UPCOMING WEBINAR:

Water Wise Natural Yard Care Webinar
Presented by the City of Tacoma EnviroHouse

Thursday, June 25, 2020 ~ 4:00-5:00 PM

Register Here:  https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FLsvMokbTvGNZfYU6DdmPg 
or at: cityoftacoma.org/workshops

Registrants will receive an email when confirmed with a link to join the webinar on June 25 at 4 PM.

• Create attractive, pesticide free lawn and garden spaces:
• Build healthy soil with compost and mulch
• Establish plant zones and micro-climates to water wisely
  
• Identify what makes an efficient irrigation system 
• Learn practical maintenance tips to save time and 

Real time participants are emailed a workshop summary and handouts after the session. Webinar will be recorded for later viewing. 

The EnviroHouse is closed until further notice. 

Email inquires to:  Janda Volkmer, Coordinator, City of Tacoma EnviroHouse  jvolkmer@cityoftacoma.org or ehouse@cityoftacoma.org

NEWS RELEASE:

June 6, 2020

Pierce County approved to enter Phase 2 of Washington’s Safe Start Recovery Plan. Modified restrictions set to take effect June 5. TACOMA, WASH.—Pierce County residents will soon have relaxed restrictions on businesses and other areas of public life. On Friday, June 5, the state secretary of health approved the county to move to Phase 2 of the state’s Safe Start Recovery Plan. The application process began with a recommendation from Tacoma-Pierce County Director of Health Anthony L-T Chen, MD, MPH. He recommended to the Tacoma-Pierce County Board of Health at a special meeting May 31 that the county could safely move to Phase 2 based on the state’s target metrics. The Board unanimously approved the recommendation for the application, which it forwarded to the Pierce County Council. The council approved the recommendation unanimously on June 1. County Executive Bruce Dammeier submitted the application June 2. “The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting how we work, learn, worship, and play. Every single person in Pierce County is living through one of the most challenging times of our lives,” Chen said. “We are all eager to resume our normal lives. But we must help our society and economy recover while protecting community health, especially our ethnic communities who suffer disproportionately.” The Equity Action Network has strategies ready for immediate action for four ethnic groups with disproportionate rates of COVID cases: Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, Black, Latinx, and American Indian/Alaska Native. Our Communities of Focus teams will work closely with community members, including in rural areas like Key Peninsula and the White River communities, to make sure CARES funding serves populations countywide. “Pierce County is safer and ready to take this step,” said Tacoma-Pierce County Board of Health Chair Catherine Ushka. “We have seen COVID-19 have greater effects on our communities of color that already face health disparities. We’re committed to providing the necessary resources to them so they can reach their full health potential,” she said. In Phase 2, businesses like restaurants, barber shops and hair and nail salons, and retail will have relaxed restrictions. See the list of more businesses and details about how they can operate.  Even with the relaxed restrictions, it’s more important than ever to do your part to prevent the spread of disease. Our position remains precarious and an outbreak could happen at any time. We do not want to act in ways that could risk our hard fought progress. Until a vaccine becomes available, continue to: Wear face coverings when you are in public and especially when you cannot easily keep physical distance from others. Maintain physical distance of six feet from others . Practice good hygiene. Wash your hands frequently. Stay home when you’re sick. Continue to spend time with family and those you live with. Choose five friends or non-household members you would also like to see regularly. When you play, eat out, visit, or otherwise socialize, try to limit your close contacts to this group. You can reduce the risk of infection while enjoying more Phase 2 freedom. Check in with family, friends, and coworkers by phone, social media, or video calls to make sure they are OK and to offer encouragement. Worship with your community of faith in the modified, allowable ways. Exercise, eat healthily, and take care of your health issues. Remember that you still need to take medicines, get your children vaccinated, and otherwise keep up with health care. Continue to stay home as much as possible and limit non-essential travel. Continue all those healthy hygiene behaviors you have been doing—wash your hands, cover your cough, stay home if you are sick, clean high touch surfaces regularly. If you are over 65 years old, with medical conditions, or are immune compromised, you may need to continue to stay home. Everyone’s health is different: check with your health care provider. We expect more protests in our community in the days ahead. We support the need for community members to come together to mourn, process, and heal. We hope protesters stay safe, wear cloth face coverings, and maintain safe physical distance whenever possible. “We do not want to act in ways that could increase outbreaks, causing us to lose the progress for which we all worked so hard,” said Chen. “We are stronger together and must stick together to move through these phases of re-opening. The right choice for our health is also the right choice for our society and economy. Choose to do what is right and which will keep ourselves, our families and friends, and our community healthy,” he said. Learn more at www.tpchd.org/coronavirus.

April 28, 2020

Contact: Justin Bush
Washington Recreation and Conservation Office
Cell:  360-704-0973

Scotch Broom Census Set for May

OLYMPIA–The Washington Invasive Species Council, state agencies and researchers are calling for a census in May to help determine the location of Scotch broom throughout the state.

“We need everyone’s help to size up the problem,” said Justin Bush, executive coordinator of the Washington Invasive Species Council. “Without baseline information about the location and population size, we don’t have enough details to determine solutions. The information from the census will help us set short- and long-term action plans.”

Yellow flowered, Scotch broom is hard to miss when blooming. It can be found in 30 of Washington’s 39 counties. While known to be spread across the state, specific locations and patch sizes are not well documented, leading to the council’s call for a month-long census.

How to Participate in the Scotch Broom Census

“We’re asking people to send us information from their neighborhoods,” Bush said. “The information can be transmitted easily to the council by using the Washington Invasives mobile app or by visiting https://invasivespecies.wa.gov/report-a-sighting/. Sightings should include a photograph of the plant that shows enough detail that the plant can be verified by an expert. A description of the size of the patch is also helpful, such as whether the patch is the size of a motorcycle, a car, a school bus or multiple school buses. Photographs also can be shared with the council on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by using the hashtags #TheGreatScotchBroomCensus and #ScotchBroom2020Census.”

Scotch broom is a problem because it crowds out beneficial native species and clogs healthy habitats. It can form dense, impenetrable stands that are a problem for grazing, farming and recreating and it creates fire hazards. Dense stands may prevent or slow forest regeneration and harm sensitive areas near streams and wetlands. Scotch broom also produces toxic compounds, which in large amounts may poison grazing animals.

While widespread and not likely to be fully eliminated from the entire state, action is being taken to remove Scotch broom from parks, roadsides, forests, riverbanks and other at-risk landscapes. The information from the Scotch broom census will help invasive species managers better understand the needs of landowners and managers.

“We don’t have the resources at a state or local level to remove every Scotch broom,” said Greg Haubrich, pest program manager with the Washington State Department of Agriculture. “But organizations like your local noxious weed control board can provide education and technical assistance so that you can efficiently and effectively manage Scotch broom on your property. In some instances, there also could be cost-share funding available from your local conservation district to remove your Scotch broom.”

What You Can Do to Prevent the Spread

When around Scotch broom and any other invasive species, care should be taken not to inadvertently spread it to new locations. Each mature plant can produce thousands of seeds, which are viable up to 80 years. Taking precautions not to move seeds on boots, tires, pets or vehicles is very important.

“Scotch broom is widespread, but it is not everywhere,” Bush said. “By taking simple precautions, you can prevent the spread of this invasive species. Clean your boots, bikes, pets, vehicles and other gear before you venture outdoors to stop invasive species from hitching a ride to a new location. Conversely, follow the same practices before you head home to protect your own property.”

People that have Scotch broom or would like to get involved in stopping it can find additional help with an online seminar series June 2-4 being organized by the council and its partners, who are working together to share the newest information from throughout the Pacific Northwest so everyone can better address this shared problem.

• Event Web page
• Sighting report form and apps
• County distribution map
• Species information and photographs
• Contact information for county noxious weed control boards
• Local conservation districts contact information
• June 2020 Scotch Broom Ecology and Management Symposium

Julia McNamara
Administrative Assistant
1111 Washington ST SE
Olympia WA 98501

Mailing Address
PO Box 40917
Olympia WA 98504-0917

(360) 902-2956
julia.mcnamara@rco.wa.gov

 

A Win for Clean Water: $734,000 Settlement Reached in LRI Landfill Case

• Posted on:

  December 10, 2019

• Category: Litigation, News, Press Releases
• Tag: Landfill, Litigation, LRI
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GRAHAM, WA—On December 10th, Puget Soundkeeper reached a legal settlement to resolve a federal Clean Water Act case filed in September 2017 against LRI Landfill, a 168 acre, privately owned non-hazardous landfill within the Nisqually River watershed.  The settlement requires LRI to pay $734,000 to fund third party environmental grants in the vicinity of the Nisqually River watershed and areas impacted by illegal discharges of landfill fluid, oils, and other contaminants caused by LRI’s failure to meet both Industrial and Construction Stormwater Permit standards.

Since the start of its construction in 1996, LRI has discharged stormwater to wetlands that lead to Muck Creek ( aka South Creek) – Nisqually River tributaries providing critical habitat for chum salmon, steelhead trout, and sea-run cutthroat trout.

Documented by the Washington Department of Ecology and Tacoma Pierce County Health Department, LRI’s list of violations also include failure to follow stormwater sampling guidelines; high levels of toxic chemicals such as copper, zinc, lead, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) found in their discharged stormwater; and failure to install technological improvements to effectively control their water pollution.

The settlement reached with Puget Soundkeeper also requires LRI to comply fully with all clean water permits going forward; to install site improvements to prevent future leachate leaks; to install an advanced stormwater treatment system for both their industrial and construction stormwater discharge, and upgrade it if sampling data shows it’s needed; improved handling of auto shredder residue to prevent it from becoming a pollution source; and share permit compliance reports with Puget Soundkeeper to track changes outlined in the settlement.  For a full list of settlement outcomes, view the Consent Decree.

“LRI Landfill has a long and complicated history of disappointing community members with its poor pollution track record – and we hope that today marks a turning point for this facility,” said Katelyn Kinn, Puget Soundkeeper Staff Attorney. “Moving forward, LRI has the opportunity to work to become a better neighbor. We look forward to tracking their progress, and holding them accountable.”

Puget Soundkeeper is an environmental non-profit whose mission is to protect and preserve the waters of Puget Sound. Since 1984, Soundkeeper has filed over 200 legal actions and all funds from successful settlements go to restoring polluted waterways in the region through the Puget Sound Stewardship & Mitigation Fund.

Puget Soundkeeper was represented in this matter by Claire Tonry, Richard Smith, Knoll Lowney, Katherine Brennan at Smith & Lowney PLLC and Soundkeeper’s Staff Attorney Katelyn Kinn.

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How to Donate $$$ When Shopping on Amazon! 

Watch this short video to learn how to use Amazon Smile to donate moola seamlessly to any non-profit organization (and hopefully FOPC!): https://youtu.be/kNQexlC8i_4

Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas Guidance Document (click here to open or download the pdf)

from: Washington State Department of Ecology