Combined Sewer Overflow Meeting @ Fauntleroy

Join King County Wastewater Division Monday, November 1, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the Hall at Fauntleroy, 9131 California Avenue SW, for a Special Community Meeting to discuss the possibility of using the  Lincoln Park South Parking Lot as a location for Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) control.

This is a public meeting to discuss the new alternative proposed by the Murray Community Advisory Group for CSO control in West Seattle. King County has been working with the community in West Seattle since 2007 to develop a plan to control combined sewer overflows in Puget Sound. The Murray Community Advisory Group, or CAG, has recommended a water storage tank under the Lincoln Park south parking lot. King County needs to hear from the community as part of the process to evaluate this alternative.

King County has evaluated a number of alternatives for CSO control in West Seattle including upstream Green Stormwater Infrastructure, storage under the old Fauntleroy School or under Upper Fauntleroy Way near ferry dock, and several options near the Murray pump station: including private property across the street from Lowman Beach Park, under Beach Drive, and under Lowman Beach Park. This new alternative developed by the Murray CAG would directly impact Lincoln Park users and nearby neighbors. Come to this meeting to learn more and tell us what you think.

For more information and to learn more about King County’s proposals for CSO control in the Barton and Murray basins visit the project Web page at www.kingcounty.gov/CSOBeachProjects. You can also access the Community Advisory Group’s recommendation at that website.

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SPU Is Recruiting Community Advisory Members

Seattle Public Utilities is seeking diverse community members for their Community Advisory Committees.  More detail is online here.

SPU is seeking diverse candidates, especially from the HUB/WMBE businesses as well as community members from the Central and SE and SW sectors of the City.  Download the application form here.

SPU has three City-wide committees:

  • Creeks, Drainage and Wastewater Advisory Committee (CDWAC) (stormwater management, water quality, pollution prevention, creeks, wastewater systems, other topics)
  • Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) waste management systems policy: recycling, food/yard waste, collection contracts, transfer stations, garbage systems, waste prevention)
  • Water System Advisory Committee (WSAC) (drinking water system, water conservation, supply/demand, Cedar and Tolt Watersheds management, other topics)

Each of these committees is chartered by Seattle Public Utilities and reports directly to the Director, SPU.  For more information contact the program manager, Sheryl Shapiro, at 206-615-1443 or email at Sheryl.Shapiro@Seattle.Gov

Parks & Rec To Offer Red Cross Lifeguard Training

Starting Monday, October 25, Seattle Parks and Recreation begins offering an eight-week Red Cross Lifeguard Training course, the training needed to become a lifeguard.

The class, which includes First Aid, CPR, and more, takes place on Monday evenings from October 25 through December 13, 2010, from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm at the Queen Anne Pool, 1920 1st Ave. W (see map).

For more information about the requirements for becoming a lifeguard, please go to http://www.seattle.gov/parks/Aquatics/employment.htm. For more information about the upcoming class, please call 206-386-4282.

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Latest Edition of Natural Science Newsletter SciFYI

The latest edition of the King County Water and Land Resources Division SciFYI newsletter is now online.  This newsletter is published monthly by King County’s environmental stewards and is a digest of current natural science issues in King County.

This issue, September 2010, is a Special Student Edition and the articles were written by students in the 2010 King County YouthSource Summer Environmental Water Resources class sponsored by the U. S. Department of Labor, Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration, and the King County Work Training Program. The program was conducted in partnership with King County’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks, along with the King County Superior Court and the Highline School District.

Boeing Company, EPA Sign PCB Cleanup Agreement

On September 29, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency signed an agreement with The Boeing Company to construct a new stormwater treatment system at North Boeing Field in Seattle. The treatment system will greatly reduce the amount of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are an on-going source of pollution to the Duwamish River.

The North Boeing Field storm drain system carries stormwater to the Duwamish River through more than seven miles of catch basins, drains, inlets, and oil-water separators. Studies by the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), the City of Seattle, and Boeing showed the North Boeing Field storm drain system is the biggest source of PCBs to the river sediments in Slip 4, one of the most highly contaminated sites on the lower Duwamish waterway.

Goal is to reduce PCB discharge to Duwamish River

According to Lori Cohen, Associate Director of EPA’s Superfund cleanup office in Seattle, Boeing’s stormwater treatment work will significantly reduce PCBs discharge to the Duwamish River and better protect Puget Sound.

“Boeing’s investment in stormwater treatment will pay dividends in cleaning up the lower Duwamish River and Puget Sound,” said Cohen. “By reducing the volume of PCBs released to the river from North Boeing Field, we’re taking a major step forward in controlling one of the biggest PCBs pollution sources on the Duwamish and allowing us to move forward with our cleanup work.”

With the installation of this stormwater treatment system, cleanup of Slip 4 – one of several hot spot cleanups on the waterway – will proceed in 2011. Several acres of contaminated sediments in Slip 4 will be cleaned up under an EPA settlement agreement with the City of Seattle and King County.

PCBs are toxic pollutants that stay in the environment for a long time and can build up in fish and shellfish. PCBs are found at unsafe levels in the sediments and fish of the Lower Duwamish River. Concerns about PCBs in fish prompted the state to issue a health advisory warning people not to eat any crab, shellfish, or fish (except salmon) from the Lower Duwamish River.

Earlier this summer, Boeing agreed to design an initial stormwater treatment system with EPA oversight during the negotiation of today’s agreement. The initial system began operating last week treating stormwater from the most highly contaminated areas of North Boeing Field. The initial system will be managed under today’s agreement, and over the course of the next year, a long-term system will be put in place at the site. The treatment system is part of a broader effort to locate and contain or treat contamination in the North Boeing Field drainage area that flows into the stormwater outfall at Slip 4.

Background on Slip 4 & Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund site:

Today’s stormwater treatment agreement enables the cleanup of Slip 4 to proceed while Ecology’s overall site investigation and cleanup continues at North Boeing Field. The Slip 4 cleanup was delayed when Ecology found high levels of PCBs in North Boeing Field storm drains discharging to Slip 4. The agencies agreed to delay cleanup until the on-going sources of PCBs were reduced, lessening the potential for recontamination of clean areas.

Slip 4 is part of the Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund site, which was added to EPA’s National Priorities List in 2001. The contaminants in the river sediments include PCBs, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), mercury and other metals, and phthalates. Sediments (mud and sand on the river bottom) in and along the lower river contain a wide range of contaminants from years of industrial activity and from stormwater pollution.

EPA and Ecology jointly oversee the Lower Duwamish Waterway cleanup. EPA is the lead agency for the investigation and cleanup of contaminated sediments throughout the lower river. As the lead agency for controlling the sources of pollution to the lower river, Ecology works with the City of Seattle and King County to investigate and control sources throughout the Duwamish drainage basin.

EPA’s investigation of the contamination and cleanup options for the Lower Duwamish Waterway sediments, the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study, is moving toward completion. The Remedial Investigation was completed earlier this year, which identified the contaminants, where they are located, and which are the most dangerous.

A second draft of the Feasibility Study, which looks at alternatives for cleanup, will be available for public review on Oct. 12. EPA and Ecology will host public meetings on Dec. 7 and Dec. 9. EPA expects the cleanup plan to be completed by 2012.

For more information about the Slip 4 cleanup, visit: http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/cleanup.nsf/ldw/slip+4

For more information about the Lower Duwamish Waterway cleanup, visit: http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/cleanup.nsf/ldw/

October Community Forum: The Past, Present and Future of the Duwamish

Aerial View of Duwamish River

Once a source of livelihood for native people, the river later became a dumping ground for toxic waste and a source of pollution for Puget Sound.

Now local activists are joining with local companies and governments to face up to the incredibly difficult task of cleaning up this river.

Sustainable West Seattle’s monthly Community Forum will feature several of the key individuals involved in this effort who will describe what’s being done and what help is still needed.

Our panel will include:

This event will be at Camp Long, 5200 35th Avenue SW, 7-9 p.m.

(Photo courtesy Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition. Photo by Paul Joseph Brown.)