12/16 Shoveler, dam breaching, ship wastewater, climate talks, BC pipe, Coastal Resiliency Act, ocean acid, dead zones, Kitsap plastic, Samish R.

Northern shoveler [Lee Barnes]

Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata
Northern Shovelers inhabit shallow, marshy ponds and wetlands at low elevations. Breeding habitat is in open country (prairie or tundra), or lowland woodlands and clearings, always near shallow water. During winter and migration they will use virtually any wetland as long as it has muddy edges. Shovelers will forage in sewage ponds and stagnant or polluted waters avoided by other species of ducks. (BirdWeb)

Results of Inslee’s dam breaching review out Friday 
An effort initiated by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to explore the potential economic consequences and ecological benefits of either keeping or breaching the four lower Snake River dams is nearing completion. Last spring, the Washington Legislature approved a $750,000 request from Inslee’s Orca Task Force to take a more in-depth look at Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite dams in eastern Washington. The federal dams provide hydroelectric power generation, inland barge transportation and a small amount of irrigation. But they also harm threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead that among other things provide a critical food source to southern resident killer whales, which are also endangered... The Inslee-supported, Washington-centric look at the Snake River dams is intended to help the governor and the state shape comments on an upcoming environmental and economic review of all eight federal dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers and whether the four dams on the Snake should be recommended for removal. That review, ordered by federal Judge Michael Simon at Portland, and being led by the Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Bonneville Power Administration, is expected to be released as a draft in February... A draft report summarizing about 100 interviews with people and organizations with interests in the dams, fish and whales is scheduled to be released Friday. That will be followed by a workshop from 6-9 p.m. Jan. 7 at Clarkston’s Quality Inn to share the findings of the report with the public. Workshops will also be held in the Tri-Cities and Vancouver, Wash. Eric Barker reports. (Lewiston Tribune)

Contaminated wastewater from ships harmful to orcas: study  
Cruise ships that use scrubbers to comply with international sulphur-limit laws may be unintentionally harming endangered whales off the coast of B.C., says a new WWF-commissioned study. The report “A whale of a problem? Heavy fuel oil, exhaust gas cleaning systems, and British Columbia’s resident killer whales” was released this week by the International Council on Clean Transportation. The study was funded by World Wildlife Fund Canada. For the study, researchers analyzed 30 commercial ships operating off the coast of B.C. that are equipped with exhaust gas cleaning systems, also called scrubbers, that remove harmful sulphur oxides from exhaust gases of heavy fuel oil used in marine engines. Open-looped scrubbers, the most commonly used system, pump a mix of water and contaminants into the ocean called wash water. The wash water contains “carcinogenic substances such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals,” according to the report. Tiffany Crawford reports. (Vancouver Sun)

U.N. Climate Talks End With Big Polluters Blocking Stronger Action
In what was widely denounced as one of the worst outcomes in a quarter-century of climate negotiations, United Nations talks ended early Sunday morning with the United States and other big polluters blocking even a nonbinding measure that would have encouraged countries to adopt more ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions next year... The Trump administration used the meeting to push back on a range of proposals, including a mechanism to compensate developing countries for losses that were the result of more intense storms, droughts, rising seas and other effects of global warming. Somini Sengupta reports. (NY Times)

Trans Mountain oil pipeline faces latest legal challenge in Canada court
The Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion faces its latest legal hurdle in a federal court this week as indigenous groups appeal the pipeline's expansion, arguing the government did not adequately consult them before approving it. A three-day hearing begins on Monday at Canada's Federal Court of Appeal in Vancouver, which agreed to hear concerns from the Coldwater Indian band, the Squamish Nation, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and others that the government's second consultation with them on the project this year was "window-dressing, box-ticking and nice-sounding words." The legal challenge is the latest setback for Trans Mountain, whose previous owners first proposed the expansion in 2013, as well as two pipeline projects proposed separately by TC Energy Corp and Enbridge Inc that would provide badly needed transport for Alberta's oil. (Thomson Reuters) See also: Kamloops: Property owner seeks compensation from Trans Mountain  A Black Pines resident wants compensation as a result of twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which goes through his front yard. Jessica Wallace reports. (Kamloops This Week)

Tribal Coastal Resiliency Act could help communities on the front line of climate change
Rising sea levels caused by global warming hit coastal communities the hardest. In Washington, many of those communities are tribes that settled near the water long before climate change became an issue. A new bill moving through Congress aims to provide them with more relief.  The Tribal Coastal Resiliency Act would provide dedicated funding to help tribes impacted by climate change. The bill's prime sponsor is Washington Rep. Derek Kilmer. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Here’s how ocean acidification threatens one of Whatcom County’s oldest industries
....An increase in acidity has shown to hurt some shellfish species, such as those found in Whatcom County, according to Brooke Love, who holds a doctorate in chemical oceanography and is an associate professor at Western Washington University. “If you like to eat seafood, as many of us do, (acidification) threatens all seafood,” Love said. Ocean acidification threatens shellfish because an increase in acidity means less carbonate, the mineral used by mussels, oysters and other shellfish to build their shells. Warren Sterling reports. (Bellingham Herald)

A dead zone in the Salish Sea would harm Whatcom’s economy. Here’s how
Ocean dead zones, areas of low to no oxygen, kill fish and other marine life, harming commercial fishing...“Such areas of extremely low oxygen, sometimes referred to as ‘dead zones,’ are related to excess nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, that over-feed a large variety of tiny plankton drifting through the water,” according to the University of Washington’s Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. The over-fed plankton eventually die and are decomposed by oxygen-consuming bacteria...areas with the lowest level of dissolved oxygen commonly occur where organic matter, from human and natural processes, is abundant, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Periods of low dissolved oxygen have been observed throughout the inlets and canals of the Puget Sound. Low dissolved oxygen is often indicated by large die-offs of aquatic life — particularly species that are not mobile enough to leave the area. Warren Sterling reports. (Bellingham Herald)


Retailers part with plastic as bag ban approaches
Businesses are letting their supply of plastic bags diminish as the resolution to ban plastic bags goes into effect for Kitsap County, Bremerton and Port Orchard on Jan. 1. Retailers will be prohibited from offering thin plastic bags under the ban. Instead, they may offer paper bags made of 40% recycled content or thicker, reusable plastic bags for a minimum charge of 8 cents. Customers who are on food assistance programs, like SNAP or WIC, will not be charged a fee.  Jessie Darland reports. (Kitsap Sun)

State considers land purchase along Samish River
The state Department of Fish & Wildlife is considering a move that would about double the land it owns near the mouth of the Samish River, potentially opening more access for fishermen along the popular river. The 109-acre property east of the river and south of Bay View Edison Road is one of 18 throughout the state that Fish & Wildlife is considering buying to further protect wildlife and provide more access for recreation. The agency is taking comment on the proposed acquisitions through Jan. 3. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  233 AM PST Mon Dec 16 2019   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON   
TODAY  E wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 8 ft  at 12 seconds. Rain likely. 
TONIGHT  SE wind 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell  10 ft at 14 seconds. A chance of rain.



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