night at a private Anacortes marina.  The fire was reported at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday. Fire Marshal Jack Kennedy said three boats were on fire by the time the department arrived at the private marina located at 2415 T Ave., in east Anacortes.  Anacortes marina fire sinks two boats  

A state-led cleanup is under way to remove 4,000 gallons of sewage that spilled into a south Bainbridge wetland late last month. A crew led by the state Department of Ecology used long hoses connected to a vacuum truck to skim sewage solids Tuesday afternoon and much of Wednesday. Cleanup of south Bainbridge sewage spill begins  

Demolition of the mill buildings on Marine Drive, which most recently housed Peninsula Plywood, is expected to begin in about one year. “This is our highest priority,” Jeff Robb, port executive director, said Wednesday. The buildings, constructed in the 1940s, have exceeded their useful lives and should come down as soon as possible, Robb said in a report to port commissioners Monday.
Port plans tear-down, redevelopment of PenPly site  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 900 PM PDT WED APR 11 2012
THU
E WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 12 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
THU NIGHT
S WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 17 SECONDS. SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS.

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