5/15 DamNation, LA spill, BC pipe, BC parks, salmon philanthropy, Skagit salmon, Kuterra, Vic sewage, Elwha ed

If you like to watch: DamNation
Trailer of the powerful film coming to the Seattle International Film Festival May 18, 19 and 28; Bellingham Mt. Baker Theater May 22; Port Townsend NW Maritime Theater May 29; and Olympia (to be announced). Full schedule at Save Our wild Salmon.

10,000 gallons of oil spill onto L.A. streets
More than 10,000 gallons of oil spilled from a burst pipeline in the West Glendale area of Los Angeles on Thursday, spewing crude over a half-mile area, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. In some areas the oil was knee deep, fire department spokesman Jaime Moore said. A "handful" of businesses including a nightclub were affected. The leak from a 20-inch pipe on West San Fernando Road was reported just after 1 a.m. local time. Four people at a medical business were evaluated with respiratory complaints, and two people were transferred to a hospital, Moore said. John Bacon reports. (USA Today)

Ottawa’s new pipeline rules may address B.C.’s demands
A day after announcing new safety measures for tankers, the federal government has introduced tougher regulations for pipelines, taking a “big step” toward meeting British Columbia’s requirements for approving projects to the West Coast. Under the changes, the National Energy Board will be given increased regulatory control over the 73,000 kilometres of pipeline that transport more than $100-billion worth of oil, gas and petroleum products across Canada each year. The new regulations, announced Wednesday by Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford and Transport Minister Lisa Raitt, require the NEB to increase the number of oil and gas pipeline inspections by 50 per cent annually and to double the number of yearly safety audits. The government will also establish absolute liability for pipeline companies by making them responsible for cleanups, whether or not they are to blame for the accidents. Mark Hume and Justine Hunter report. (Globe and Mail)

B.C. government handed 166,000-signature petition against parks' law
British Columbia's environment minister disputes environmentalists' claims that a new law threatens the future of provincial parks by allowing oil and gas and logging companies to conduct industrial development. Camille Baines reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Philanthropist helps coho, chinook in Georgia Strait
A large-scale effort to restore coho and chinook salmon in the Strait of Georgia got a big help thanks to a donation from Vancouver philanthropist Rudy North, president and CEO of North Growth Management. North pledged $250,000 to the Pacific Salmon Foundation's Salish Sea Marine Survival Project, a research project to determine the causes of major declines in chinook and coho salmon in the Strait of Georgia during the last 20 years. The five-year project will cost $10 million and North's donation brings the total raised to $7.25 million. North's donation was announced at the Pacific Salmon Foundation's Vancouver fundraising gala at the Vancouver Convention Centre in front of an audience of 700 people. North made the donation to challenge others who care about salmon and the environment to make a similar level of financial commitment. North will also help the Foundation spearhead a fundraising campaign to raise the remaining funds needed to launch full-scale research in 2015. (Campbell River Courier-Islander)

Group says Skagit salmon recovery is working
After years of working to restore valuable salmon habitat in the Skagit watershed and monitoring the fish population for growth, Skagit researchers say they are seeing results. At the Skagit Watershed Council’s quarterly meeting Wednesday, the group discussed salmon recovery, primarily where fresh and salt water mix, like in the Skagit River delta. Recovery efforts appear to be working in those areas, although some projects appear to produce better results than others. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Salmon grown in B.C. land-based tanks come to market
The first Atlantic salmon grown entirely on land are now landing on grocery store shelves, marketed as a sustainable alternative to salmon grown in ocean-based net pens. The land-based Atlantic salmon, branded under the name Kuterra, is being distributed by Albion Fisheries and sold at 140 Safeway stores in B.C. and Alberta. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Sewage treatment upgrade adds $5.2 million to budget
The cost of the Capital Regional District’s proposed sewage treatment plant, if it ever finds a home, will increase by $5.2 million to add another stage to the treatment process. CRD directors agreed to increase the cost of the $783-million sewage treatment program by $5.2 million — about $15 a household — to include advanced oxidation to the treatment process to address so-called substances of emerging concern, such as pharmaceuticals, endocrine disrupters, personal care products and household cleaners. Directors postponed, however, a decision on whether or not to spend $8.5-million to barge material to Esquimalt’s McLoughlin Point, should that site be approved as a treatment plant site. Bill Cleverley reports. (Times Colonist)

For Rainier Beach High Students, Class In Session Along Fast-Changing Elwha River
Rainier Beach High School senior Puja Niroula hopes to study science in college. But she's still a bit squeamish when it comes to netting tiny bugs from a creek bed in Olympic National Forest. "I wonder if this is poisonous. Do you think so?" Niroula, 18, asked another student with more than a hint of trepidation as she picked larval mayflies from the net. Niroula and 25 other biology students from the south Seattle school are spending this week conducting experiments on a fast-changing ecosystem at the heart of one of the century's most significant environmental projects: the Elwha River. Kyle Stokers reports. (KPLU)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT THU MAY 15 2014
TODAY
SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 2 FT AT 9 SECONDS...BECOMING NW AT 9 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 2 FT AT 9 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG.

--
"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