Kim Kalliber, Author at Tulalip News

Gov. Inslee’s Wastewater Plant Tour Highlights Sea Rise Woes

Dan Grenet (left), the manager of Seattle's West Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, leads Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee of a tour. The visit was intended to highlight the costs of climate change; in this case, as a result of seawater incursion at the facility. | credit: Ashley Ahear — Dan Grenet (left), the manager of Seattle’s West Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, leads Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee of a tour. The visit was intended to highlight the costs of climate change; in this case, as a result of seawater incursion at the facility. | credit: Ashley Ahear

By: Ashley Ahearn, KUOW

SEATTLE — When Washington Gov. Jay Inslee wanted to show the connection between climate change and an unpleasant and costly consequence for his constituents, he decided to tour a sewage treatment plant.

Inslee’s visit Tuesday to the West Point Wastewater Treatment Plant in Seattle’s Discovery Park was the latest stop on his statewide tour to raise awareness about the costs of climate change.

The problem the governor wanted to highlight: climate change is causing sea levels to rise. And that means homes and buildings that were built a safe distance from the water’s edge are increasingly becoming too close for comfort.

That message was also delivered by the White House Tuesday, when it issued a report that said global sea levels are currently rising at more than an inch per decade — and the rate appears to be increasing.

No one complained about the smell as treatment plant workers and managers led Inslee and other visitors through the facility. But there was a lot of talk about the problems with rising sea level.

Dan Grenet, the manager of the facility, showed Inslee some photographs hanging in the lobby. Waves crash over a cement wall.

“This is a photograph of Puget Sound coming into our facility – causes big problems in our pumps and piping systems and also, it’s a biological process here,” Grenet told the governor. “It doesn’t do well with salt water. Causes big problems.”

READ: What We Can Learn From The Bay Area’s Sea Rise

Saltwater intrusion could cost King and other shoreline counties tens of millions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades.

But during this visit, as with other stops on his climate change tour, the governor emphasized that the costs of climate change will hit from all directions.

“We’ve had $50 million in costs for fighting fires. Tens of millions of dollars of damage to the oyster industry,” Inslee said. “And here we don’t have an estimate at West Point but we know it’s significant because we know it’s not just this point its all these ancillary pumping stations that are going to have to be if not rebuilt, refortified to deal with sea water intrusion.”

Inslee’s latest task force on climate change has been charged with developing a plan to put a price on CO2 emissions. The plan is expected be presented to the state Legislature this fall.

Snoqualmie Tribe Donates $250,000 to Aid Eastern Washington Fire Victims

Source: Snoqualmie Nation

The Snoqualmie Tribe is donating $250,000 to assist in the relief efforts for those affected by the devastating fires burning in Eastern Washington. In total the Tribe is giving $200,000 to the American Red Cross Eastern Washington region designated to the 2014 fire victims and $50,000 to Washington Animal Search and Rescue.

“We are all part of a larger community, and felt in a time like this that it is important to reach out and help those in need. Our hearts go out to all of those affected by this massive fire, and hope that our contributions can help in the recovery and healing process,” said Carolyn Lubenau, tribal chairwoman.

After extensive research, the Tribe decided to place its donations with the American Red Cross and Washington Animal Search and Rescue. Both groups can directly benefit from the donations and make a difference in people’s lives. Officials including the Wenatchee Red Cross have said the best way for people to assist in the relief effort was through monetary donations.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have suffered a loss due to a fire and also to those working so diligently to put it out,” adds Lubenau.

The fires burning in Eastern Washington are part of an eruption of lightning-sparked wildfires across Washington and Oregon that have scorched to date almost a million acres of land. The largest fire in Eastern Washington is the Carlton Complex fire that is the worst of Washington State’s seven fires.

Bizarre News About the Bee Czar

Steve Russell, 7/29/14, Indian Country Today

Last year, there was an emergency around a public housing project in the medium-sized suburb of Austin, Texas, where I reside. A swarm of honeybees had ensconced itself in a tool shed and the residents, mostly elders, were scared. One had an allergy to bee stings, and so for him a mishap could be fatal.

The Fire Department was called, Animal Control was called, and eventually the bees were dispatched with insecticide. Lots of people questioned that action at the time. Time had published a cover story back in 2013 warning that nearly one third of US honeybee colonies had died or disappeared since Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) broke out in 2004. Most people who pay attention to the news have by now heard of CCD, even though the causes of it are still hotly departed.

More is at stake here than tradition, but indigenous peoples have plenty of tradition on the line. The Spanish entrada led by Hernando De Soto recorded finding honey in a Cherokee village in 1540. There is an old Cherokee tale about how Bee got a stinger that involves humans trying to steal so much honey that the bees did not have enough left to subsist.

With the coming of CCD, farmers have been threatened with loss of bees to pollinate a long list of crops that human beings enjoy consuming and the price of renting bees for pollination of crops has skyrocketed. When the bees started to die off in 2004, California almond growers paid about $45-$54 for the one colony per acre they needed. The prices spiked sharply, going well over copy50 before easing back to remain at that approximate level. Most fruits and vegetables do not require as much time for the bees to do their work, so the prices are accordingly lower, but still higher than farmers were used to paying before CCD.

Pollination of food crops by bees is necessary to humans, but ever since Bee got a stinger, most humans are a little bit afraid our buzzing buddies. A feral swarm is seen as a threat and the common remedy is insecticide.

A nonprofit organization has gotten started in Central Texas with a solution that could travel to other locations. The American Honey Bee Protection Agency & Central Texas Bee Rescue has taken on the protection of feral bees. The nonprofit survives with donations, with taking in small fees for bee removal, and, of course, with sales of honey. If somebody feels threatened by a swarm and cannot afford the fee, they are asked to pay what they can afford, but the bees are “rescued.”

This organization is the brainchild of a beekeeper named Walter Schumacher, who is currently employed by Prairie View A&M University to develop a master bee-handling course. Schumacher calls himself the “Bee Czar.” The Bee Czar has found one colony a home on top of the luxurious W Hotel in downtown Austin, where the bees pollinate the rooftop garden and the hotel uses the honey in their restaurant and in spa treatments.

Local grocery stores carry wild honey harvested from feral bees as well as honey sold under the Honey Co-op brand, produced by cooperating apiaries that split the profits with the bee rescue group. Products made of beeswax will be forthcoming.

Central Texas Bee Rescue has created a model for a self-funding non-profit organization dedicated to seeing that bees scaring humans with their natural swarming behavior will not receive an automatic death sentence. The bees will, instead, help pay for their own preservation. Preserving the bees preserves many fruits and vegetables humans depend on, so Bee of Cherokee lore would be proud that we finally learned to live together.

Tester Criticizes Indian Health Service Leadership, Calls for Staffing Changes

"I am disturbed by the number of Area Director positions that are now filled with ‘acting’ Directors." — “I am disturbed by the number of Area Director positions that are now filled with ‘acting’ Directors.”

Rob Capriccioso, 7/29/14, Indian Country Today

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana) wants to know why the leadership of the Indian Health Service (IHS) has failed to hire permanent directors in one-third of its regional offices.

Tester, chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA), highlighted his concerns in a letter sent July 24 to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell.

“I write to express my concerns about the unmet needs of the Indian Health Service regarding staffing shortages at all levels of the Agency,” Tester wrote in the letter, which his staff shared with Indian Country Today Media Network. “In particular, I am disturbed by the number of Area Director positions that are now filled with ‘acting’ Directors. It is difficult to understand how the Agency will affect change if it does not have these key leadership positions filled with permanent staff.”

Tester noted to Burwell that of the 12 IHS regions nationwide, four currently have acting area directors, including ones in Billings, Montana, and in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.

“These three regions alone represent a significant amount of the IHS service population,” Tester wrote. “The ability of these Regions to deliver quality health care to this population is impacted by the kind of leadership they have, and it would appear to me that the Agency is satisfied with temporary leadership. I can assure you that I am not satisfied.”

Tester asked Burwell to quickly fix this problem. “I urge you to take all necessary measures to fill the vacant Area Director positions,” he wrote. “I also request that you provide a written response detailing what specific actions the Indian Health Service and the Department of Health and Human Services plan to take to remedy the chronic inequitable staffing levels that exist throughout the agency.

“If there are legislative proposals that you believe would allow you to fill these positions more quickly, please feel free to share those as well,” he added.

In a recent interview with ICTMN, Tester discussed his concerns regarding current IHS Director Yvette Roubideaux, and he said that he has asked Burwell to investigate Roubideaux’ leadership.

“I think there are some communication issues that need to be worked out, and I’ve told [Roubideaux] exactly that,” Tester told ICTMN. “There needs to be a lot better communication between tribes and her.”

Tester said that there are “a lot of Native folks out there who don’t like [Roubideaux],” and he has heard from many of them.

“[T]he Indian Health Service is in tough shape, and there needs to be the leadership there that pushes the envelope and listens to the people on the ground…,” Tester said in the interview.

Tester said that he did not know whether Roubideaux would be re-confirmed to her position by the Senate because there has been consternation on his committee about doing so. Her re-nomination has been pending since April 2013. She has served in the job since 2009.

Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) has been one of Roubideaux’ most vocal critics on the committee. “I will continue to push against moving her forward because I want to see some more results here,” he told ICTMN in February, saying that he wished for Roubideaux to resolve more contract support settlements with tribes and to be a more effective advocate on budgetary matters.

Senate staffers of members who sit on the committee have questioned why the White House has continued to support Roubideaux when it is clear that Democrats and many tribal leaders have problems with her leadership.

“It is time for a breath of fresh air at IHS,” said one Senate staffer, who asked to remain anonymous. “Dr. Roubideaux has had her opportunity to serve, and she can be proud of her accomplishments. But she needs to see the writing on the wall. It’s time to move on.”

Tester wrote in his letter to Burwell that at a SCIA field hearing he held earlier this year in Billings, Montana, he heard testimony that “revealed the challenges associated with lack of leadership at the top levels of the agency, including ineffective communication, lack of a strategic vision, uncertainty of purpose, and low employee morale.”

“[T]hese problems directly affect the quality of care that American Indians and Alaska Natives receive and more work must be done to resolve these issues,” Tester wrote. “The federal government must do more to ensure that we are living up to our treaty and trust responsibilities to our first Americans.”

M’ville mayor wants to bridge gap if coal trains come through town

By: Steve Powell, Arlington Times

MARYSVILLE — Mayor Jon Nehring has a love-hate relationship with the proposal for a new coal terminal in Cherry Point.

What he wouldn’t like would be increased train traffic in town. What he would like is federal and state money to build more bridges over the railroad to improve traffic flow with fewer delays waiting for trains.

Nehring said he’s been fighting the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal north of Bellingham for 3 1/2 years.

“They were trying to slide that through with no comments,” Nehring said.

But he and others met with then-governor Chris Gregoire, who slowed down the process.

“There’s so much opposition now” to it going to Ferndale. “It’s hard to predict” where it might end up, although he said Longview might be a good choice.

The City Council passed a resolution against the terminal in May of 2012.

A survey published July 24 by the Puget Sound Regional Council showed that a new coal terminal north of Marysville would bring up to 18 new trains per day through town. That would slow down commercial and commuter traffic, emergency response times, and ultimately have an economic impact of $1.65 million per year in Marysville alone, the report says.

“The beauty of this is it brings attention to our railroad problems outside of Snohomish County,” Nehring said of the publicity surrounding the survey.

Currently the only routes that bypass the train tracks to get in and out of the city are north and south of town. But if you live, work and/or need business services from 4th to 116th streets, “You have to wait the trains out,” the mayor said.

The mayor and council favor on- and off-ramps at Interstate 5 and 4th Street in a $50 million project.

Nehring said increased coal train traffic wouldn’t bring much help to Marysville. He said Ferndale would see all of the job growth.

The mayor also said the city will see an increase in train traffic no matter what. The report, prepared by a team of consulting firms, points out that freight rail traffic in Washington by 2035 is expected to grow 130 percent to 238 million tons of cargo, even without the new coal terminal. Rail freight already has increased 81 percent from 1991 to 2012, from 64 to 116 millions tons.

Marysville has 16 at-grade crossings on public streets along the north-south rail line. Long trains frequently create backups in town, often clogging the off-ramps from I-5. Wait times at crossings, which range from a total of 22 minutes to an hour and a half per day, could increase by as much as 147 percent per day within Marysville.

The trains are expected to be about 1.6 miles long. One report Marysville commissioned in 2011 noted that a single long train could simultaneously block all the railroad crossings between First Street and NE 88th Street.

Train noise and vibration, vehicle circulation and access impacts, and safety concerns, along with lower property values, are key concerns about increased railroad usage.

The mayor also said he’d like to city BNSF pay more for mitigation of increased train traffic. Federal law limits its cost to 5 percent, about what Wal Mart paid for traffic mitigation for its new store at Highway 529, the mayor noted.

Seattle-based SSA Marine’s Gateway Pacific Terminal project is in the planning stages and isn’t expected to be operating at full capacity until 2019.

City leaders in Marysville have studied their rail problems for years and recently hired a consultant to research alternatives to the city’s multiple at-grade crossings. The new PSRC report estimates that mitigation projects would cost $50 million to $200 million each. Two environmental impact statements are expected in mid-2015, at which time a public comment period will begin.

If the terminal does end up at Cherry Point, Nehring just wants government to mitigate the impacts.

“Just don’t clog our city down,” Nehring said.

This doc about “bomb trains” filled with crude oil will make your head explode

By Ted Alvarez, Grist

VICE News just released Bomb Trains: The Crude Gamble of Oil by Rail, a 23-minute-long documentary investigating the explosive oil trains that regularly run from the Bakken shale to the Pacific Northwest. That might seem a bit long for web video, but you should watch it anyway — mostly because Thomas the Terror Engine is headed to your town, but also because Jerry Bruckheimer has nothing on the terrifying explosions at the 5:09 and 6:00 marks.

Oh, and you can find out if you live near a bomb-train blast zone right here. (Spoiler alert: You probably do.)

Sea Star Disease Strikes Washington Marine Centers

July 28, 2014 | AP

PORT ANGELES, Wash. (AP) — The disease wreaking havoc on wild sea star populations on the West Coast has struck captive collections on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

The Peninsula Daily News reports Monday that sea stars at Port Townsend’s Marine Life Center and Feiro Marine Life Center in Port Angeles have died of the disease, known as sea star wasting.

In Port Townsend, 12 ochre stars have died, while the illness eliminated a species from the tanks in Port Angeles. Both centers pipe in ocean water for their tanks. Experts believe the disease is infectious and might be caused by bacteria or a virus.

Caretakers at the Olympic Peninsula’s marine science centers don’t intend to replace sea stars until they feel more confident they can keep them alive. They also want to avoid taking breeding adults that might be needed to replenish wild colonies.

Grief and Loss Support Group Begins August 12

National Park Service Awards Historic Preservation Grants to Indian Tribes, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiian Organizations

Source: National Park Service

WASHINGTON – National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis today announced more than $700,000 in historic preservation grants to 18 American Indian tribes and Alaskan Natives organizations.

“These grants help America’s first peoples in preserving significant tribal places, culture and tradition,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “Whether used to create oral history programs, operate museums and cultural centers, or develop training and education programs, the grants help all Americans gain a greater appreciation of our nation’s rich traditions and cultures.”

The competitive grants can also be used to fund projects such as nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, preservation education, architectural planning, historic structure reports, community preservation plans, and bricks-and-mortar repair to buildings.

Congress provides these grant appropriations each year with revenue from Federal oil leases on the Outer Continental Shelf. The National Park Service administers the grants through the Historic Preservation Fund on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior.

For more information about the National Park Service tribal preservation programs and grants, please visit: http://www.nps.gov/tribes/Tribal_Historic_Preservation_Officers_Program.htm.

HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND APPORTIONMENT TO

INDIAN TRIBES, ALASKA NATIVES, AND NATIVE HAWAIIANS

Ahtna Heritage Foundation (Alaska) $39,523

Igiugig Village Council (Alaska) $26,691

Native Village of Ambler (Alaska) $39,942

Seldovia Village Tribe, IRA (Alaska) $40,000

Hoopa Valley Tribe, (California) $40,000

Ione Band of Miwok Indians (California) $40,000

Sherwood Valley Rancheria Valley Band of Pomo Indians, (California) $40,000

Kohe Malamaiam O Kanaloa(Protect Kaho’olawe Fund), (Hawaii) $34,175

Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (Michigan) $40,000

The Prairie Island Paiute Tribe (Nevada) $39,421

Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe (Nevada) $36,902

Navajo Nation – Fort Defiance Chapter (New Mexico) $40,000

Pueblo of Santa Ana (New Mexico) $38,579

Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, (Oklahoma) $30,925

Peori Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma (Oklahoma) $48,000

Seminole Nation of Oklahoma (Oklahoma) $40,000

Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma, (Oklahoma) $59,692

Confederated tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua,

and Siuslaw Indians (Oregon) $39,066

TOTAL $712,916

Drought Starting To Kill Salmon In Klamath Basin

Low warm water conditions from the drought are starting to kill salmon in the Klamath Basin. | credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Flickr

By: Associated Press

Low warm water conditions from the drought are starting to kill salmon in northern California and southern Oregon’s Klamath Basin — the site of a massive fish kill in 2002.

Sara Borok of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said a survey of the Salmon River on Wednesday found 55 dead adult salmon and more dead juveniles than would be expected this time of year. The reason is low and warm water related to the drought.

Fisheries officials do not want see a repeat of 2002, but there is little to do but pray for rain. Even in the Klamath River, which has dams to store water, there is little available for extra releases.

The Salmon River is a tributary of the Klamath River.