This year’s theme is healthy oceans, healthy planet and people all over our blue planet are organizing celebrations throughout the week, from June 6th all the way to June 14th. Jump in.
Budget writers in Olympia have tentative spending agreement
State budget writers have tentatively agreed on a spending level for the state’s 2015-17 operating budget, according to the director of the state Office of Financial Management. Lawmakers are in the second special legislative session after months of a stalemate over how to fund government. If there’s no new budget by the July 1 start of the state’s new fiscal year, parts of the government will shut down. Joseph O'Sullivan reports. (Seattle Times) Meanwhile: Lawmakers claim $120 daily payments during special sessions Jerry Cornfield reports. (Everett Herald)
A year of close calls for ships on B.C. coast
Commercial ocean-going ships reported being involved in at least 14 official occurrences on the B.C. coast last year, including collisions, groundings, mechanical breakdowns at sea and close calls with other vessels, federal transportation safety board reports show. While not all involved accidents, some had the potential to be extremely serious, including the Japanese-owned 200-metre bulk carrier Ultra Saskatoon on July 2 reporting a “close-quarters situation” with the Hong Kong-owned 217-metre bulk carrier Great Loyalty near Race Rocks marine reserve off Victoria. Larry Pynn reports. (Vancouver Sun)
In plain sight: How the Marathassa oil spill took hours to find
The sloop Odin set out from False Creek late on the sunny afternoon of April 8 for a pleasure sail, with the two-man crew, Rob O’Dea and Arnt Arntzen, using a steady northwest wind to tack their way around the transport freighters that use English Bay as a parking lot. Around 4:45 p.m., the pair aboard Mr. Arntzen’s 21-foot sailboat spotted a large slick on the water, accompanied by the smell of fresh asphalt. It took them just 15 minutes of sailing to track the source to the bulk grain carrier MV Marathassa, which was at anchor in the bay after putting in to the Port of Vancouver to begin loading its cargo. By then, the slick was half a kilometre long and 250 meters wide, by Mr. O’Dea’s estimation. Beneath the blue sheen, he could see the water was thick with globules of oil. Mr. O’Dea called 911 at 5:05 p.m. from his cell phone, and a Canadian Coast Guard official called him back three minutes later to assure him they were already aware of the spill and had dispatched a pollution response team. That would have been reassuring, except there was no Coast Guard or any other emergency response vessel in sight. In fact, the clean-up crew would not be authorized to respond until three hours later. Justine Hunter reports. (Globe and Mail)
Mike Lowry’s visit to planned coal port upsets environmentalists
On the battlefield of one of the biggest environmental clashes to erupt in the Pacific Northwest in decades, an old soldier for liberal causes and steeped in “green” cred has re-emerged — but this time, he’s fighting for the other side. Or at least that’s how some environmental groups perceive Mike Lowry’s recent visit to the site of a proposed coal-export terminal on the Columbia River, where the former Washington governor and congressman spoke favorably about the controversial project. Lowry’s tour on May 28 of the proposed Millennium Bulk Terminals (MBT) coal-export facilities site in Longview — during which he met with company brass, local elected officials and labor representatives who back the project — quickly generated a story in the hometown newspaper. Lewis Kamb reports. (Seattle Times)
The Clean Energy Governor And The Columbia River Oil Refinery
A new oil refinery is the last thing you might expect Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s administration to be courting. After all, Inslee has developed a national reputation as a champion of curbing the use of fossil fuels. And yet, Inslee’s administration has worked for months to facilitate such a project along the Columbia River. A Texas-based energy company wants to site a combined crude oil and biofuel refinery in Longview, Washington. The company’s goal is to capitalize on low carbon fuel standards championed by West Coast political leaders, including Inslee. Conrad Wilson and Tony Schick report. (KUOW)
Coastal Salish Nation steps up opposition to fossil fuel trains
The Coast Salish Nation issued a statement this week that it plans to work collectively against the transport of crude oil by rail and sea through tribal territories. The Coast Salish Nation includes the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and represents the ancestral territory of British Columbia First Nations and Western Washington tribes. The group met on Swimomish land in May and voted unanimously to try to stop all crude oil shipments through tribal territory. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)
Tacoma, Seattle ports approve Northwest Seaport Alliance plan
Two ports that for decades competed fiercely for Puget Sound shipping business toasted a friendly new alliance Friday that will join terminal operations and marketing activities under a single management. Those Champagne toasts came after the governing commissions of the ports of Tacoma and Seattle voted unanimously to seek the blessing of the Federal Maritime Commission for the newly named Northwest Seaport Alliance that will link the two ports’ shipping terminals to form the nation’s third-largest container port. John Gille reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)
Bellingham port environmental director retires after 20 years
When Mike Stoner first toured the Port of Bellingham’s properties 20 years ago, he started to make a mental list of contaminated sites that needed work…. Two decades and countless hours of investigating, building partnerships, and environmental planning later, one of the largest cleanup projects on that list is about to break ground and Stoner is set to retire. Samantha Wohlfeil reports. (Bellingham Herald)
Ottawa announces fishing closures to protect glass-sponge reefs in Strait of Georgia
Glass sponges are fragile, long-lived lifeforms that can be damaged by prawn traps…. The federal fisheries department announced Friday commercial and recreational fishing closures to protect nine glass-sponge reefs in the Strait of Georgia and Howe Sound. The closures prohibit all "bottom-contact" fisheries, including prawn and crab traps, shrimp trawl, groundfish trawl, and hook-and-line, within a buffer zone of 150 metres around the nine reefs. Larry Pynn reports. (Vancouver Sun)
First Nation Heiltsuk calls for extension of herring fishery closure
The Heiltsuk First Nation is calling for a coast-wide closure of the 2016 herring fishery, after it successfully shut down the 2015 fishery on the central coast earlier this spring. On Tuesday, the Bella Bella-based First Nation will issue a declaration that the herring and herring roe fisheries will remain closed until herring stocks have recovered. The Heiltsuk are in talks with the Haida and Nuu-chah-nulth to support a closure for the entire coast. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)
State public lands commissioner calls for more study on Navy electronic warfare range plan
The Navy should rethink its proposed expansion of activities in its electronic warfare range in light of potential impacts on the threatened marbled murrelet and a deluge of comments against the plan, said Peter Goldmark, state commissioner of public lands. Goldmark, who manages the state Department of Natural Resources, said last week that the Navy's 2010 environmental impact statement on the effects of jet noise on the seabird listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act did not go far enough. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)
Cleaner streets for cleaner Puget Sound planned
Copper, zinc, phosphorous and other pollutants build up on Seattle’s streets before rain washes them into storm drains and waterways that lead to Puget Sound. During heavy rains, the sewer system fills up and the problem can worsen. As a solution, the city plans to double the coverage of its street-cleaning program, hoping to scour at least 40 additional tons of pollutants from roadways each year before they can reach the Sound. The $800,000 street-cleaning expansion — meant to help satisfy a consent agreement with state and federal authorities to rein in combined sewage overflows — also is the frugal way to go, officials said. Miguel Otarola reports. (Seattle Times)
Navy offers new option for proposed Port Angeles submarine escort pier
The Navy has announced the location of a fourth alternative site for a proposed pier at Ediz Hook, where a plethora of activity already is taking place. The new location was offered to mollify concerns expressed by the Puget Sound Pilots and others about the $16.7 million proposal, which would provide a dock for up to seven Navy submarine escort vessels. But the route of the vessels as they proceed to the newest-option pier also places them within 100 feet of Seattle-based Icicle Seafoods Inc.’s Atlantic-salmon fish farm. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)
Fir Island Farms Reserve closed to public for dike setback
Public access is now closed to the Fir Island Farms Reserve, where heavy machinery will begin moving dirt and materials next week for the start of a two-year tidal marsh restoration project, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Friday. The project, which is being done on Fish and Wildlife land on Fir Island, will set back the existing mile-long dike about 5,500 feet to reopen 131 acres of tidal marsh in the Skagit River Delta to fish and wildlife. Kimberley Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)
Whatcom charter review board targets environmental groups
Conservatives on the county Charter Review Commission and their allies have a strategy for fixing what they say is wrong with Whatcom County. In addition to recommending more local representation on the council through district-only voting, a task they finished in February, they seek to de-fund “special interest groups” that support environmental causes. At the May 18 charter review meeting, Michelle Luke, who was endorsed by Republicans during her unsuccessful campaign for council in 2013, said district-only voting was needed to correct the excessive protections placed on rural land by conservation nonprofits…. Commissioners on May 18 didn’t mention by name any of the nonprofits they were targeting, but it appeared they were referring to conservation advocacy groups such as Futurewise and RE Sources for Sustainable Communities. Ralph Schwartz reports. (Bellingham Herald)
Olympic National Park's newest attraction is made out of an old dam
The west rim of the Glines Canyon overlook is finished and ready for visitors, just in time for summer. Perched on what was once the spillway of the 210-foot-tall Glines Canyon Dam, the overlook offers expansive views of a wide valley that previously held the Lake Mills reservoir. The Elwha River, released by breaching of the dam that was finished in August, now flows freely through the deep canyon just below the viewpoint. (Peninsula Daily News)
Drought Conditions Reach Unexpected Corners Of Northwest
The U.S. Drought Monitor shows almost all of eastern Oregon and parts of eastern Washington are now in severe drought. But the dry conditions are also reaching into corners of the Northwest that usually remain relatively lush. An example is the south fork of the Coeur d’Alene River. The river feels different and is slower than normal. Jessica Robinson reports. (EarthFix)
Will fake killer whale fool sea lions in Astoria — and what if it does?
Chris Dunagan writes: "I was eager to find out if a 32-foot fiberglass replica of a killer whale could scare off a huge number of sea lions crowded together on the docks in Astoria, Ore. I kept telling my wife Sue, “It’s not going to work” — and I had not the slightest idea that the motorized orca might capsize during its attempt to frighten the persistent sea lions…." (Watching Our Water Ways)
Calls mount for B.C. to take stronger action against invasive mussels
With the start of summer boating season in British Columbia’s freshwater lakes, the annual game of chance begins: The provincial government is gambling that it can prevent any boats contaminated with invasive mussels from launching within its borders. B.C. introduced its new mobile decontamination units on May 29, to check boats coming from other parts of North America for signs of quagga and zebra mussels. The rapidly reproducing invaders can hitchhike on boats, marine trailers and fishing gear. Once they have a foothold they choke out native species, clog infrastructure such as water intakes, and leave beaches littered with piercing shells. Justine Hunter reports. (Globe and Mail)
Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT MON JUN 8 2015
TODAY
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 9 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG IN THE MORNING.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
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"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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