4/10 Sound Action, Anacortes growth area, Duwamish cleanup, dirty dirt

SoundAction.Org

Organizers who defeated an international company’s efforts to mine and ship gravel from Maury Island yesterday announced the launch of Sound Action, a new environmental group dedicated to using science, activism and law to protect Puget Sound’s natural nearshore habitats. “The Puget Sound nearshore is the nursery of the Sound,” said Sound Action’s Executive Director Amy Carey. “But Puget Sound today is documented as a critically imperiled waterway in part because regulatory agencies are failing in their mandated role as environmental protectors.” According to Sound Action, regulatory agencies regularly ignore existing laws prohibiting environmentally damaging nearshore developments during permit review and approval and fail to condition how work done should protect species and habitat productivity. Watchdog Group Audit Finds Serious Flaws in Protection of Puget Sound Nearshore Habitats  

Skagit County commissioners decided not to move forward for review a proposal by the City of Anacortes to expand its long-term growth area and make way for a massive bottling plant, after hearing concerns during a public hearing Tuesday night about the legality of the process and proposal. Commissioners want to wait until the public comment period for reviewing the proposal closes and have attorneys review legal and procedural concerns before making a decision, Commissioner Ken Dahlstedt said in an interview after the meeting. When commissioners decide whether to review the proposal, they will determine only whether Anacortes’ petition to change its urban growth area will undergo further review. Mark Stayton reports. Commissioners wait to review Anacortes growth area proposal

Ever since Seattle’s only river was declared a Superfund site, the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition has advocated on behalf of the communities who live near it. In a new report, the Coalition and Just Health Action say the EPA, who is legally responsible for cleaning up the river also have an obligation to the communities whose lives have been impacted. Martha Baskin reports. A River for All? Environmental Justice and the Duwamish River Valley  

Dan McShane writes in Reading the Washington Landscape about his work as a geologist investigating contaminated soil. Exploring Dirty Dirt

Now, your thank-goodness-for-tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 445 AM PDT WED APR 10 2013
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM PDT THIS MORNING
 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM PDT THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS EVENING
TODAY
S WIND 25 TO 35 KT EARLY...BECOMING W 20 TO 30 KT BY LATE THIS MORNING. WIND WAVES 4 TO 6 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 15
 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 10 FT AT 14 SECONDS. RAIN THIS MORNING...THEN A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
W WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 20 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 10 FT AT 13 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 8 FT AT 13 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
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