4/1 Culverts, fuel tax, climate science, Pacific Trails pipeline, Belcarra Park, Union R., Bakken crude

Ah, Spring (PHOTO: Les Bazso, Vancouver Sun)

New blog: “Outgoing Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will lead ceremonies in Anacortes Monday morning and on Lopez Island Monday afternoon celebrating establishment of the San Juan Islands National Monument. The public is invited to both events. Event organizers learned over the weekend that the Secretary will be unveiling three monument possibilities at the Monday celebrations. The options include a Stonehenge model, an Easter Island model, and a Fremont Troll model....” Salazar Brings Gift of ‘Monument’ to San Juans

A federal judge on Friday ordered the state of Washington to fix culverts that block salmon from reaching their habitat, setting a timeline and pressuring officials to find the money needed to do the job. U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo S. Martinez's ruling was the result of a decades-old legal battle tied to treaties dating back to the mid-1800s. Tribes have said the state has blocked salmon passage and contributed to the decline of fish harvests. Under the ruling, the state must first fix culverts on recreational lands by fall 2016. The state would have 17 years to provide fish passage through Transportation Department culverts. Martinez said in his decision that the tribes have been harmed economically, socially, educationally and culturally because of reduced salmon harvests caused by state barriers that prevent fish passage. Manuel Valdez reports. Judge orders Washington to fix culverts blocking salmon  See also: Tribes’ court win may flow beyond culvert repairs to protect fish  

Democrat Jay Inslee makes no secret he wants to promote high-tech and clean-energy jobs in a long-term economic shift away from fossil fuels. And he says he wants to funnel more taxpayer cash into K-12 public schools. So when he laid out a plan Thursday to close nearly a dozen tax breaks or shrink them, a $40.2 million per biennium tax break tapped by the region’s five oil refineries stood out. Closing what is known as the “extracted fuel” tax would let Inslee move toward both goals in one fell swoop. But the first-year Democratic governor is in for a political fight, if history is a guide. Past legislative attempts to raise taxes on oil refinery products met with fierce opposition from the oil industry – and the industry says it will fight again this time. Brad Shannon reports. Oil refiners gird up to do battle over state's ‘extracted fuel' tax plan

Western Washington geology profs take strong exception to recent testimony provided by Don Easterbrook to a state Senate committee chaired by Sen. Doug Erickson (R-Ferndale). "We, the active faculty of the Geology Department at Western Washington University, express our unanimous and significant concerns regarding the views espoused by Easterbrook, who holds a doctorate in geology; they are neither scientifically valid nor supported by the overwhelming preponderance of evidence on the topic. We also decry the injection of such poor quality science into the public discourse regarding important policy decisions for our state's future; the chair of the committee was presented with numerous options and opportunities to invite current experts to present the best-available science on this subject, and chose instead to, apparently, appeal to a narrow partisan element with his choice of speaker." Amen.  WWU faculty find overwhelming scientific evidence to support global warming

Nearly one hundred costumed demonstrators marched to Chevron's North Burnaby refinery on Saturday, protesting the company's involvement in the proposed Pacific Trails Pipeline. The pipeline will run more than 450 kilometres through the B.C. Interior from Prince George to Kitimat, transporting liquefied natural gas to be sold to foreign markets. The $1 billion project was originally approved back in 2008 and has been plagued with opposition since. Demonstrators protest Pacific Trails Pipeline  

Belcarra Regional Park is considered the crown jewel of the Tri-Cities. Now both the city of Port Moody and the Village of Belcarra are teaming up in hopes of keeping the shine on Admiralty Point in Belcarra Regional Park. Both municipalities have passed motions asking the federal government to either transfer the lands to Metro Vancouver or lease the space in perpetuity to ensure the lands are preserved for park use. Jeremy Deutsch reports. Development fears sparked as 99-year lease at Coquitlam's Belcarra Park expires

A $220,000 cost overrun for a project to restore the Union River estuary has left officials scrambling to find additional money to complete what has become a $2 million restoration. Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group, the prime sponsor of the project, has sent a letter to funding agencies explaining the “unanticipated issues” that drove the costs beyond the original budget. They included design changes, bids that came in higher than expected and site conditions encountered at the last minute. Chris Dunagan reports. Union River project delayed as money runs out

In an effort to keep up with competing refineries rapidly turning to North Dakota’s Bakken formation as a major source of crude oil, the Shell Puget Sound Refinery in Anacortes is considering building a rail offloading facility for Bakken crude on its property on March Point. Thomas Rizzo, general manager for the refinery, said his company is currently in negotiations with the Army Corps of Engineers and state Department of Ecology about what permits and mitigation would be necessary to build a rail loop and offloading site east of the Shell refinery fences while remaining on company-owned property. The loop would have to be large enough to hold the 100-unit car trains used to transport crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken formation. Mark Stayton and Kate Martin report. Shell considers rail loop for Bakken crude

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 246 AM PDT MON APR 1 2013
TODAY
SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING W IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 4 FT AT 14 SECONDS. AREAS OF FOG THIS
 MORNING.
TONIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING NE TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 13 SECONDS. PATCHY
 DRIZZLE AFTER MIDNIGHT.

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