Friday, 26 April 2013

Around the Sound: DNR, Kitsap clean up toxic creosote

By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Toxics Cleanup Program

The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Kitsap County Parks & Recreation are going to work next week to pull creosote-soaked debris from Kitsap beaches.

That includes old pilings treated with toxic creosote (similar to those shown in the photo to the right), as well as in-water structures and marine debris tainted

Wednesday, 24 April 2013

Fecal Matters: Proposed Beach Monitoring List Availabile for Public Comment

BEACH Program Update

This wonderful weather has us looking forward to beach sampling season!

Water testing at saltwater swimming beaches runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Check out our proposed beach list for water testing during the upcoming 2013 season!
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/beach/beachlist.html

Tell us what you think: send your comments to the Interim Beach Program Manager

Friday, 19 April 2013

Tell us your Earth Day wish, April 22

Ecology's Communication and Education program

We’re trying something new at Ecology on Earth Day and inviting you to be part of it.

From noon to 1 p.m. PST on Monday, April 22, we’re asking you to share your wish for Earth Day during our first Twitter chat. Think of it like a birthday wish you'd make while blowing out candles, only it's for the planet on this 43rd Earth Day.

We’ll kick it off

Wednesday, 17 April 2013

Fecal Matters: No Contact Advisory Removed for Drayton Harbor in Whatcom County, WA

BEACH Program Update

On April 17, 2013, the Whatcom County Public Health Department removed the no contact advisory issued April 12, 2013 for all of Drayton Harbor near Blaine, WA. Follow-up samples taken near California and Dakota Creeks indicated satisfactory bacteria levels.

Visit the BEACH web site to find the latest results for these and other saltwater beaches:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/

Tuesday, 16 April 2013

Tacoma Smelter Plume: Tacoma Public Meeting Recap

By Jill Jacobson, Yard Program Outreach Coordinator, Toxics Cleanup Program

Last Thursday night, we held the last of three public meetings for the Tacoma Smelter Plume Yard Program Design and Implementation Plan in the cafeteria of Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma. We had a turnout of 25 people who came out to learn about yard sampling and cleanup in Tacoma neighborhoods.

Most people came

Friday, 12 April 2013

Fecal Matters: No Contact Advisory Issued for Drayton Harbor in Whatcom County, WA

BEACH Program Update

On April 12, 2013, the Whatcom County Public Health Department with Washington State Department of Health issued a no contact advisory for all of Drayton Harbor near Blaine, WA. The closure was issued due to high fecal bacteria in California and Dakota Creeks which empty into the harbor. The public is warned not to harvest shellfish or make contact with the water until

Stories about Getting to Clean Water: Understanding and Controlling Sea Lettuce in Dumas Bay


By Diane Dent, Water Quality Stories Lead, Water Quality Program



Map of Dumas Bay, King County, Washington.


Dumas Bay, near Federal Way in King County, is part of Puget Sound. Three streams drain into the urban 40-acre bay, which is part of the Puyallup-White watershed.

The problem

Residents living along Dumas Bay began to notice excessive amounts of macro algae, better known as sea

Thursday, 11 April 2013

Free community forum on ocean acidification in Port Angeles April 15

By Sandy Howard, communication manager, water quality and environmental assessment programs

Ocean acidification, its effects and local solutions will be highlighted at a community forum in Port Angeles featuring speakers from the Washington state Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification.

The public is invited to attend the community forum from 6 to 8 p.m. on April 15 at the Port Angeles Senior

New “Eyes Over Puget Sound” for April 8

By Sandy Howard, communication manager, Environmental Assessment Program

Our cover photo shows the Skokomish River at Hood Canal.

For the last week, sunshine was sparse and rivers and air temperatures were warmer than expected due to prevailing southerly winds. Heavy rains caused long foam lines and large river plumes that were filled with sediment. Jelly fish patches persist in smaller bays.

Monday, 8 April 2013

Tacoma Smelter Plume: Public Meeting in Tacoma this Thursday!




By Jill Jacobson, Outreach Coordinator, Toxic Cleanup Program





  


Aerial view of the old Arsarco stack


This Thursday, we are holding the final open house on the Tacoma Smelter Plume-Residential Yard Sampling and Cleanup program design. This is the final of three meetings during the public comment period that ends on April 29th.




Thursday, April 11th, 6:30-8:30 p.m.




Thursday, 4 April 2013

Stories about Getting to Clean Water: Stormwater Sleuths Solve the Mystery of the Putrid Pipe - Pullman’s hunt for the elusive, illicit discharge

By Diane Dent, Water Quality Stories Lead, Water Quality Program


Dye testing to determine illicit connection of a sanitary sewer to a stormwater outfall.
Photo credit: Pullman Stormwater Services
The illicit stormwater discharge often lurks out of sight under a city’s buildings and streets. The challenge for cities, regulated under the state’s Municipal Stormwater Permit, is to locate and

Tacoma Smelter Plume: Vashon-Maury Island Public Meeting Recap

By Jill Jacobson, Yard Program Outreach Coordinator, Toxics Cleanup Program



Sequence of the Yard Program on Vashon-Maury Island
Last night, we held the second of three public meetings for the Tacoma Smelter Plume Yard Program Design and Implementation Plan in the cafeteria of the McMurray Middle School on Vashon Island. We had a turnout of 15 people, a lot smaller than our previous meeting on

AirTime: Wood-fired hydronic heaters

By Rod Tinnemore, Wood Stove Coordinator, Air Quality Program


The best solutions to problems create wins all around. A republican president stated in his State of the Union address in 1970, “We can no longer afford to consider air and water common property, free to be abused by anyone without regard to the consequences. Instead, we should begin now to treat them as scarce resources, which we

Monday, 1 April 2013

Tacoma Smelter Plume: Ruston/North Tacoma Public Meeting Recap

By Jill Jacobson, Yard Program Outreach Coordinator, Toxics Cleanup Program

Last Thursday night, we held our first of three public meetings for the Tacoma Smelter Plume Yard Program Design and Implementation Plan in the cafeteria of Point Defiance Elementary School. We had a good turnout for the meeting, with 43 people in attendance.

Most people came from the Ruston and Tacoma area to

College students crunch Hanford groundwater contaminant numbers

By Erika Holmes, Community Outreach & Environmental Education, Nuclear Waste Program





Over the last three months, Ecology's Nuclear Waste Program teamed up with statistics teacher Linda Rogers and her two classes at Columbia Basin College to analyze Hanford groundwater data. At Hanford, about 72 square miles of groundwater are contaminated above drinking water standards. One of Ecology’s