8/3 Endangered orcas, Kitsap stormwater, tar sands, pipeline, B.C. poll, Tom Albro, sinking Justin, Dave Ellis fund

Cliff Mass writes: “After a number of days with below-normal maximum temperatures, the Northwest is going to warm up for an extended stretch.  Several days in the 80s and even some hope of hitting 90F in portions of the west.  No, you are not dreaming.” Heat Waves and the Thermal Trough  

The southern Puget Sound’s struggling population of orcas could lose federal protection if a new effort succeeds at removing the whales from endangered species list. The Pacific Legal Foundation today petitioned for the delisting. It claims the federal government wrongly identified the “southern resident” killer whales as a distinct population that merits protection under the ESA.  Effort Launched To Strip Protection For Puget Sound Orcas  

The Ridgetop Regional Stormwater Project will collect and retain runoff collected from more than 50 acres of development on the hill — something the existing pond was incapable of doing during heavy storms, according to Chris May of the Kitsap Surface and Stormwater Management Program. The goals, he said, are to limit stormwater washing down the hill, prevent landslides on the steep slopes and reduce pollution flowing into Clear Creek, one of the county's premier salmon streams. Chris Dunagan reports.  Ridgetop's huge stormwater project will aid Clear Creek

The smokestacks and sawmills are gone. What remains on the city's waterfront are heavy metals, petroleum and other byproducts of a city built on the backbone of gritty industry. The lingering bad stuff is in the dirt, sediment and groundwater. The Port of Everett plans to finish cleaning five old industrial sites by the end of the decade. Estimated price tag: $35 million. Debra Smith reports.  Port of Everett has decades of contamination to clean up  

Opponents of Canada’s tar sands call it one of the planet’s biggest carbon bombs. A quiet expansion of the Trans-Mountain pipeline owned by US company, Kinder-Morgan, would more than double tar sands oil capacity in Washington state. On the anniversary of the costliest pipeline disaster in US history, activists staged a mock oil spill on the steps of Seattle’s City Hall to bring the point home. Martha Baskin reports. Shifting Tar Sands: The Continent’s Dirtiest Oil Set to Expand in Puget Sound  

The B.C. government has registered as an official intervenor in the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project Joint Review Panel, and is promising tough questions for the energy company when the final round of hearings on its pipeline begins in September. B.C. government intends to cross-examine pipeline plan  

An Angus Reid Public Opinion poll released exclusively to The Globe and Mail says despite recent discussion about Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway project, only 1 per cent of respondents think energy is the most important issue facing the province. The online survey of 804 adults found the recent pipeline discussion had no immediate effect on the political landscape. Of those polled, 25 per cent said the economy was the most critical issue, while 19 per cent said health care. Twelve per cent chose leadership.  B.C. residents not energetic about energy, see little benefit in oil projects  

Josh Feit writes: When we pushed Seattle Port Commissioner Tom Albro about the seeming contradiction between the Port’s traffic concerns re: the arena and its nonchalance about the disruption that the proposed coal trains would have on Port operations, Albro said it wasn’t the Port’s place to have a position on the proposed coal train. According to a chilly report commissioned by the city, the transport will run between 16 and 18 trains per day (one every 75 to 90 min, basically), each potentially 1.5 miles long, taking roughly three to seven minutes to pass through the seven train crossings—from Spokane Street to Wall Street—in Seattle.  On the Record: Albro on Coal Trains; O’Brien on What He Needs to See from the Investors  

The state has just announced an $18,000 fine for a fuel spill related to last October’s sinking of a construction company’s landing craft off Beach Drive. The sinking, and raising, of the Justin played out over two days, last October 14th and 15th. The state’s announcement today also reveals that the size of the spill was determined to be 320 gallons, and that more assessments may be forthcoming.  Beach Drive sinking last October leads to $18,000 state fine today  

A conservation fund has been set up in the name of Dave Ellis, Northwest Trek’s deputy director who died last month. The David E. Ellis Conservation Fund will support animal health care, animal facilities and species recovery. Ellis led the animal park for nearly 28 years before dying July 17 at age 65.  Conservation fund set up in name of Northwest Trek’s late deputy director

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT FRI AUG 3 2012
TODAY
SW WIND 10 KT...BECOMING E IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 4 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
NW WIND 10 KT...BECOMING E AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT. NW SWELL 3 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
SAT
E WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
LIGHT WIND. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 4 FT.
SUN
SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING E 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 4 FT.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to: msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter. 

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told