6/7 Raven's Voice, BC tanker ban, oyster farm, Oly brownfields, pipeline explosion

Raven's Voice [Tony Angell]

Raven's Voice
Artist Tony Angell writes: "The piece was commissioned by the Rainier Club of Seattle and is standing in its entry lobby. I intended to create a sculptural work that is considerate of the native cultural history of our region while eliciting a contemporary response that evokes a consideration of what the RAVEN might be saying regarding the natural heritage of the Pacific Northwest. In other words, Raven's Voice is a metaphor to heed the constant flow of messages Nature issues to us regarding our responsibilities for sustaining, restoring and stewarding our irreplaceable waterways, Sound waters, forests, meadows and deserts. A lifetime amid these adaptable, insightful, loquacious and attractive species has been a powerful influence on my artistic expressions."

Trudeau's Senate appointees save B.C. oil tanker ban bill from defeat
While the Senate's transport committee recommended the upper house defeat the bill outright, a coalition of Independent and Liberal senators has cobbled together enough votes to rescue legislation to implement the government's planned ban on oil tankers along B.C.'s northern coast. The outcome was far from certain after the committee that studied the legislation recommended against passing the Liberal plan. The committee issued a scathing report this week saying that, if passed, the bill would stoke a nascent separatist movement in Western Canada, and accused the government of unfairly targeting Alberta's oilpatch at a time of constrained pipeline capacity and cratering oil prices....Senators rejected the committee's report by a vote of 38 to 53, with one abstention. Now, senators are expected to make amendments at the third reading phase of the legislative process before sending the bill back to the Commons for approval. Jon Paul Tasker reports. (CBC) See also: Senators reject chance to immediately kill tanker ban but bill not safe yet https://www.timescolonist.com/senators-reject-chance-to-immediately-kill-tanker-ban-but-bill-not-safe-yet-1.23847575 (Canadian Press)

Vancouver Island: Oyster farmers get help from B.C. recovery fund
Oyster farmers on Vancouver Island, who have endured several difficult years, have this season taken advantage of a provincial fund designed to help stabilize the industry. More than 100 oyster farmers have accessed funding from the $1.3-million B.C. Oyster Recovery Fund this year, which should give them short-term relief.... The issues facing the industry have included changing ocean temperatures, higher acidity levels in the water and outbreaks of norovirus that closed some farms over the past three years. Andrew Duffy reports. (Times Colonist)

Olympia gets EPA grant to help turn around contaminated waterfront
The city of Olympia has been awarded a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assess contaminated waterfront property in the hopes of spurring redevelopment. The money comes from the EPA’s Brownfields Program that funds assessment and cleanup of abandoned industrial and commercial properties. A news release from the EPA said $500,000 of the grant is for hazardous substance assessment and $100,000 for petroleum contamination assessment. The EPA expects the city, the Port of Olympia and the Olympia Metropolitan Park District to conduct two dozen assessments projects and five cleanup plans with the money. Assessment activities will focus on the peninsula and West Bay neighborhoods, the EPA news release said. Amy Spegman reports. (News Tribune of Tacoma)

The lessons of Bellingham’s Olympic Pipeline explosion 
Derek Moscato of Western Washington University writes: "Recent developments in Canada’s Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion saga remind us yet again of the inevitability of energy infrastructure debates in the West. By ruling that British Columbia’s government does not have the authority to restrict shipments of oil sands crude from neighboring Alberta, B.C.’s top appeals court has further advanced the petroleum pipeline ambitions of politicians in Alberta and Ottawa, including Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. And just last Thursday, Alberta’s government launched a $1 million advertising campaign in downtown Vancouver to sway public opinion and pressure B.C.’s government to get on board with the pipeline program...." (Seattle Times Opinion)


Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  810 PM PDT Thu Jun 6 2019   
FRI  W wind 5 to 15 kt rising to 15 to 25 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less building to 2 to 4 ft in the afternoon. W  swell 6 ft at 8 seconds. A chance of showers. 
FRI NIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 5  ft at 8 seconds. A chance of showers in the evening. 
SAT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 1 to 2 ft. W swell 5 ft at  7 seconds. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 1 to 2 ft. W swell  4 ft at 7 seconds. 
SUN  W wind to 10 kt becoming NW 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 3 ft at 7 seconds.



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