9/12 Northern lights, old rail cars, Vic sewer $s, coal $s, BC no-pipe alliance, BC CG, Ted Fick

(PHOTO: Notanee Bourassa/CBC)

Northern lights: Auroras expected after 2 huge solar flares erupt
Two powerful blasts from the sun are hurtling towards Earth, and may generate beautiful auroras as far south as Pennsylvania tonight and tomorrow night – along with possible power and communications disruptions. "A G3 (Strong) Geomagnetic Storm Watch has been issued for September 13th due to the combined influence of these two events," reported the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo. early Thursday morning. It recommended looking for possible auroras both Thursday and Friday night. (CBC)

If you like to watch (no flush): Victoria… It’s More than That  (TourismVictoriaBC)

Groups Sue Over Oil Shipments In Older Rail Cars
Environmental groups sued the U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday over the shipment of volatile crude oil in older railroad tank cars. Accident investigators have complained for decades that the cars are too easily punctured or ruptured when derailed, leading to spills. The lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club and ForestEthics says the agency failed to respond to a legal petition the groups filed in July. That petition sought an emergency order to prohibit crude oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota and Montana and elsewhere from being carried in older tank cars, known as DOT-111s. (Associated Press)

Funding 'reset' if sewage plant's site changed, CRD warned
Eliminating McLoughlin Point as a site for a regional sewage treatment plant is like “pushing the reset button and starting over” on $253 million in federal funding, Capital Regional District directors were told Wednesday. The federal and provincial governments have agreed to provide a combined $500 million — about two-thirds the cost — of the $783-million project. But the agreements are predicated on the CRD’s approved Liquid Waste Management Plan, which identifies McLoughlin Point as the treatment plant’s site. Bill Cleverley reports. (Times Colonist)

B.C. coal mine suspends activity amid low prices
Anglo American PLC says low coal prices have forced it to make plans to temporarily halt production at its Trend mine in northeastern British Columbia. “This is a pause and not a withdraw from our long-term vision in British Columbia,” Anglo American spokesman Federico Velasquez said in an interview Thursday from Tumbler Ridge, B.C. Brent Jang reports. (Globe and Mail)

First Nations & Allies Launch Alliance to Protect Coastal Waters from Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain Pipeline
Proposals to triple the volume of tar sands production in Canada have sparked a new alliance of First Nations and Northwest tribes to stop it. Lead by the Coast Salish Tseil-Waututh nation of British Columbia, the alliance urges environmental and faith allies to take “unprecedented, unified action” to protect and restore coastal waters and lands from fossil fuel expansion. Martha Baskin reports. (Green Acres Radio)

And: On September 20, Canadians and Americans, First Nations and Native American tribes, and all the diverse communities of the Salish Sea will gather at the Peace Arch to send a unified and clear message that it is time for unprecedented action to defend the Salish Sea and our global climate from fossil fuel development. Info here.

Coast Guard closure leaves Kits in rocky waters
When the federal government closed its Kitsilano Coast Guard base early last year despite the City of Vancouver’s objections, it did everything except literally pull up the pilings. It removed its docks, and most importantly, the breakwater that protected the entrance to False Creek from English Bay’s frequent wind-whipped waves. Now the city is having to spend $300,000 to replace that breakwater after it began to suffer damage to its adjacent Burrard Civic Marina. (Vancouver Sun)

Port of Seattle commissioners OK Ted Fick as new CEO
The Tacoma native will start work Sept. 29 at a salary of $350,000 a year. He succeeds Tay Yoshitani, who is retiring as CEO at the end of the month after seven years. Coral Garnick reports. (Seattle Times)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT FRI SEP 12 2014
TODAY
E WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING E TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
SAT
E WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
LIGHT WIND. WIND WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
SUN
E WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 10 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.

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9/11 Ferries, Victoria sewage, big ships, Quilcene PSP, climate conference, BC pipe, 'Fish WA'

(Art Spiegelman/The New Yorker)

New ferries chief faces money, labor challenges
The state’s new ferries director, Lynne Griffith, takes the helm in October with old boats to fix, frayed labor relations to mend and a mission to eliminate scores of embarrassing canceled trips. Griffith was named Wednesday to lead Washington State Ferries, after a 35-year career that includes positions in transit in Tacoma, Vancouver, Wash., and Atlanta. Mike Lindblom reports. (Seattle Times) See also: BC Ferries’ fare hikes harm provincial economy, report finds  Mark Hume reports. (Globe and Mail)

Municipalities to steer next steps in sewage treatment plan
Municipalities will steer the process to come up with options — including locations for sewage treatment plants — now that the Capital Regional District’s plan to build a plant at Esquimalt’s McLoughlin Point has collapsed. CRD directors put off consideration of staff recommendations to hire a manager to investigate options for sewage treatment after West Shore mayors and Songhees First Nations Chief Ron Sam complained the process was flawed and they didn’t have enough input. Bill Cleverley reports. (Times Colonist)

Over Here, Mega-Ships! Seattle Angles For Big Business
The Port of Seattle is getting $20 million dollars in federal investment to help the Port prepare Terminal 46 for the arrival of the next wave of mega-ships. Cargo shippers around the world are hunting for cost-savings, and that hunt has led them to form alliances and share the use of ever-larger ships. The latest will be three and a half football fields long and so wide they require a larger size of crane to unload them. The challenge does not end with unloading. Ports that welcome these ships will also need the capacity to move the containers into the road and rail network. And the shipping alliances being formed will have a lot of power. Carolyn Adolph reports. (KUOW)

Quilcene Bay closed to recreational shellfishing due to paralytic shellfish poisoning toxin
Quilcene Bay has been closed to recreational shellfish harvesting after a high level of a potentially fatal biotoxin was found in a sample of blue mussels. It's the first time a Jefferson County area has been closed this year because of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxin, although there are other closures and warnings in both Jefferson and Clallam counties. Samples taken Monday from shellfish on the shores of Quilcene Bay were found to have 80 micrograms per 100 grams of tissue of fast-acting marine biotoxins that cause PSP, which can lead to paralysis or death, Michael Dawson of Jefferson County Environmental Health said Wednesday. (Peninsula Daily News)

Climate conference paints a mostly gloomy picture
I must be a glutton for punishment. I spent nearly five hours in stop-and-go traffic Tuesday to attend the Fifth annual Pacific Northwest Climate Science Conference at the University of Washington in Seattle. Interstate 5 was up to its old tricks, failing miserably as a transportation route between Olympia and Seattle. Then I spent another six hours being bombarded with data from computer model runs, field research and studies that shared a common theme: Human effects on the global climate are increasing, mitigation efforts are not keeping pace with disruption caused by climate change and our global appetite for fossil fuels is stronger than ever…. John Dodge reports. (Olympian)

Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain Pipeline could cross B.C. parks
Kinder Morgan, which ran into conflict with the City of Burnaby over pipeline surveying work it began on municipal parkland, has submitted proposed plans showing its new pipeline routed through a protected grassland and three provincial parks in B.C. In what's called a Provincial Protected Area Boundary Adjustment application, the company is asking the province to allow it to route the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline line through four protected areas from just southeast of the Wells Gray area and roughly 200 kilometres north of Kamloops, to just east of Chilliwack. (CBC)

State expands 'Fish Washington' website
Anglers looking for the best fishing spots in Washington should check out some of the new content on the Fish Washington website. Launched in 2012 by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, the website provides anglers information on when, where and how to fish in the state. Recently the agency has added content for two main areas, saltwater areas and alpine lakes. Jeffrey P. Mayor reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Now, your tug weather--
 WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 301 AM PDT THU SEP 11 2014
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 2 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON
TODAY
E WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
E WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING SE AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 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.

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9/10 Poop sniffer dogs, King Co. sewer, Polley mine discharge, NW fuel exports, Seahurst Park, seabird rule

Sept. 8 Supermoon (Chris Pietsch, AP/Vancouver Sun)

Dogs sniff out pollution in Bremerton creeks
Molly and Kona sniffed Monday through Enatai Creek in East Bremerton, searching for what no one wants in their water and every dog loves to stop and smell — poop. The two dogs, that are with Environmental Canine Services, are helping the Kitsap Public Health District search for stormwater pollution, specifically human feces contamination, that will flow into local rivers, lakes and Puget Sound, according to Stuart Whitford, the health district's water pollution identification and correction program manager. Rachel Anne Seymour reports. (Kitsap Sun)

King County Auditor: Sewer overflow project could cost $2.6 billion
A King County auditor's report found that a combined sewage overflow project originally priced at $711 million could now cost ratepayers $2.6 billion. The Wastewater Treatment Division plans to build nine new facilities to hold and treat storm water and sewage by 2030. The clean water is released into local waterways like the Duwamish River, Puget Sound, and Lake Washington. The county is halting the project for three months until it there is a better explanation of the cost differences. David Ham reports. (KIRO)

Mount Polley: B.C. orders mine to stop discharging effluent
The B.C. Ministry of the Environment has ordered the Mount Polley mine northeast of Williams Lake, B.C. to stop discharging effluent into Hazeltine Creek. The provincial order comes only a day after residents said they witnessed slurry being pumped from Polley Lake near the mine downstream into Hazeltine Creek and Quesnel Lake. (CBC)

Northwest Fossil Fuel Exports
…. Since 2012, British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington have seen new active proposals for four new coal terminals, three expansions of existing terminals, two new oil pipelines, eleven oil-by-rail facilities, and six new natural gas pipelines. Each of the projects is distinct, but all can be denominated in a common currency: the tons of carbon dioxide emitted if the fossil fuels were burned. Taken together, these plans would be capable of delivering enough fuel to release 822 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year…. if all of the coal export terminals, oil-by-rail facilities, oil pipelines, and natural gas pipelines planned for the Pacific Northwest are completed and fully utilized, the region could export fossil fuels carrying five times as much climate-warming carbon as Keystone XL… (Sightline)  See also: Lawyers: Wyoming pro-coal argument unlikely to work on Cherry Point proposal Ralph Schwartz reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Seahurst Park Ribbon-Cutting — Seawall Removal Restores 2,800 Feet of Shoreline Habitat http://www.highlinetimes.com/2014/09/09/news/seahurst-park-ribbon-cutting-—-seawall-removal-re
Join the City of Burien, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Puget Sound Partnership and other partners to celebrate the Phase II completion of the Seahurst Park Ecosystem Restoration Project. Tours of the restoration site begin at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, September 12th, followed by groundbreaking ceremonies at 2:30 p.m. Tours of the restoration site and open house events begin at Seahurst Park 2:30 p.m. Seahurst Park is located at 1600 S.W. Seahurst Park Road, in Burien. (Highline Times)

Advisory to be lifted today against contact with Port Angeles Harbor waters
An advisory warning against recreational contact with the water of Port Angeles Harbor will be lifted today, a Clallam County health official said.  The county Health Department issued the advisory Thursday after 1 million gallons of partially treated but unchlorinated sewage spilled into the harbor Sept. 2 following a malfunction at the city's sewage treatment plant that disabled a chlorine pump. (Peninsula Daily News )

New Fishing Rule Protects Endangered Seabird
Federal fisheries managers are proposing to require West Coast commercial fishermen who unroll long lines of baited hooks on the ocean bottom to also tow long lines of fluttering plastic to scare off seabirds trying to steal the bait. The proposed rule published Tuesday in the Federal Register is designed to protect the endangered short-tailed albatross, which once numbered in the millions but is down to about 1,200 individuals. (Associated Press)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 303 AM PDT WED SEP 10 2014
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON PDT TODAY THROUGH THIS EVENING
TODAY
SE WIND 10 TO 20 KT...RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT...BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 4
 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
E WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 20 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 3 FT
 AT 13 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

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9/9 Birds at risk, Duwamish cleanup, orca watching, Kinder Morgan, Polley mine, Morrow coal port

Oystercatchers (Laurie MacBride)

Beaks at the Ready
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "With their gaudy orange beaks and colourful eyes, Black oystercatchers remind me of circus clowns – so I tend to chuckle every time I see one. Nonetheless, they’re beautiful birds and I love watching them, and hearing their piercing whistles. Although almost half of the world’s Black oystercatcher population lives here on the BC coast, we see them only infrequently, usually when we’re out kayaking…."

Half of North America’s bird species at risk from warming, study says
Half of all bird species in North America — including the bald eagle — are at risk of severe population decline by 2080 if the swift pace of global warming continues, the National Audubon Society concluded in a study released Monday. Louis Sahagun reports. (LA Times)

Seattle Area Leaders Announce Plans To Merge Duwamish River Clean Up Efforts
King County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced plans Monday to combine efforts to clean up of the Duwamish and Green River watershed. The strategy calls for coordinating the work of governments, non-profits and businesses already involved in the clean-up. Constantine said bringing all the players together will improve the chances that the cleanup will work, permanently. (EarthFix)

Whale Watching In The San Juans
The terms ‘magical’ and ‘life-enhancing’ are so overused nowadays, but try as I might, I can’t find other words to describe our recent experience watching the orcas of the San Juan Islands. Paola Thomas reports. (KOMO)

NEB sets deadline for Burnaby, Kinder Morgan pipeline dispute submissions
The National Energy Board has set mid-September as the deadline for submissions in the bitter dispute over Burnaby’s attempt to stop Kinder Morgan from doing preliminary survey work on Burnaby Mountain. Peter O'Neil reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Mount Polley mine spill contamination still worries residents
Some residents of the small British Columbia community of Likely, downstream from a mine breach say they don't trust that the provincial government is dealing with the disaster. More than a month after the failure of the tailings pond at the Mount Polley mine northeast of Williams Lake, B.C., cottage owner Carla Zanotto said area residents aren't getting any answers. (CBC)

Wyoming appeals Oregon's denial of coal port
Wyoming is appealing Oregon's recent decision to deny an application to build a coal terminal at the Port of Morrow, on the Columbia River. Wyoming, the nation's largest coal-producer, has been pressing for access to ports to export coal to Asia, but it has run into stiff opposition in the Northwest. Gov. Matt Mead said Monday that Oregon's decision last month to block an application from a subsidiary of Ambre Energy, an Australian company, to build the terminal at the Port of Morrow violates the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause. Ben Neary reports. (Associated Press)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 302 AM PDT TUE SEP 9 2014
TODAY
SW WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING NW IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 4 FT AT 16 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

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Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

9/8 L120, toxic fish, Strait sewage, Elwha fish, oil spill mapping, Canadian forests, sea star wasting, Adventuress

L120 & pod ( PHOTO: Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research)

Orca calf born to Puget Sound resident L pod
The Center for Whale Research is celebrating the birth of an orca calf in the Salish Sea, the first one since 2012. The proud mother is 23-year-old L86, and this is her second calf. The newborn has been designated L120. Susan Wyatt reports. (KING)

Tribes reject Inslee's water quality plan, will ask EPA to act
An alliance of tribes is rejecting Gov. Jay Inslee’s approach to revising the state's water quality standards and will ask the Environmental Protection Agency to enact new rules for Washington. The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission sent Inslee a letter on Thursday in which members express their “dissatisfaction” with a proposal they say won’t change the status quo. “The tribes’ principal objective for revised water quality standards is to protect the health of future generations, and we have determined that your proposal does not meet this goal,” reads the letter. Jerry Cornfield reports. (Everett Herald)

Ron Judd in "The Wrap" writes: "Brown Trout Derby Update: Port Angeles accidentally released about a million gallons of “insufficiently disinfected effluent” into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Across the “natural toilet” known as the Strait, giddy Victoria, B.C., officials promptly invited the town to become an official Sewage Sister City." (Seattle Times)

Fish migrate into upper Elwha River for first time in century
Fish have migrated into the upper Elwha River for the first time in a century.  Olympic National Park biologists confirmed last week that two radio-tagged bull trout had migrated from the lower river through the former area of Glines Canyon Dam and reached at least as far as Rica Canyon above the former Lake Mills, some 15½ miles from the mouth of the Elwha River.  Four bull trout had been detected earlier as they passed a telemetry station upriver from the former Glines dam.  Leah Leach reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

DFO looking to map ocean floor of B.C. to prep for potential tanker spills
Fisheries and Oceans Canada is looking for someone to map the ocean floor near the British Columbia coast, an area it says could be affected by spills with the expected increase in tanker traffic. The department issued a request for proposals Friday for mapping the floor of the Pacific Ocean around the Haida Gwaii archipelago, and the Queen Charlotte and Johnstone straits. DFO also wants an update to the current map for the Strait of Georgia, between the mainland and Vancouver Island. (Canadian Press)

Canada's degradation of pristine, intact forests leads world
The world's precious few remaining large forests are fragmenting at an alarming rate, and the degradation in Canada leads the world, a new analysis shows. The degradation of such pristine "intact" forests threatens species such as Canada's woodland caribou and Asia's tigers that rely on huge unbroken expanses of natural ecosystems in order to survive, said Nigel Sizer, global director of forest programs with the World Resources Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based research institute focused on resource sustainability. Emily Chung reports. (CBC)

Sea stars wasting in local waters
Witnesses describe the phenomenon as a grisly scene. Colorful creatures hang limp, lose their limbs and eventually disintegrate. Sea star wasting syndrome has baffled beach-goers and scientists along the West Coast, including observers of Skagit County’s marine shorelines, over the past year. Researchers say what causes the disease, how it’s spread and whether the dwindling populations of sea stars will recover still isn’t certain. But it has ravaged the invertebrates along Washington’s coast, including the Salish Sea, which escaped its grasp for the greater part of the year. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Her 'voice': Tall ship Adventuress officially gets its long lost bell back
The 101-year old Adventuress has been reunited with its original bell. The lost bell, recently discovered and brought to Port Townsend in June, was installed onto the historical ship in a 15-minute ceremony over the weekend. “The Adventuress is a very lucky boat,” said Port Townsend Mayor David King during the ceremony, which drew about 400 spectators to City Dock. Charlie Bermant reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT MON SEP 8 2014
TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 7 SECONDS. AREAS OF DRIZZLE AND FOG IN THE MORNING. A CHANCE OF
 SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 7 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.

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9/5 Crab pots, toxic algae, mine spill, oil spill suit, BC pipes, sewage spills, blue whales, BP spill, Friendship Tour

Crab pot recovery (Elaine Thompson AP)

Divers seek lost crab pots in Washington waters
Over 12,000 crab pots are lost in Washington state's Puget Sound every year, costing an estimated $700,000 in lost harvest revenue, and more poignantly, damaging the sea floor environment. Using sonar to find the pots, divers and scientists venture into the waters to clean up and learn why pots are lost. Manuel Valdes reports. (Associated Press)

Predicting when toxic algae will reach Washington and Oregon coasts
….University of Washington oceanographers have created a tool to help predict when harmful algae might strike. A few days’ warning could prevent last-minute beach closures or shellfish harvest losses, and reduce the risk of eating a clam filled with a neurotoxin that can lead to permanent short-term memory loss, or even death. The researchers developed a computer model to track when harmful algae will get carried to Washington and Oregon beaches. A study published in April in the Journal of Geophysical Research shows the model, when fed the right data, could predict most of the toxic algae events recorded in field studies between 2004 and 2007. Hannah Hickey reports. (UW Today)

Mount Polley mine tailings spill nearly 70 per cent bigger than first estimated
Imperial Metals’ estimate of the size of the spill from its Mount Polley mine tailings dam collapse is nearly 70 per cent greater than the initial estimate. The B.C. government has estimated that 10 million cubic metres of water and 4.5 million cubic meters of finely ground rock containing potentially-toxic metals was released by the collapse of the dam on Aug. 4. Gordon Hoekstra reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Conservation Groups Concerned Oil Spill Would Harm Wildlife
As more oil trains travel along the Columbia River and Puget Sound, conservation groups worry that cleanup plans could harm sensitive wildlife, like endangered salmon and shorebirds. That concern is prompting legal action. The Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Columbia Gorge Thursday filed a 60-day notice to sue the U.S. Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency. The conservation groups say the oil spill response plan needs to be updated to account for endangered species. Courtney Flatt reports. (EarthFix)

Northern Gateway pipeline unlikely to start up by 2018
The president of the Northern Gateway pipeline says the possibility of a 2018 start-up date is "quickly evaporating." John Carruthers says the company planning to build the project, Enbridge Inc., is focused on getting support from First Nations groups along the pipeline's route through British Columbia. He told a Calgary business audience that the process of "re-engagement" with First Nations will take time and he's not too fussed about keeping to a schedule. (Canadian Press) See also: Kinder Morgan pipeline crews to resume work on Burnaby Mountain

Treated but not chlorinated sewage released into Strait of Juan de Fuca; officials advise no recreational contact with Port Angeles Harbor water
The Port Angeles sewer treatment plant released sewage that had been treated but not chlorinated into the Strait of Juan de Fuca for nearly 20 hours beginning Tuesday afternoon, Clallam County health officials said Thursday. About 1 million gallons of “insufficiently disinfected effluent” was released from a discharge pipe at a depth of 60 feet between 1 p.m. Tuesday and 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, county Hydrologist Carol Creasey said. Although the risk of contamination is low, county health officials are advising the public to avoid recreational water contact in Port Angeles Harbor through next Wednesday. Rob Ollikainen reports. (Peninsula Daily News) See also: Sewage spill affects Cadboro Bay beach  (Times Colonist)

UW Study: Despite Boat Strikes, California Blue Whales Have Rebounded
California blue whales have rebounded after decades of commercial whaling. New research from the University of Washington suggests their numbers are back to where they were before humans started hunting the species. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KPLU)

Ruling over Deepwater spill could cost BP $18B in fines
By finding that BP was, in legal parlance, grossly negligent in the disaster, not merely negligent, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier opened the possibility of $18 billion in new civil penalties for BP. (NY Times)

Taiwanese students study Olympia’s ecosystem during Friendship Tour
A group of students from Taiwan are visiting the Olympia area this week to learn more about the Puget Sound region’s water and ecosystem. The Evergreen State College has been hosting 18 undergraduate students plus seven faculty from National Sun Yat-sen University since Tuesday. The group is part of the Taiwanese university’s Department of Marine Environment and Engineering. While in town, the group has seen local landmarks like the State Capitol Campus, but also environmental staples such as Tumwater Falls, the fish hatchery, and the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. Andy Hobbs reports. (Olympian)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 230 AM PDT FRI SEP 5 2014
TODAY
E WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING E 5 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 3 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
SAT
E WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. NW SWELL 3 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
LIGHT WIND. WIND WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT. NW SWELL 3 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
SUN
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING W TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT. NW SWELL 3 FT AT 8 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.

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9/4 Governors Pt., hatchery plans, radioactivity monitoring, shooting nutria, eelgrass mitigation

Governors Point (Bellingham Herald)

Governors Point on Chuckanut Bay for sale
Governors Point is for sale. The Sahlin family, which has owned most of the peninsula south of Bellingham for the past 50 years, has put the property on the market, as evidenced by a brochure produced by the Land Group of Cushman & Wakefield of San Diego, Inc. “Once in a lifetime opportunity!” the brochure declares, promoting “San Juan Island living, without the ferry” on “125.86 spectacular waterfront acres” between Pleasant Bay and Wildcat Cove. Ralph Schwartz reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Agencies review Puget Sound hatchery plans
How Puget Sound fish hatcheries will operate in the future could be determined by an environmental impact statement now being developed. As part of that process, NOAA Fisheries is holding public workshops this week to discuss the draft environmental impact statement that assesses alternative operations of salmon and steelhead hatcheries around the Sound. The proposed action alternative in the draft would operate hatcheries under two state and tribal resource management plans developed jointly by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and Puget Sound treaty tribes, according to a NOAA news release. The proposed action would maintain hatchery production at current levels. Jeffrey P. Mayor reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

UVic researcher seeks citizen scientists for radioactivity monitoring program
A University of Victoria researcher is assembling a comprehensive coastal radioactivity monitoring program just as the amount of contaminated debris from the 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster is set to peak in B.C. waters. Chemical oceanographer Jay Cullen is recruiting “citizen scientists” to collect seawater samples monthly from 14 locations between Victoria and Haida Gwaii. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Hands up. Don’t shoot: Federal agents report shooting 4 nutria rodents at lake in ongoing kill
Federal wildlife agents have shot and killed four nutria over the past month around Olympia’s Capitol Lake, part of the ongoing effort to eliminate the nuisance rodents. The work, carried out over three evenings and early mornings so far, is not done, according to the state Department of Enterprise Services, which manages the lake area. Brad Shannon reports. (Olympian)

Mitigation efforts help protect eelgrass, a home to sea life
As the Port of Kingston undertakes its long-planned dredging of the boat launch and dock access areas, you may have heard that they are undertaking some mitigation activities to offset the affect removing bottom sediments has on the biology below. One part of that mitigation program is an eelgrass transplanting and growing project. This is a very cool thing. (Kingston Community News)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT THU SEP 4 2014
TODAY
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING E TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 5 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING E 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS.

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