12/19 King tides, WA taxes, radiation test, oil & coal trains & pipes, Vic sewer, seawall, Polley mine

(PHOTO: J. Custer_12/17/12_Flickr)

Snap the Shore, See the Future: Capture Washington’s King Tide
Higher than normal "king tides" will arrive in the Salish Sea December 21-27. Get outside and use a little imagination to see what climate change and rising sea levels might bring to your shoreline. Take a picture and share it, too. Washington King Tide Photo Initiative

‘Buck up,’ Inslee says, as he makes his case for new taxes
Gov. Jay Inslee laid out an aggressive tax-and-spending proposal Thursday unlike anything that has come out of the governor’s office in recent years, staking out a solidly liberal agenda likely to be a hard sell in a closely divided Legislature. In response to what his budget office estimates is a $2.35 billion budget shortfall, the Democratic governor proposed a new capital-gains tax on profits from sales of stocks and bonds affecting 1 percent of Washingtonians. That new tax, plus a proposal to charge major polluters for carbon emissions, forms the core of Inslee’s proposal to raise more than $1.4 billion in new revenue for the state over the next two years. He also seeks to raise taxes on cigarettes, bottled water and oil refineries. Jim Brunner and Joseph O'Sullivan report. (Seattle Times)

Sockeye, inshore waters test Fukushima-free
As the first batches of seawater samples collected by citizen scientists along the B.C. coast are being analyzed in Victoria, the results of radiation testing on 19 sockeye salmon and steelhead samples have come back negative for Fukushima-related contamination. And tests conducted so far this year on water samples from Prince Rupert to Victoria have also found B.C.’s inshore waters to be Fukushima-free. John Gleeson reports. (Coast Reporter)

MV resolution seeks 15 mph speed limit for oil trains
The City Council drafted and approved a letter Wednesday to send to the state regarding the transportation of oil by rail through the city. The letter outlined desired safety standards for trains carrying flammable crude oil, requesting that their speed be limited to 15 mph or less through the city, said Mount Vernon council member Dale Ragan. Shannen Kuest reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

First Nations file for judicial review of pipeline approval
Two First Nations are seeking a judicial review of a provincial regulator’s decision to approve a TransCanada Corp. pipeline project, alleging that they weren’t adequately consulted. The Nadleh Whut’en and Nak’azdli First Nations say the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) rushed its study of the $4.7-billion Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline that would go from northeastern British Columbia to Kitimat. Brent Jang reports. (Globe and Mail)

Most Canadians support anti-Kinder Morgan protesters: new online poll
More than half of all Canadians support the protesters who disrupted Kinder Morgan’s work on Burnaby Mountain last month, but a majority also believe the company’s Trans Mountain pipeline will be finished despite such civil disobedience, according to a new online national survey. Fifty-seven per cent of respondents to a recent Angus Reid Institute survey voiced their approval of the protests, but at the same time, almost as many (51 per cent) said they wanted the expansion of the pipeline carrying oil from Alberta to Kinder Morgan’s Burnaby terminal. Mike Hagar reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Northwest Coal Export Terminals Could Get Financial Help From State Of Wyoming
The state of Wyoming may be getting into the coal export business. The Legislature will consider a bill during its upcoming session that would increase the Infrastructure Authority’s bonding limit from $1 billion to $3 billion and also allow that money to be spent outside the state’s borders. Wyoming Infrastructure Authority Director Loyd Drain says if it passes, as is widely expected, he could then enter into talks about financing with companies that are trying to build coal export terminals in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere. (Wyoming Public Radio)

Coal trains still running through South Fork Valley
What was supposed to be a temporary detour of empty coal trains from Bellingham to the South Fork Valley will continue at least until Jan. 15 and maybe much longer. For the first time, officials at BNSF Railway said they were considering a “long-term” deal with Canadian railroad companies to continue running the empty coal trains on the tracks along Highway 9, from Sumas to the South Fork. Ralph Schwartz reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Victoria explores potential sites for sewage treatment
Victoria is hoping to identify potential sites for sewage treatment even as it develops plans on how to best consult residents on what type of system they want. On Thursday, councillors endorsed a motion put forward by Coun. Ben Isitt to have staff report on options for wastewater treatment facilities in the city. Under Isitt’s motion, the site search will be based on criteria such as availability of land, opportunities for resource recovery, and consistency with zoning and the Official Community Plan. Bill Cleverley reports. (Times Colonist)

Step one in Spring Street Landing revamp: build new seawall
The bulkhead construction project, at the Spring Street Landing site, is the first phase in what will be a completely revamped public area. Construction got under way with the excavation of compacted earth that’s acted as a retaining seawall. Once excavation is complete the old piling left over from the former ferry dock, decommissioned in the 1960s, will be removed. The final phase of reconstruction of the bulkhead will be building a new seawall, composed of mechanically stabilized earth that’s reinforced with boulders on the exterior. Emily Greenberg reports. (San Juan Journal)

Energy minister tells Imperial Metals it can repair damaged tailings dam
The company that owns the Mount Polley mine near Williams Lake will be allowed to repair the tailings dam before the government has finished its reviews into the cause of its partial collapse. Imperial Metals, which runs the gold and copper mine, called the repairs “another step in the path in the long road forward” at the facility. Mount Polley has not been operational since Aug. 4 when its tailings dam collapsed, sending millions of cubic meters of water and tailings into nearby creeks and Quesnel Lake. Rob Shaw reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 230 AM PST FRI DEC 19 2014
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING
 GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING
TODAY
S WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 12 FT BUILDING TO 15 FT AT 20 SECONDS. SHOWERS LIKELY.
TONIGHT
S WIND 20 TO 30 KT RISING TO 25 TO 35 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. SEAS 17 TO 21 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 18 SECONDS. RAIN.
SAT
S WIND 30 TO 40 KT. SEAS 18 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 17 SECONDS. RAIN.
SAT NIGHT
SW WIND 30 TO 35 KT EASING TO 15 TO 25 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. SEAS 13 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 15 SECONDS.
SUN AND SUN NIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. NW
 SWELL 12 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
--
"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.

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