SSA Marine Challenged for Violoting Clean Water Act

Today, RE Sources announced that they filed suit against SSA Marine for Clean Water Act violations at Cherry Point.

“SSA Marine knowingly flaunted an array of county, state, and federal regulations when they built roads damaging forests and wetlands last summer,” said Bob Ferris, executive director of RE Sources. “And now they want immediate forgiveness for creating impacts that could take decades to recover. That is simply unacceptable.”

SSA cleared nine acres of forest and wetlands at Cherry Point without permits. This work was exploration for their proposed mega coal export terminal just north of Bellingham. Protests against the terminal from local communities and leaders are gaining momentum across the state as the evidence increases demonstrating the harm the project will have on our health and the environment.

photo: sierraactivist.org

Seattle Introduces Bag Ban!

On Monday, November 21, Seattle City Council introduced legislation to ban single use plastic bags -- very exciting news for oceans and coasts!

Plastic bags make up over 10 percent of the debris littering the U.S. coastline. Like all plastic, these bags never go away.

The Seattle Times endorsed the bag ban. Read full story.

Council Bill 117345 will help clean up Puget Sound and our oceans by removing 292 million plastic bags from the waste stream every year. Modeled on the Bellingham ordinance, which passed this July, the measure would ban single use plastic bags and place a 5 cent fee on paper bags.

Show your support for the bag ban at an upcoming public hearing:

Seattle City Council Public Hearing on Plastic Bags Legislation
Monday, December 5
5:30pm
Council Chambers, City Hall, 2nd Floor
600 Fourth Ave

Push for Seattle Plastic Bag Ban

The Seattle Times reported today on a push for Seattle City Council to ban single use plastics bags. Full story.

Yesterday, Julie Masura, a faculty member at the University of Washington Tacoma's Center for Urban Waters, spoke at a press conference overlooking Puget Sound. She has been doing research on plastics in the Sound. Her work discovered small pieces of plastic in every water sample taken in Puget Sound.

Environment Washington featured her research in a new report, Keeping Plastic Out of Puget Sound: Why Washington should Join the Global Movement to Reduce Plastic Bag Pollution.

In Seattle, consumers use 292 million plastic bags every year. It's time for Seattle to join Portland, Bellingham, China and numerous other cities, counties and countries who have banned the bag.

Contact Seattle City Council and ask them to BAN THE BAG.

Chance to help Puget Sound

Right now is a unique opportunity to help clean up the waters of Puget Sound! With your help, we can strengthen water quality testing programs and make plastic pollution in our ocean and on our beaches a priority for the clean up of Puget Sound.

WHAT: Comment on the 2011 update to the Puget Sound Action Agenda – the plan to recover Puget Sound by 2020. The actions in this plan set the course for collective recovery efforts including the work of government agencies, non-profit organizations and businesses.

HOW: Attend a public open house.
Public open houses are a great opportunity to learn about the clean up Puget Sound and give input on how to support clean water for recreational users. Here are some key points that Surfrider Foundation is making:

Support Clean Water for recreation!

• Expand water quality testing programs to include winter months. Yes, we paddle and swim in the winter, the most likely time for storm induced run-off events that pollute our waters.
• Clean up polluted sites threatening water quality in Puget Sound, including the Port Angeles Landfill and the Warmhouse Beach Dump.
• Make plastic pollution a priority. Plastics are not only strangling marine wildlife, but are being ingested by mammals, birds, and the fish that we eat.

WHEN/ WHERE:

Mill Creek: Monday, October 3, from 4:30 – 7:00PM Department of Fish and Wildlife, Mill Creek Regional Office, 16018 Mill Creek Boulevard
Poulsbo: Tuesday, October 4, from 4:30 – 7:00PM Poulsbo City Council Chamber in City Hall, 200 Northeast Moe St
Mount Vernon: Monday October 10, from 4:30 – 7:00PM Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, 10441 Bayview-Edison Road
Olympia: Tuesday, October 11 from 4:30 – 7:00PM LOTT Clean Water Alliance, 500 Adams Street NE
San Juans: Wednesday, October 19 aboard the interisland ferry. Depart Anacortes at 9:30AM. Depart Friday Harbor 11:35AM. Arrive Friday Harbor 5:10PM. Arrive Anacortes 7:50PM

For details on the Action Agenda: http://www.psp.wa.gov/

photo: Fred Felleman

"Bag It" playing in Wallingford Sept 9th

Join PCC, Zero Waste, Seattle City Council Member Mike O'Brien and others for a special showing of "Bag It" and help kick off a great campaign to ban plastic bags in Seattle...

Friday Night at the Meaningful Movies: BAG-IT...the movie about Bags and Plastic and the Environment.

WHEN: Friday, September 9, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

WHERE: 5019 Keystone Place North, Keystone Congregational Church 1/2 block north of NE 50th in Wallingford. Metro bus 16, 26, 44

FREE. donations kindly accepted. Hall capacity about 200 so get there early for a seat!

Bag-It is followed by a post-film discussion with PCC Sustainability and Public Affairs Directors Diane Crane and Trudy Bialic, Heather Trim from Zero Waste Seattle, Seattle City Council Member Mike O'Brien, Dick Lilly from Seattle Public Utilities, and Jill McIntyre Witt of Bag-Free Bellingham. Be in on the start of a successful Bag-Free Seattle Campaign!

Bellingham bans single use plastic bags

Last night, Bellingham joined a growing list of cities across the country reducing consumption of single use plastic shopping bags. With strong support from the local community including grocery stores, the Bellingham City Council voted unanimously to ban plastic shopping bags and impose a 5 cent fee on paper. Huge thanks to the volunteers, including the Surfrider Foundation's Northwest Straits Chapter, for making this happen.

Now, let's do it in Seattle.

Read more in the Bellingham Herald.

National Ocean Council listening session in WA June 27th

The National Ocean Council (NOC) has announced a series of listening sessions to be held around the country on the new National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Coasts, and Great Lakes. This policy was established by President Obama through an executive order in July 2010 and is currently being implemented through the National Ocean Council. The upcoming listening sessions provide a unique opportunity to learn more about the National Ocean Policy and provide input on strategic action plans being developed for each of the nine priority objectives. The meetings also are a great venue to highlight local Surfrider priorities that could benefit from federal or regional support.

The Washington listening meeting is on June 27, in Ocean Shores at the Quinault Beach Resort and Casino. 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.