1/20 Pipeline secrets, bird flu, Gorge spill, farm bill $, flame retardants, Taseko Mines, Jennifer Rumley

Shaka the Crab (PHOTO: Alan Berner/Seattle Times)

"Honu by the Sea" at the Seattle Aquarium
Bryce Irvine is Shaka the Crab in the environmental musical at the Seattle Aquarium this weekend. "Honu by the Sea" is about discovering the need to protect and guard reefs and oceans threatened by negligent human activity. For more information see: honubythesea.com Colin Diltz reports. (Seattle Times)

Kinder Morgan can keep plans secret: National Energy Board
Kinder Morgan has won the next round in the battle over the push to expand its oil pipeline through Burnaby. The province has lost a bid to force the company to detail its emergency response plan in case of an accident. Kinder Morgan says it needs to keep the plans secret in the interest of security. The National Energy Board (NEB) ruling came down Friday saying the oil company had justified their argument to keep much of the plan secret which perplexes John Foy with the Wilderness Committee. Simon Druker reports. (News1130)

Avian flu found on North Olympic Peninsula; domestic birds destroyed at Agnew farm
Avian flu has been found in a backyard flock of ducks, chickens and geese east of Port Angeles, and all the birds were destroyed. The H5N2 bird flu strain is not harmful to humans.  But the disease is very contagious and deadly among birds, and the fear is that it could spread into commercially raised chickens and turkeys. A ban on the movement of eggs, domestic poultry and poultry products within and outside of a 10 kilometer radius — 6.2 miles — likely will be placed today around the home at 92 Cosmos Lane in the Agnew area, state Department of Agriculture spokesman Hector Castro said. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Rain clears storm drains of fuel-oil spill near Gorge
The rain that pelted Victoria over the weekend helped clean out the storm-drain system feeding a heating-oil spill on the Gorge Waterway, virtually eliminating any pollution threat. B.C. Hazmat’s David Rogers said that absorptive booms replaced on Sunday night were “lily-white and clean” on Monday, meaning no oil had reached them. Jeff Bell reports. (Times Colonist)

Farm Bill money will support continued Clean Samish efforts
Farms, shellfish, salmon and water quality in the Puget Sound Region will get a $9 million boost from a new federal conservation program included in the 2014 Farm Bill. Some of that money will go to Skagit County’s Samish watershed, which has been plagued with fecal coliform pollution for years. The grants come from the new Regional Conservation Partnership Program under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. They are part of a $370 million package Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced last week that will support 115 projects across the U.S. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

House looking to pass a bill banning some flame retardants
A bill to ban two flame retardants from children's products and upholstered furniture is taking its third trip through the Washington Legislature. Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim, introduced the bipartisan bill, which went to a House Environment Committee public hearing Monday. John Stang reports. (Crosscut)

Mining giant takes on B.C. environmental group in defamation court battle
Criticism of a proposed mine by an environmental group and allegations of defamation by the project's owner have landed both parties in B.C. Supreme Court. Taseko Mines Ltd. launched the lawsuit after the Wilderness Committee claimed during a 2012 public comment period that the New Prosperity mine could destroy Fish Lake. The proposed gold and copper mine, 125 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake, was undergoing a federal environmental assessment when the statements were made. Tasmyn Burgmann reports. (Canadian Press)

Green Beat - Intern nets endangered species
When Langley resident Jennifer Rumley graduated with a Trinity Western University Environmental Studies degree in 2014, she was hoping to get a paying job. Instead, this past fall she paid to get some experience with A Rocha Canada. “The internship with A Rocha was the next best thing to a paid position,” said Jennifer. “I got to do some meaningful work in my field, and have some exciting adventures working with endangered species and their habitat.” Rumley sought the elusive Salish sucker along the length of the Little Campbell River which begins in Aldergrove and runs to the ocean in White Rock. David Clements reports.  (Langley Times)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST TUE JAN 20 2015
TODAY
SE WIND 10 KT...BECOMING E 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
SE WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 12 SECONDS.

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