1/4 Shell drill, Gulf spill, Enbridge review, BC coal port, Sound noise, Skagit creosote, Norm Dicks

Deepwater Horizon (Associated Press)

The Kulluk oil rig, grounded in the powerful Gulf of Alaska surf, has sustained damage to electrical generators and top areas where water breached hatches, according to an initial assessment by a salvage team. The Shell Oil rig, which was a key component of a summer offshore Arctic drilling effort, remains stable, and there are no signs of fuel leaks. But officials, in a Thursday news conference, said the damage inspections are not complete and declined to speculate on whether the Kulluk is still seaworthy. Grounded Alaska oil rig sustains damage; Dems call for investigation And: Grounding of Kulluk sounds alarm about vulnerability of B.C. coast

Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, has agreed to a settlement with the US government. The Swiss-based company will pay $400m (£248m) in criminal penalties and a $1bn civil fine after pleading guilty to violating the Clean Water Act. The rig, which was leased by BP, exploded on 20 April 2010, killing 11 workers. Transocean agrees to pay $1.4bn oil spill

Ordinary citizens will get their first chance to address the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project Joint Review Panel, but the public will not be allowed into the room to witness the presentations. The oral presentations begin in Victoria today and will continue in Vancouver during the second half of the month. About 280 people have signed up to speak to the joint panel during its seven days of hearings in Victoria. But the federal review panel has decided to bar observers from the hearing room itself in both of those cities. Instead, the public will have to watch the proceedings on a video monitor in another hotel several kilometres away. Public barred from upcoming Gateway pipeline hearings

Westshore Terminals is ready to begin reconstruction of a trestle damaged Dec. 7 when a bulk carrier sliced through it, severing the only link between an offshore berth and the coal terminal in a marine mishap that is costing the company an estimated $300,000 a day-plus in lost business. Port Metro Vancouver said Thursday that it anticipates no delays in the reconstruction project, as it is within the existing footprint of the original trestle. Damaged pilings are being removed and Westshore is putting together a plan to remove much of an estimated 30 tonnes of coal that went into the ocean as a result of the accident. Gordon Hamilton reports. Westshore ready to begin reconstruction of damaged coal terminal

From above, Puget Sound's deep green waters may seem a largely silent place — a hushed world of swimming fish and burrowing clams interrupted only by lapping waves, singing whales and the occasional sea lion's grunt. But recent work by University of Washington researchers shows the opposite. Instead, the Sound's waters are a whirring barrage of grinding engine noises, mostly from passing ships and ferries. This background noise in some shipping channels regularly meets or exceeds levels the federal government suggests may be harmful to marine life. But at the moment there is no easy way to significantly introduce a bit more quiet. Craig Welch reports. Noisy ships, ferries create racket below Puget Sound

Check out the 2013 Environmental Priorities (Toxic-Free Kids and Families, Clean Energy Solutions, and Conservation Works)  and register for the Jan 12 legislative workshop in Bellevue and Feb 19 Lobby Day in Olympia. Right here.

Love whales? Join Orca Network for the annual Ways of Whales Workshop on Jan 26 in Coupeville. Presenters include Dr. Peter Ross on toxin threats, film maker John Gussman on documenting the Elwha Dam removal, EarthJustice attorney Steve Mashuda on the petition to de-list Southern Residents from ESA. Register here.

The state Department of Natural Resources is mounting a rapid campaign to remove 135 creosote-treated pilings from Similk Bay and the Swinomish Channel. Construction on the four targeted piling sites will begin Jan. 7 and must be completed by Jan. 30 — before the herring-spawning season begins. The $85,000 project is intended to remove a source of harmful chemicals to the herring breeding grounds of Similk Bay. Creosote pilings targeted for removal  

After a letter was sent to the state Department of Ecology detailing the up to $65.2 million in environmental project costs the city could face over the next 20 years, the state agency has assured city officials that the city is a high priority for receiving Ecology funding to help with two of the projects. Most significantly, Ecology has included a $6.5 million request in the state's 2013-2015 biennium budget to help the city pay for its upcoming landfill bluff stabilization project, which aims to shore up a failing bluff in west Port Angeles holding back compacted garbage from falling into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Jeremy Schwartz reports. Ecology requests millions to help pay for Port Angeles environmental projects  

If you like to listen: In a neighborhood that boasts one of the most diverse zip codes in the nation, urban farming is finding an eager crowd. Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands in southeast Seattle has all that it takes to draw in the community -- financial support from the city, seasoned educators experienced with working with low income and people of color communities, and even a wetland waiting to be restored. Martha Baskin reports.  Unique Urban Farm Takes Off With Youthful Converts and Seasoned Educators

40th Legislative District State Senator Kevin Ranker writes: 'Republicans in the state Senate dropped a political bomb last month when they announced that they were seizing control of the majority with the help of two renegade Democrats. Calling themselves a philosophical majority, Republicans detailed their proposal for what they say is a power-sharing arrangement, and talked about bipartisanship, centrism and “putting the people of Washington first.” But look a little closer and it becomes quite clear: That’s not what Republicans are offering. The people of Washington are as welcoming of bipartisanship as anyone. But above all, I believe the people of Washington look at the problems facing us as a state, and want to see solutions that get results in a way that reflect their values.' 'Bipartisan' state Senate means rejecting voters' own values

If you’re lucky, you’ll see snow geese by the thousands, and swans and eagles and herons, on a bike ride near the Skagit River’s mouth. Mike McQualde invites you: Birding by bicycle on Fir Island

Pentagon chief Leon Panetta strode into the Cannon Caucus Room on Capitol Hill, surrounded by military officers in dress-green uniforms with rows of medals on their chests. The glittering hall with gold-gilt walls and two giant crystal chandeliers bespoke a bygone era when government was good and in the black. So did the mainly silver-haired guests who’d come one recent evening to roast Rep. Norm Dicks on his retirement from nearly four decades in Congress. “I wanted to have a final opportunity to come up here and pay tribute to this son of a bitch,” Panetta deadpanned as laughter engulfed the vast room. Norm Dicks' decades in Congress brought a lot of money back to home state  

Those jellies! The current global increase in jellyfish may be nothing more than a consequence of a normal 20-year fluctuation cycle. A new multinational collaborative study suggests these trends may be overstated, finding that there is no robust evidence for a global increase in jellyfish over the past two centuries. Jellyfish ‘bloom’ may be a bust

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST FRI JAN 4 2013
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM PST THIS MORNING
TODAY
SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 2 FT. SW SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS. A
 CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE MORNING.
TONIGHT
SE WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING E 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. SW SWELL 5 FT AT 11 SECONDS. SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN.
SAT
E WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 13 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE MORNING...THEN RAIN LIKELY.
SAT NIGHT
E WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
SUN
SE WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 15 SECONDS.
--
"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