4/4 Coal export, rockfish birth, BC LNG, GOP budget, Seattle runoff, sediment study

Skagit Tulip Time (Abhinaba Basu, Wikimedia Commons)

New blog: “We have a problem here: scientists and doctors tell us that eating seafood high in omega-3 fatty acids can extend our lives— while reporter Robert McClure tells us the state of Washington is failing to deal with toxic chemicals in seafood which can shorten our lives...” Eat More Fish— Live Longer or Die Sooner

Growing environmental objections to exporting coal from Washington state and Oregon have begun to endanger the coal industry’s hope to restore its flagging fortunes by shipping much more of the embattled fossil fuel to China and India. Port officials this week dropped plans for a terminal in Coos Bay, Ore., just days after the governors of Oregon and Washington urged the White House to scrutinize the global impact of greenhouse gas emissions in Asia before approving exports from Northwest ports. The Coos Bay cancellation follows last year’s abandonment of a proposed coal storage and export facility in Grays Harbor, Wash. And the Sierra Club announced plans this week to sue over alleged water contamination from trains spilling coal dust and fragments. That could further complicate matters for advocates of shipping coal by rail to U.S. Northwest ports for export to the Far East. Sean Cockerham reports. Politics, environmental worries threaten new coal ports in the Northwest

Any day now, two pregnant Copper rockfish are expected to give birth at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lab in Mukilteo. NOAA scientists at the Mukilteo Field Station wait like expectant fathers for the time the females will release anywhere between 16,000 and 640,000 live young each. It’s not easy raising rockfish, as there is no exact science to it – yet. There isn’t a lot of funding for it either. As such, Mukilteo’s is the only one of Northwest Fisheries Science Center’s five labs raising rockfish right now. Sara Bruestle reports. Raising rockfish: Trials in a NOAA lab

A $4-billion plan for a pipeline and liquefied natural gas export terminal by Shell Canada Ltd. for Kitimat, B.C., has been submitted to federal and provincial environmental regulatory agencies. Shell's proposal, which is now among at least a half-dozen LNG developments in the province, includes building a natural gas pipeline from northeastern B.C. to the northern coast where the liquefied gas will be loaded on tankers and shipped to Asia. $4B Kitimat LNG project submitted for environmental review  

The mostly Republican majority in the Washington state Senate has unveiled its budget proposal. It would put $1 billion more into basic education without raising taxes. The spending blueprint released Wednesday contrasts sharply with what Gov. Jay Inslee proposed last week. Like the governor, the Senate proposes to make a significant down payment on the Washington Supreme Court’s finding that the state isn’t adequately funding K-12 education. Some of the money would go to high poverty schools and to fund an expansion of all-day Kindergarten. The budget also proposes to give colleges and universities a $300 million boost in exchange for a 3 percent tuition break. Unlike the governor, the Senate budget does not propose to extend expiring tax hikes or close tax exemptions. Austin Jenkins reports. Senate budget: More money for education, no 'loophole' closures

Recently, the city of Seattle announced a goal to dramatically increase the amount of water treated by rain gardens, green roofs, green streets, permeable pavement and other alternatives that seek to treat stormwater more naturally instead of carry it away in pipes. Right now, the city estimates it’s managing somewhere north of 100 million gallons of polluted runoff with “green stormwater infrastructure,” which helps control flash flooding and helps filter out pollution that might otherwise wind up in Puget Sound. Mayor Mike McGinn and some city council members want to ramp that number up to 700 million gallons by 2025. Jennifer Langston reports. Seattle’s Green Stormwater Goals

The city has taken the next step toward developing a plan for sampling contaminated sediment at the bottom of the western portion of Port Angeles Harbor. City Council members Tuesday night gave their OK to two agreements that describe how the city will work with the Port of Port Angeles and three private companies to study how contaminants, such as toxic heavy metals and other substances associated with industrial wood processing, are affecting the harbor’s plants and animals. Jeremy Schwartz reports. Port Angeles City Council OKs sediment study plan  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT THU APR 4 2013
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
TODAY
E WIND 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING 20 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. SW SWELL 2 FT AT 11 SECONDS. RAIN
 LIKELY THIS MORNING...THEN RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
S WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. SW SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 6 FT AT 8 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT. RAIN.

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