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| Giant wrymouth [Seatte Aquarium] |
The Giant wrymouth, is a species of wrymouth found in the northeastern Pacific Ocean from the Bering Sea to northern California where it is believed to spend most of its life buried in soft areas at the bottom of the ocean at depths of from 6 to 128 metres(20 to 420 ft). This fish can reach a length of 117 centimetres (46 in). Like the wolf eel, giant wrymouths are easily mistaken for eels but are considered fish instead because of their lack of pectoral fins. (Wikipedia)
Whatcom County, Ericksen push to revive proposed renewable diesel plant near Ferndale
Whatcom County is reaching out to the companies behind a proposed, but recently scrapped, renewable diesel plant near Ferndale to see if the project can be revived. Phillips 66 and Renewable Energy Group Inc. announced on Tuesday, Jan. 21, that they were withdrawing from the project, surprising regulators and an environmental group. A release blamed “permitting delays and uncertainties” for the decision. Phillips 66 and Renewable Energy Group had formed Green Apple Renewable Fuels to build the plant...Newly elected County Executive Satpal Sidhu indicated in a release on Friday, Jan. 24, that the county has reached out to both companies to see if there is anything it can do to help resolve those uncertainties.... “We appreciate the many efforts that folks are taking to look for some resolution. We’ll certainly be open to those conversations,” Tim Johnson, director of Public and Government Affairs for the Phillips 66 refinery near Ferndale, said to The Bellingham Herald on Friday. In a previous interview, Johnson said what was at issue was the determination of significance recently issued by the Washington State Department of Ecology and Whatcom County government, which in turn triggered a requirement for an environmental impact statement. Kie Relyea reports. (Bellingham Herald)
82,000-gallon sewage spill reported in Bremerton
An 82,000-gallon combined sewage spill resulted in a no-contact advisory for the Port Washington Narrows and Sinclair Inlet on Thursday — the latest in a series of waste spills reported in Bremerton this winter. The Kitsap Public Health District is advising residents to avoid contact with water in the affected area, recommending against swimming, wading or direct skin contact with water. The no-contact advisory remains in effect through Wednesday, according to a press release Thursday afternoon. Bremerton Public Works reported the sewage spill involves approximately 82,400 gallons. Austin Macalus reports. (Kitsap Sun)
Cold weather both helping and hindering Big Bar landslide clean up
Winter weather has proven to be both advantageous and problematic as crews work to clean up the Big Bar landslide site. Cold temperatures have meant less water coming down from the mountains, so lower water levels on the site, making it easier for excavators to work in the river. That said, the cold snap B.C. experienced mid-January meant it was too cold for equipment or people to function. "We're through some of that really, really cold weather and people are on the site now working," B.C. Forest Minister Doug Donaldson told Daybreak Kamloops host Shelley Joyce. Right now, crews are working to clear enough of the fallen rock to create a passage for fish before spring freshet and rising river levels in March. Donaldson said workers will be drilling into rock and moving it elsewhere to allow water to flow more easily, without creating such a dramatic drop that the fish aren't able to manoeuver it. Courtney Dickson reports. (CBC)
Orca research extends lower into food chain
In an effort to identify more pieces of the puzzle affecting endangered Southern Resident orca whales, a nonprofit research group is looking to examine the stomach contents of chinook salmon caught in areas of the Salish Sea. For the third year, the group, Kwiaht: Center for the Historical Ecology of the Salish Sea, will have a presence at the annual Resurrection Derby in Anacortes to help clean fish in exchange for obtaining stomach samples and other data for ongoing research. The derby is scheduled for Feb. 1-2, with weigh-ins at the Cap Sante Marina. “The fishing derbies in particular are a great resource for collecting scientific data,” Kwiaht wildlife biologist Christian Oldham said, explaining that the researchers would rather use fish being caught for consumption than catch and harm more fish for their work. “The salmon derbies that are already happening offer a great opportunity to partner with local fishermen. The fish are going to be consumed, so they are going to be used anyway.” Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)
The Duwamish people were here first. Should Seattleites pay them rent?
To help right the wrongs of history, thousands of people are paying rent each month to the Duwamish Tribe. Called “Real Rent Duwamish,” the all-volunteer effort — in partnership with the tribe — facilitates monthly “rent” payments to the tribe. Launched in 2017, Real Rent Duwamish has had 4,524 donors so far, now totaling around $20,000 a month. The struggles of the Duwamish Tribe, Seattle’s original people, are a microcosm of the experience of many Native tribes in the U.S. Naomi Ishisaka reports. (Seattle Times)
Triangle trouble: Neighbors worry Bainbridge sand mine endangers their water
As the rain dumps on them, islanders Nick Masla and Mike Sherry stand along Fletcher Bay Road and peer at a muddy property a short walk from their homes. They can only shake their heads at it. The site is known, appropriately, on the island as the “triangle property,” with its three boundaries the portions of Bucklin Hill Road, Fletcher Bay Road and Lynwood Center Road. In recent months, it's been activated as a small sand mine. Heavy equipment rumbles there. Trucks roll in with fill material and roll out laden with sand, according to neighbors. “It’s ugly,” Masla said. “And it’s a residential zone.” Over the last few months the activity has drawn the attention of neighbors like Masla and Sherry concerned about their drinking water, which comes from a well drawing on an aquifer estimated to sit about 50 feet beneath the surface of the site. Nathan Piling reports. (Kitsap Sun)
Green collaboration nets B.C. fish farm certification milestone
Every active Atlantic salmon farm in B.C. is either certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council or in the assessment process, putting the industry on the verge of meeting its pledge to certify every farm in the province. The milestone is the result of a unique made-in-B.C. collaboration between the aquaculture industry, First Nations, and environmental organizations to create a standard that is being adopted worldwide. ASC certification requires that each farm meet 150 criteria from sustainable feed composition and minimizing use of antibiotics and pesticides to preventing escapes and protecting the marine environment. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)
Indigenous youth chant 'stand up, fight back' at B.C. anti-pipeline protest
Chanting Indigenous youth gathered at the British Columbia legislature in support of hereditary Wet'suwet'en chiefs who oppose a natural gas pipeline project running through their traditional territory. The protest comes two days after Indigenous youth occupied a B.C. government Energy and Mines Ministry office that ended when Victoria police arrested 13 people...About 100 people attended the legislature protest urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and B.C. Premier John Horgan to respect Wet'suwet'en laws. Horgan has said the 670-kilometre Coastal GasLink pipeline project has the approval of the courts, the province and elected Indigenous governments along the route and it will be built. (Canadian Press)
E.P.A. Is Letting Cities Dump More Raw Sewage Into Rivers for Years to Come
The Environmental Protection Agency has made it easier for cities to keep dumping raw sewage into rivers by letting them delay or otherwise change federally imposed fixes to their sewer systems, according to interviews with local officials, water utilities and their lobbyists. Cities have long complained about the cost of meeting federal requirements to upgrade aging sewer systems, many of which release untreated waste directly into waterways during heavy rains — a problem that climate change worsens as rainstorms intensify. These complaints have gained new traction with the Trump administration, which has been more willing to renegotiate the agreements that dictate how, and how quickly, cities must overhaul their sewers. The actions are the latest example of the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back nearly 95 environmental rules that it has said are too costly for industry or taxpayers. Christopher Flavell reports. (NY Times)
Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- 252 AM PST Mon Jan 27 2020
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
TODAY S wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SE 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 12 ft at 15 seconds. A chance of showers in the morning then showers likely in the afternoon.
TONIGHT E wind 20 to 30 kt becoming SE 10 to 20 kt after midnight. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft subsiding to 1 to 3 ft after midnight. W swell 10 ft at 14 seconds. Rain.
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