4/9 Sewage spill, BC Ferries, ghost gear, construction ban, Burns Bog, Blaine Marina, Harry Case, BC bishops

Queen of Oak Bay, 2005 (CBC News)

Officials at Fort Ward Sewer District 7 are working on a plan to clean up an estimated 4,000 gallons of sewage sludge that spilled into a nearby wetland. A no-contact order remains in place for Tani Creek and Blakely Harbor, although water-quality tests suggest that little contamination reached the stream and bay.  Sewage cleanup planned at Fort Ward

Meanwhile, providers of water and sewer services in Kitsap County have begun working in concert toward a long-range goal of cleaning up sewage effluent and using it for irrigation, commercial applications and stream restoration. County leaders want more treatment plants to produce reclaimed water

BC Ferries vessels last year were involved in 18 reportable incidents — 10 of those involving a risk of collision with other vessels — according to federal transportation safety board documents.  The other eight incidents involved problems such as hard landings at docks, mechanical breakdowns and fires. BC Ferries involved in 18 marine incidents last year  

The death of a rescued seal pup, trapped in an underwater tangle of fishing line, shows the deadly toll of lost fishing gear. Old fishing nets, crab pots, lines and hooks ensnare and kill more than half a million sea creatures in Puget Sound every year, according to the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative. Lost fishing gear becoming big threat to Puget Sound marine life  

Legislation that would have allowed people to build homes in areas closed to construction last year has been pulled by its author.  Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen pulled her bill, Senate Bill 6312, which would have allowed landowners in the Fisher, Carpenter and East Nookachamps stream basins to build homes. Last summer, the Department of Ecology said there was too much water being withdrawn from the Fisher-Carpenter creek basins and that salmon could be harmed as a result. Ecology closed the basins to residential well drilling, effectively curtailing all residential development there. Bill that would allow construction in low-flow stream basins is dead 

A private landowner is hoping to turn 36 hectares of land next to Delta’s Burns Bog into a comprehensive “mixed development.” But first, MK Delta Lands Group Inc. will have to jump over several hurdles, including getting approval from Metro Vancouver to pull the property out of the region’s green zone and change the area’s zoning designation from conservation and recreation to urban. Private landowner sets sight on land around Delta’s Burns Bog

The Port of Bellingham is preparing to clean up a polluted fuel storage site at Blaine Harbor, and the state is taking public comment on the some of the work plans. Petroleum found in the soil and groundwater near a tank farm and fueling station operated by Blaine Marina Inc. is at unacceptably high levels. The state is requiring the cleanup, which will begin with repair of a failing bulkhead that protects fuel lines. More information, go to Department of Ecology, click on "Search for Cleanup Sites," then enter "63" in the Cleanup Site ID field. Comment sought on plan for Blaine Harbor cleanup

Property owner Harry Case of Langley and the Whidbey Camano Land Trust work together to preserve Case's 176 acres as a working forest-- in perpetuity.  Trust assures Whidbey forestland will endure

In a letter posted on Good Friday, six Anglican bishops from across British Columbia and the Yukon have called on the ongoing environmental review hearings for the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline to demonstrate integrity and remain fair and free from federal political pressure. Six B.C. and Yukon Anglican bishops demand fairness in Northern Gateway pipeline hearings  


Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT MON APR 9 2012
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM PDT EARLY THIS MORNING
TODAY
E WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 KT THIS MORNING. WIND WAVES 3 FT OR LESS...SUBSIDING TO 1 FT OR LESS THIS MORNING. W SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
N WIND 5 TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.

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