7/18 Where's Chris?, Clean Water Act, ocean acid, Kinder Morgan, coal export, Issaquah salmon, Cornwall landfill, Bainbridge crabs

(Mother Jones)

To show progress in Puget Sound recovery, Governor Chris Gregoire today is on her “fishable, swimmable, diggable” tour with Leadership Council chair Martha Kongsgaard, past chair Bill Ruckelshaus and new Partnership director Tony Wright. They’ll be highlighting recovery progress by visiting Hood Canal, Samish Bay and Burien. Gov. Gregoire to tour Burien rain gardens, Seahurst Park restoration project  

Forty years ago, Congress enacted the Clean Water Act to end pollution of our rivers, lakes and bays. But today, in the Northwest and nationwide, most water bodies still don't qualify s clean and new threats to clean water are outpacing the act's enforcers. Ashley Ahearn, Bonnie Stewart, Robert McClure and Jason Alcorn of EarthFix, Ecotrope and Investigate West show and tell the story of “Clean Water: The Next Act”  Clean Water Act’s Anti-Pollution Goals Prove Elusive  

The Pacific Ocean is growing more acidic at a much faster rate than anticipated, scientists say, putting everything from corals to mussels in jeopardy. Researchers say carbon dioxide from the atmosphere forms carbonic acid in the ocean, changing the seawater enough that it can dissolve the shells of coral and shellfish. The water off the west coast of Vancouver Island is changing at an unprecedented rate, meaning vulnerable life forms in the ocean's food chain must adapt or die. Pacific Ocean acid levels jeopardizing marine life  

Kinder Morgan’s 1,150-kilometre Trans Mountain pipeline that transports oil from Alberta to southwestern B.C. has averaged about one leak a year in the past decade, but has not experienced the kind of major spill seen more recently in Alberta and Michigan from other pipelines. “The pipeline is in many ways in better condition than when it was constructed almost 60 years ago,” said Kinder Morgan vice-president of operations engineering Hugh Harden.  Pipeline safety records under scrutiny as B.C. set to get more  

The Vancouver (WA) City Council passed a resolution of concern Monday about proposed coal export terminal projects targeting the Pacific Northwest, asking for a cumulative look at their impacts, and requesting to be a part of any environmental impact reviews. Vancouver wants role in talking about coal  

The iconic Issaquah Salmon Hatchery is celebrating 75 years, and to mark the occasion, the Issaquah History Museums is educating residents about the downtown facility — a lifesaver for countless salmon since the 1930s.  Conservationists and longtime Issaquah residents credit the hatchery for restoring the historic Issaquah Creek salmon runs after decades of logging and mining damaged the creek and surrounding watershed. Issaquah Salmon Hatchery history is focus of 75th anniversary program

Workers are drilling a dozen wells this week at a former garbage dump on the waterfront, so officials overseeing cleanup there can measure pollution in groundwater feeding into Bellingham Bay. It's another small step in a multi-year effort to repair the environmental damage done by accumulated solid waste on a 16.5-acre site at the foot of Cornwall Avenue. The area was a landfill for 12 years, ending in 1965. Before that it was a sawmill, with log storage and wood disposal.  Bellingham's Cornwall Avenue landfill cleanup continues with new wells, testing  

Bainbridge Island police are on the hunt for rogue anglers who are getting a little crabby. Crab pots have been sinking into place around the island since the crabbing season began July 1. For the 2012 season, however, no crabbing is allowed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. "If you have your gear out there in the water, technically you are still crabbing on the off-days," said Lieutenant Bob Day of the Bainbridge Island Police Department.  Bainbridge Island police have eye out for crab poachers  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT WED JUL 18 2012
TODAY
NW WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING W 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT. W SWELL
 5 FT AT 11 SECONDS.

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