2/14 Lummi quarry, Manchester shore, coal ships, octopus, BC LNG, goose poop, TDCPP ban, Vic sewage

Octopus love (Alan Berner, Seattle Times)

2013 Environmental Lobby Day is coming up February 19 at United Churches of Olympia. Pre-registration closes Friday, February 15 at 8pm-- which means that after Friday, you are still welcome to attend but registration will be $20 instead of $15 for adults, $10 for students. There's a lunch option for $12 and bus transportation along the I-5 corridor from Bellingham south for $25. Register today: Environmental Priorities Coalition.

For now, a Lummi Island quarry will continue to operate under certain restrictions, but the Whatcom County hearing examiner on Wednesday, Feb. 13, came close to shutting down the operation. He also made sure during Wednesday's hearing that officials from Lummi Rock, LLC, knew he disapproved of their lack of adherence to the rules. The county issued three stop-work orders in 2012 requiring Lummi Rock to cease unpermitted activities. "This is an organization that's totally out of control," Hearing Examiner Michael Bobbink said. "They do whatever they want whenever they want ... all without permits." Ralph Schwartz reports. Whatcom hearing examiner blasts 'out of control' Lummi Island quarry

A commissioner for the Port of Manchester has been charged with a misdemeanor criminal offense for taking part in shoreline construction without a required state permit. According to an investigative report, Commissioner Jim Strode, 62, admitted that he was present when port workers, using heavy equipment, removed a log from the water near the port’s dock and placed it on the beach at Pomeroy Park. The incident occurred Dec. 4. It was the same type of violation that led to a warning letter issued to the Port of Manchester in February 2012, according to Jason Czebotar an enforcement officer with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. In that letter, all three port commissioners were advised that shoreline work requires a Hydraulics Permit Approval, or HPA. Chris Dunagan reports. Manchester port commissioner faces charges for shoreline work

Eric de Place of Sightline writes: "It was dark but it wasn’t stormy when the Salish Sea saw its first recorded sinking of a coal vessel. At 6:45 a.m. on November 21, 1886 the Barnard Castle, a freighter laden with 2,300 tons of Vancouver Island coal bound for San Francisco, struck the Race Rocks about 10 miles southwest of Victoria. The captain managed to beach the foundering ship in a shallow bay at nearby Bentinck Island. Workers were later able to remove much of the coal before abandoning the ship where it remained lodged in the mud until it was eventually destroyed by storms...." Shipwrecks, Coal, and the Salish Sea    And: Diverse Voices Heard At EarthFix Seattle Coal Export Panel

Puget Sound’s giant Pacific octopus, the largest octopus species in the world, takes centerstage at Seattle Aquarium Octopus Week events through Feb. 24. Along with keeper talks and feedings in the Life of Drifter octopus exhibit, an octopus will be featured in the Window on Washington Waters exhibit diver shows noon Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Feb. 23-24. Madeline McKenzie reports. Octopus couple on display

The energy sector is lashing out at a British Columbia proposal to impose a major new tax on the impending export of natural gas, saying the province risks serious damage to a fledgling industry before it has a chance to take wing. Some 10 proposals are now being considered for the shipment of liquefied natural gas from B.C., a province that has eagerly promoted the vast new revenues the coming development stands to produce. The province has said it now believes five export terminals could be built in coming years; the first could be complete by 2015.  Natural gas firms fume as B.C. proposes LNG tax

A swim area at Deception Pass State Park has so much goose feces that it fails to meet public health standards. Washington State Parks has started work on a plan to clean it up. Goose-control measures are planned for Cranberry Lake, the area currently not passing muster with health officials, as well as at the Cornet Bay Retreat Center. At both places, people have what State Parks calls “high potential” to come in contact with goose feces. In the water and on the beach, people can be exposed to disease-causing organisms in goose feces, including salmonella, giardia and cryptosporidium. Canada Geese also host the parasite that causes “swimmer’s itch.” Gina Cole reports. Goose-control plan under way at Deception Pass

They didn't need any extra incentive, but after a toxics group tested the couches in their offices, two Washington State legislators were more determined than ever to push for a ban of certain fire retardants. State Senator Sharon Nelson, (D) Maury Island and State Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, (D) Sequim are backing legislation that would ban the use of Chlorinated Tris, or TDCPP, a flame retardant used widely in furniture. A sample from the foam cushions in Nelson's office tested positive for a pound of the retardant, which some studies link to cancer and other health issues. Gary Chittim reports. Lawmakers want to ban specific flame retardants

Not wanting a first impression to be a lasting one, Capital Regional District directors have postponed a public information session on its new sewage treatment plant until they have a better idea of what it might look like. Since it will be located on the waterfront at McLoughlin Point, at the gateway to the Inner Harbour, the design of the plant needs to involve more than its function, directors said. Many members of the CRD’s sewage committee said they were caught off guard this week when an artist’s rendering of a proposed sewage treatment plant was published on the front page of the Times Colonist. Bill Cleverley reports. Regional directors hold off on public meeting until better drawings of sewage plant

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 247 AM PST THU FEB 14 2013
TODAY
SE WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING E 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 16 SECONDS. RAIN IN THE MORNING...THEN A
 CHANCE OF RAIN.
TONIGHT
SE WIND TO 10 KT IN THE EVENING...BECOMING LIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 15 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG.

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