5/7 Stormwater flap, fish & farms, safe pipelines, Bremerton Gasworks, invasives, Quillayute Harbor, pro plastic bags

House finches (Laurie MacBride)

Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: “Birds are incredibly busy at this time of year, and no bird seems busier or more harassed than some of the House Finch fathers that we see around our bird feeder...” Feeding Frenzy  

Climate scientist Cliff Mass writes: "Yesterday, Seattle Tacoma Airport hit 87F, the all-time record for the date and the warmest temperature in the ENTIRE continental U.S. (we tied Phoenix).    Pretty amazing.  But if you think the air temperatures were warm what about the roads?  The City of Seattle put in a number of road temperature sensors to allow it to be better prepared for freezing temperatures, and those sensors are still active in the summer.   Washington DOT also has road temperature sensors.  Let's see what they showed!..." Hot Roads and Hot Records  

Plans by the City of Issaquah to flush its storm water runoff into an underground aquifer have a neighboring water district fighting mad.    The City of Issaquah and the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District (SPW&S) have been at it for years. They have been at odds over several water issues on the rapidly growing plateau, but the storm water matter is boiling over. SPW&S said Issaquah’s plan could inject a clean, dependable aquifer with street grime containing fecal matter from animals, toxic heavy metals from vehicles and chemicals from yard and garden products. Gary Chittim reports. Water war erupts on Sammamish plateau

If the new Farms, Fish and Floods Initiative had surfaced 15 years ago, it probably would have been laughed off as a pipe dream. Today, the long-term plan to restore 2,700 acres of salmon habitat, improve dike and drainage infrastructure and permanently protect 20,000 acres of Skagit Valley farmland is a signed agreement by several local, state and national agencies. The initiative seeks to protect the long-term development and success of agriculture in the valley while restoring habitat in the last Puget Sound river system that supports all six species of native salmon. Mark Stayton reports. Preserving the valley’s future

The biggest oil and gas pipeline company in Canada is breaking National Energy Board safety rules at 117 of its 125 pump stations across the country, but Enbridge says it's not to blame. Enbridge was ordered by the Canadian energy regulator to disclose whether or not it had backup power to operate emergency shut-down systems in the facilities that keep oil flowing through its pipes. The company told the NEB only eight of its pump stations complied with the board's backup power system regulation. On top of that, Enbridge disclosed that 83 of its pump stations were missing emergency shut-down buttons. Enbridge breaks safety rules at pipeline pump stations across Canada  

Environmental investigations have begun at Bremerton Gasworks, a federal Superfund site in West Bremerton, following an agreement last week between Cascade Natural Gas and the Environmental Protection Agency. Cascade has agreed to pay for the investigation at the old industrial site, located between Thompson and Pennsylvania avenues on Port Washington Narrows. Cascade is the former owner of the property where a coal-gasification plant once operated, but Cascade purchased the property later and never manufactured gas there. With the EPA-Cascade agreement in place, the first step is to determine whether an interim cleanup, known as a “removal,” will take place. Surveyors were on the site Monday to map the property, and sampling could begin in early June, said Kathy Parker on-scene coordinator for the EPA’s Emergency Response Program. Chris Dunagan reports. Work begins on Bremerton Gasworks site

We arrived by boat, puttering along through the jade swell of Puget Sound to Hope Island, part of Deception Pass State Park. And there we met the enemy: Scot’s broom. A pernicious invasive weed, there it was, waving its cheery yellow blooms. We volunteers had convened for a little mano a mano with the mighty broom. Our mission: dig, cut, pull and otherwise destroy as much of it as we could in our time on the island. Lynda Mapes reports. Ridding Hope Island of the wiley invader Scot’s broom  

Scientists have developed the first global model that analyses the routes taken by marine invasive species. The researchers examined the movements of cargo ships around the world to identify the hot spots where these aquatic aliens might thrive. Marine species are taken in with ballast water on freighters and wreak havoc in new locations, driving natives to extinction. The research is published in the Journal Ecology Letters. Matt McGrath reports. Scientists map global routes of ship-borne invasive species  

A delay of at least two years in dredging a channel at this remote coastal reservation could restrict access to Quillayute Harbor for the $4 million Quileute fishing industry and for participants in the 2013 Tribal Canoe Journey, according to the tribe's executive director and the Corps of Engineers. Sediment has been scooped from a channel leading into Quillayute Harbor every other year to ensure safe haven for the Quileute tribe's small but economically important fishing fleet and U.S. Coast Guard Station Quillayute River. The dredging project, which costs between $1 million and $1.5 million, was in the 2013 federal budget until President Barack Obama's sequestration-related budget deal with Congress killed and buried it. Paul Gottlieb reports. Quillayute Harbor dredging delay could affect fishing, Canoe Journey

An activist group that failed in January to collect enough signatures to put Seattle’s plastic bag ban on the ballot, and then announced in March it was taking on a similar ban in Issaquah, is now taking the fight to Shoreline. Save Our Choice, founded by West Seattle resident Craig Keller, announced Monday night it was joining with a group of Shoreline residents to collect signatures for a referendum petition. The city passed its ban last week; it takes effect next February. “We are a band of volunteer citizens dedicated to fiercely defending consumer and merchant choice and to questioning the authority of utopians,” Keller wrote in a news release. Brian Rosenthal reports. Bag ban opponents collecting signatures in Shoreline, too  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT TUE MAY 7 2013
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
TODAY
SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 8 SECONDS. AREAS OF FOG THIS MORNING.
TONIGHT
NW WIND 15 TO 25 KT BECOMING W 10 TO 20 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 8 SECONDS. AREAS OF
 FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT. PATCHY DRIZZLE AFTER MIDNIGHT.

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