10/15 Shellfish areas, Kply cleanup, oil port fires, Woodfibre LNG, Whatcom coal fight

(Andy Bronson/Everett Herald)

Photo: Great blue heron seeks a soft landing
A great blue heron on a fishing expedition prepares to land by GoGo’s Lake on Fourth St. SE Wednesday. The road leads into Spencer Island Park in Everett. (Everett Herald)

1,000 acres of Puget Sound shellfish harvesting areas open
Washington health officials say they've been able to open about 1,000 acres of shellfish harvesting areas in Puget Sound thanks to improved water quality. The pollution-reduction efforts included eliminating pollution sources, modifications in wastewater treatment and inspections of private septic systems. The biggest area to re-open was about 700 acres in Clallam County's Dungeness Bay. Other recent successes were at Ketron Island in Pierce County and Poverty Bay in King County. (Associated Press)

Port Angeles KPly site cleanup costs climb $2.13 million due to more contaminated soil
Dirty dirt costs a lot to dump. The price of cleaning up the former KPly mill site on Marine Drive leaped another $2.13 million Tuesday thanks to the need to truck away 16,600 more tons of contaminated soil. That comes atop the $1.36 million Port of Port Angeles commissioners approved last month for an additional 15,000 tons of soil that's been fouled by a variety of fuels, other hydrocarbons and assorted pollutants. James Casey reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Vancouver [WA] firefighters union opposes oil terminal at port  Citing threats to public safety, the head of Vancouver’s firefighters union  told Port of Vancouver commissioners Tuesday that the union opposes a proposal to build the nation’s largest rail-to-ship oil-transfer terminal at the Port of Vancouver. The city is “not staffed appropriately” and “we don’t have the training, and we don’t have the equipment to effectively respond to an emergency at the oil terminal,” Mark Johnston, president of the Vancouver Firefighters Union IAFF Local 452, told port commissioners during the port’s regular public meeting. The meeting was packed with opponents of the oil terminal (one attendee spoke favorably about the terminal) who blasted the port for hiding information from people and ignoring their safety concerns. Aaron Corvin reports. (Columbian)

Squamish First Nation approves environmental agreement for Woodfibre LNG
The Squamish First Nation council voted Wednesday to approve an environmental assessment agreement for the controversial $1.6-billion Woodfibre LNG project that has divided its own band members. Squamish Chief Ian Campbell said in an interview that the agreement is an important step in the development's ultimate approval. Similar agreements remain to be signed with FortisBC and the B.C. government. Economic impact benefit agreements also remain to be negotiated. Larry Pynn reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Coal fight spills into Whatcom’s ‘constitution’
Coal interests and environmentalists have pitched a war of words and money over propositions on the Nov. 3 ballot in Whatcom County. None of the moves have proved to be illegal. Ralph Schwartz reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 241 AM PDT THU OCT 15 2015
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
TODAY
SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 11 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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told