9/2 Orca protection, Malahat LNG, Janet Holder, Clean Water, fed election, jellyfish, derelict boats

July 31, 2015 (Elaine Thompson/AP)

Patrols keep US boaters in line, protect killer whales
Against a backdrop of rocky bluffs, a pod of orcas jumped out of the emerald waters of the Puget Sound before splashing their massive black-and-white bodies back into the water. Shadowing the whales on a recent afternoon were several recreational and commercial whale-watching boats that ferry people out to watch the orcas breach, one of nature's most impressive spectacles. But the combination of boats and whales has state and federal authorities worried now that the Southern Resident pod of killer whales has four new calves. Manuel Valdes reports. (Associated Press)

Agreement signed for 128km pipeline to service Malahat LNG facility
The Island Gas Connector Project would be an independent pipeline that would transport natural gas 52.8 kilometres from Sumas, Washington to Cherry Point, Washington, then 75.2 kilometres under water to the proposed Malahat LNG Project in the Saanich Inlet. Steelhead LNG has signed a pre-construction agreement with United States pipeline developer Williams to commence with the design and regulatory approvals for the Island Gas Connector Project. Environmentalists are concerned that an undersea pipeline could be built through B.C. waters and particularly the sensitive Saanich Inlet. April Lawrence reports. (CHEK)

Janet Holder, public face of the Northern Gateway pipeline project, dies
Janet Holder, who rose to prominence as the project leader for Enbridge's controversial Northern Gateway Pipeline project, has died of leukemia…. Holder was named Enbridge executive vice president of Western Access in 2011, and soon afterwards, relocated from Toronto back to her home town of Prince George. She became a recognizable face to many after fronting a number of folksy-themed television ads promoting the pipeline project.

Obama's Clean Water Act rule faces deepening opposition  
A federal judge in North Dakota has provided the stiffest challenge yet to a new rule from the Obama Administration that aims to protect ecologically-vital temporary waterways. Last week, US District Judge Ralph Erickson in Fargo issued a temporary injunction to stop the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers from regulating the waterways under a reinterpretation of the Clean Water Act. But the scope of the injunction remains unclear. While the EPA argues that it only applies to the 13 states that sued, the North Dakota attorney who filed the request on their behalf says it applies to all 50 states. Michael Holtz reports. (Christian Science Monitor) See also: Why The EPA’s Clean Drinking Water Rule Is So Controversial  Emily Atkin reports. (ThinkProgress.Org)

Federal election a 3-way race in Metro Vancouver; Marine protection a top issue for voters in the upcoming federal election
To live in B.C.'s Lower Mainland is to live on the water, whether it's the commuters who speed over the Fraser River each day or the dog walkers strolling the seawall around Vancouver each night. And it's the waterfront providing a backdrop to many key election issues here, from the affordability of living along it to how it's used to send natural resources abroad. (Stephanie Levitz reports. (Canadian Press)

Marine animal colony is a multi-jet swimming machine, scientists report
The University of Oregon's Kelly Sutherland has seen the future of under-sea exploration by studying the swimming prowess of tiny jellyfish gathered from Puget Sound off Washington's San Juan Island. n a paper with four colleagues in the Sept. 2 issue of the journal Nature Communications, Sutherland details how a tiny type of jellyfish - colonial siphonophores - swim rapidly by coordinating multiple water-shooting jets from separate but genetically identical units that make up the animal. (Phys.Org)

DNR cleans local waterways of sunken, derelict, abandoned boats
A double-masted sailboat and a WWII-era tugboat disappeared from local waters in August — and most people probably consider it good riddance. A state Department of Natural Resources program that works to remove abandoned boats from waterways around the state has focused of late on the Everett area. Contractors will remove seven derelict vessels from local sloughs and riverbanks, if all goes as planned. Noah Haglund reports. (Everett Herald)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT WED SEP 2 2015
TODAY
SW WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 8 FT AT 11 SECONDS. SHOWERS. A
 SLIGHT CHANCE OF TSTMS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
SW WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7 FT AT 11 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF TSTMS IN
 THE EVENING...THEN SHOWERS LIKELY AFTER MIDNIGHT.
--
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