In the most contentious public meetings so far about the prospect of a big project in the Lowman Beach Park area to reduce “combined sewer overflows” (CSO) at Murray Pump Station (left) – with three options currently under official county consideration, including one that would dig up much of the park – there were repeated calls for the county to make public all the technical information it used to settle on those alternatives while ruling out others.
Though the county project manager’s first response to that demand during April’s Morgan Community Association meeting was to suggest that residents file a public-disclosure request to force the county to give up the data, some information now appears to be coming out without quite that much of an additional fight.
With a “technical information meeting” looming this Saturday in West Seattle, documents are beginning to appear on a Technical Information page that’s part of the Puget Sound CSO Control Projects website – you can see the first round of links here.
This wasn’t announced to news media – nor was the creation of a new group to participate in the feedback process – but they’re both part of the newest developments in this ongoing controversy, as was a discussion we covered at last week’s city Parks Board meeting:
The next meeting of the citywide Parks Boardhas only two major items – but one is a project that’s drawn a lot of attention in West Seattle: The county’s project to reduce combined-sewer overflows (CSO) at Lowman Beach’s Murray Pump Station. We’ve covered the controversy over the past few months; most recently, the county loosened the tight timetable it had set for itself to make a decision on how to proceed, and instead of announcing a preferred alternative this month (from among these 3), it’s having another public meeting (June 19, based at Gatewood Elementary but including field trips to Murray and Alki pump stations) and has extended the public-comment period TFN. Whatever is decided for Murray, it is likely to have a major effect on Lowman Beach, a city park, and so the board is scheduled to be briefed during its June 10th meeting – special location, Woodland Park Zoo, whose annual report is the only other major item on the agenda. (Briefing items do not involve votes or other actions, but there will be a chance for public comment. Agenda’s not on the Parks Board page yet but we’ve uploaded it from e-mailed PDF.)
With two days to go till Thursday night’s open-house celebration at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, one of its major tenants, the Fauntleroy Children’s Center, is welcoming some outdoor cleanup help today – a small herd of goats. Four of them were at work on various ivy-and-other-invasive-infected spots around the back parking lot when we stopped by, so no big group shots, but FCC’s Kim Sheridan says, “They should be here for the day, cleaning up our planting beds and miscellaneous greenery that needs their attention.” (The one in our photo was taking a quick break to stare – wistfully? – at the nursery stock on the other side of the fence from his designated ivy patch.)
2:52 PM ORIGINAL REPORT: From the state Department of Ecology, word of an oil spill in the Duwamish River:
The Washington Department of Ecology and U.S. Coast Guard are investigating the source of an oil spill on the Duwamish River about one half mile north of the South Park Bridge.
A sheen and diesel odor were reported to Ecology at 8:30 a.m. today and spill responders found an unknown amount of recoverable diesel oil in an inlet on private property at 7400 Eighth Ave. S. next to Boeing property.
A cleanup contractor called by Ecology and the Coast Guard has arrived at the scene and will begin work on recovering the diesel oil this afternoon. Further information will be released when it becomes available.
4:12 PM UPDATE: New information from Dan Partridge of Ecology:
There is no cleanup contractor working on site. A contractor hired by the Coast Guard arrived earlier and was about to begin work when the tide shifted. The diesel spill that was thought to be recoverable no longer was recoverable with the shifting of the tide so the contractor has left the site. There’s 100-by-3 foot sheen visible on the water but it’s expected to dissipate with the shifting of the tide. We still have not determined the source of the spill but Ecology will continue to investigate.
5:36 PM: Ecology estimates the spill at no more than 25 gallons. We went looking for, but didn’t find, any publicly visible sign of it.
The folks at West Seattle Nursery have just announced a new West Seattle Summer Fest event they are co-sponsoring with Sustainable West Seattle: It’s called GreenLife at Summer Fest. GreenLife is a sustainability and gardening expo to be set up in the Diamond lot south of the Chase drive-thru at Edmunds/44th (map) throughout West Seattle Summer Fest’s entire 3-day run (July 9-10-11). As the brand-new info sheet for the event says:
We are looking for local businesses to showcase merchandise, products and services related to the goal of this new special area – to raise awareness and equip our community with tools, knowledge and capabilities to create a more sustainable West Seattle.
There’s also room for organizations to showcase info/demonstrations/products on gardens, composting, permaculture, beekeeping, backyard chicken-raising, community fruit harvesting, and local waterways including Puget Sound and West Seattle’s creeks. Here’s the full info-sheet on the WSN website. Whether you’re a business or nonprofit, the deadline’s coming up fast: You must sign up by June 15th. Get the application here.
That’s Seal Sitters founder Brenda Peterson, showing photos on her iPad at Thursday night’s Alki Community Council meeting. After an overview of the group’s volunteer work protecting (and educating people about) marine mammals, she mentioned they’re looking for more help as spring/summer pup season arrives, continuing through September. (And as reported here, there’s a training session coming up – June 1.) In addition to seeking volunteer Seal Sitters, Peterson also says they’re hoping more Alki-area folks will build rafts for the seals (remember this one?) since those are the safest places for them to haul out and avoid the potential dangers awaiting ashore. Peterson also told the crowd a bit about her best-selling book “I Want to Be Left Behind: Finding Rapture Here on Earth,” and mentioned she’s featured in an audio interview you can listen to for free through June 2 – just go here.
Next guest, Dolly Vinal from the West Seattle Wildlife Habitat Project – talking about how to get your yard/home certified by the National Wildlife Federation. Advice: Keep native plants, vary your landscape, make water available for the birds and animals that will find their way in. Ensuring habitat for birds is particularly important, Vinal says, because Seattle is on a flyway, and birds that are “just passing through” can benefit as well as residents. (She also gave thumbs-up to Peterson’s ramp-building request, saying those count as wildlife habitat too.)
Then came Steve Richmond from GardenCycles, with advice about preventing slides via ground-cover choices – he stressed that you want to beat back invasives like ivy and blackberries, since they can choke out the plants that could keep the ground covered and stable. Then, it was on to matters of crime, safety and more – click ahead:Read More
From last night’s Fauntleroy Community Association meeting, the final of four WSB reports from last night’s neighborhood-council meetings around West Seattle (newly expanded Admiral report here; Junction report here; North Delridge here): FCA has weighed in with its views on the Combined Sewer Overflow control controversy. While much of the recent attention has focused on the proposals for controlling overflows from the Murray Pump Station atLowman Beach, north of Lincoln Park, three alternatives for CSO control also are on the table for the basin feeding the Barton Pump Station (county photo above) by the Fauntleroy ferry terminal south of the park, and FCA went public last night with the draft of the letter they want to send the county – including their hope that the Murray controversy will not delay the Barton project. Read ahead for the full text as well as other meeting toplines:Read More
Know what to do if you see a seal, whale or other marine mammal in trouble? You can get training – for free. Robin Lindsey of Seal Sitters (who also shared the seal-pup photo above) sends word of two upcoming sessions – one outside West Seattle, one right here for prospective Seal Sitters:
SESSION ONE:
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm at the Seattle Aquarium
(1483 Alaskan Way).
This will be an open region-wide training by Kristin Wilkinson, NOAA stranding expert, in hopes of expanding a volunteer base trained to respond to marine mammals on the beach from South Puget Sound to Snohomish County. Learn about marine mammals in your area and how to report and respond to marine mammal strandings. If you are interested in responding to marine mammals in areas outside of West Seattle, we suggest you attend this session. Seal Sitters will be represented at the event and all are welcome to attend.
SESSION TWO:
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010, from 6 – 7:30 pm at the West Seattle Admiral branch of the Seattle Library (2306 42nd Ave SW, West Seattle). This session will be a special training for those wanting to volunteer for Seal Sitters in West Seattle. A multi-media presentation with photos by first responder Robin Lindsey will illustrate our educational work in the community and the particular challenges of protecting seals and seal pups in an urban environment. Zoologist and education and science advisor Buzz Shaw will discuss biology and behavior of seals and other marine mammals of Puget Sound. Learn how to report and respond to marine mammal strandings. Seating limited to 70 with some standing capacity. Please contact us if you have any questions and keep an eye on the blubberblog for updates regarding participants.
Blubberblog.org is the frequently updated section of the Seal Sitters’ website – often with daily updates on who, and what, they are finding on local beaches, as well as other related news. (added) For those who asked about RSVPing, this Blubberblog item has that info.
Students at Little Pilgrim School, based at Fauntleroy Church, got unusual lessons this morning – a hard-hat tour of the construction/renovation going on at the church. Above, they’re peeking through a top-story window to have a look at their playground, which has been a staging site (but will be back open for them when school resumes in the fall); here they’re getting a show-and-tell from foreman Jimmy Dale and construction-crew member Phil McGrann.
Creek steward Judy Pickens forwarded that photo taken by Dennis Hinton, who also reports:
The Salmon in the Classroom program to raise and release coho for Fauntleroy Creek got into full swing last week. Three groups, from Roxhill Elementary (40 kids), KapKa Cooperative K-2 (35 kids) and West Seattle Moms (17 kids), released more than 300 coho fry in Fauntleroy Park, with upward of 1,700 more to come.
The fish, each just over an inch long, have been raised in classrooms since January as part of the State Fish and Wildlife program. Judy Pickens, from the Fauntleroy Watershed Council, coordinates the field trips with teachers and parents from about a dozen area elementary and preschools. Salmon releases will continue in Fauntleroy Park through the month of May.
The date is now set for the technical-information meeting promised last month by King County Wastewater Treatment Division after concerned residents demanded more project data on the Combined Sewer Overflowproposals for the area that feeds Murray Pump Station at Lowman Beach Park. Those demands were made loudly and publicly at last month’s Morgan Community Association meeting (WSB coverage here) and have continued as residents kept the pressure on the county via petitions, letters, calls and other avenues (including the meeting planned tonight). According to a news release just in from the county, the information will be made available during an all-day session on June 19th, 9 am-4 pm, atGatewood Elementary School, including tours of Murray and the newly expanded 53rd Avenue Pump Station at Alki. Read on for the full announcement:Read More
Here’s hoping Alki isn’t trashed by tomorrow morning the way it was this morning, by several accounts. First, Kristina posted it about it on the WSB Facebook wall; then we discovered Seal Sitters‘ Robin Lindsey had written about it on Blubberblog (with a call for volunteer help) – and before we could get down to Alki to check it out ourselves, David Hutchinson had sent three photos along with this writeup:
Alki Beach, as usual, is a popular destination on sunny weekends like this. It’s a great place for a picnic, a walk, or to just sit on the sand and take in the view. A reoccurring problem during these busy times is the overflow of garbage that tarnishes the experience for visitors and residents alike. Saturday was one of those days and by evening, the garbage cans were overflowing.
David continues:
Throw a few hungry gulls and crows into the mix and you end up with a less than ideal situation. The photos were taken just east of the Alki Bathhouse at about 8:45 Sunday morning. This was despite the fact that there are 2 dumpsters nearby. Unfortunately, people seem unwilling to walk the extra distance to these as both were virtually empty. Seattle Parks & Recreation has installed a number of large, new style garbage containers along the promenade between 59th Ave SW and 64th Ave SW, but these get little use. They have a small “porthole” opening with a stiff rubber hinge that discourages people from using them. Similar scenes were noted at a number of locations up and down the beach.
With the ongoing budget crisis at Parks, there is probably little hope that this situation will dramatically improve in the short term. When you go to the beach for a picnic, it would be a good idea to come prepared by bringing a plastic garbage bag from home. There are 2 green dumpsters just east of the Bathhouse for garbage and 1 blue dumpster west of the Bathhouse for recyclables.
A Parks employee arrived shortly after 9:00 to empty the cans and suggested that if anyone has concerns or suggestions, please send them to Seattle Parks & Recreation. Contact information can be found at www.seattle.gov/parks/contact/default.htm
This also happens to be a weekend between furlough days for Parks, as explained here – but that’s no excuse for people who won’t walk a few extra feet to a trash container, or pack out their own trash if they don’t find anywhere to throw it.
A followup today to Boeing‘s announcement last night that it’s reached an agreement on cleaning up part of the Duwamish River and restoring habitat. Our regional-news partners at the Seattle Timesreported on the deal here. This evening, we have reaction on two fronts: First, we asked the advocacy group Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition for its thoughts – here’s what Thea Levkovitz says:
DRCC congratulates Boeing on being the first out of the gate to address not only the cleanup but the restoration of Habitat due to their polluting activities. We certainly hope that other Polluters will follow suit quickly. What the story did not mention is that habitat restoration is a requirement of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA)process of the Superfund Law. There are two parts to Superfund. The first is the cleanup and the second is the restoration of habitat.
There is a lot of work to be done on the river including the draft Feasibility Study (cleanup plan) for the entire river in October, 2010. That will be the opportunity for the residents of West Seattle to weigh in and make sure that we get the best cleanup possible.
Also, we just received a King County news release with reaction from County Executive Dow Constantine – click ahead to read it:Read More
Volunteer forest steward Sharon Baker with Friends of Lincoln Park shares these photos and a report on the special volunteers who helped her group last Saturday:
On behalf of the Friends of Lincoln Park and the Green Seattle Partnership I would like to thank the fabulous girls of Brownie Troop 42780 of West Seattle (and their brothers and parents). They came to Lincoln Park on Saturday, May 1 and cleared a large patch of one of our major invasive weeds, “stinky bob”. It was really fun to work with these strong, active, outdoorsy kids. They did very good work and made a major contribution to the Park.
Want to help in local parks/greenspaces? Most weekends, there are several work parties in West Seattle – check greenseattle.org. And by the way, if you don’t know offhand what “stinky bob” looks like – check this out. Unless you are a world-class weed-puller, it may be in your yard right now. The hairy red stems are the telltale sign, along with those little pink flowers – if you grab it close to the ground and pull slowly, it comes out fairly easily.
First update: A community meeting is now scheduled for those concerned about the county’s three proposals for controlling Combined Sewer Overflows at Lowman Beach’s Murray pump station.This was just posted as a comment after yesterday’s update:
Save Lowman Beach Park!
Please Plan on attending our Community Meeting at Puppy Perfectors in White Center next to Schuck’s Automotive/O’Reilly’s -9629 17th Ave. SW – May 10th at 7:00 pm
Guest speaker Attorney Bill Williamson with Williamson Law Office and Gary Gill a Civil Engineer, experienced with City of Seattle.
We need your support and ideas to save our 101-Year-Old Lowman Beach Park Gem!
Thank you,
Gary Cobb-Cobb Construction/Regional Realty
gary@regionalrealtyllc.com
Also, we received another update from Martha Tuttle at King County Wastewater Treatment Division, who had told us yesterday that another public meeting would be scheduled – today she’s got a more detailed announcement, though no actual dates yet:
In the coming weeks, the King County CSO project team will be posting technical information on King County’s CSO Beach Project Website, planning a workshop to review alternatives (which will include tours of West Seattle pump stations), and planning additional opportunities for local stakeholders to participate in in-depth discussions of the issues in the Murray Basin. Please monitor the Project Website for upcoming events and further information.
(Quick 360-degree look at Lowman Beach Park this morning, from its NW corner, atop the seawall) By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
It seems like a no-win situation: To keep millions of gallons of wastewater from spilling into Puget Sound every year, a beloved park on its shore might have to be compromised, perhaps even sacrificed.
But the neighbors and fans of Lowman Beach Park (map) who crowded into the Morgan Community Association‘s quarterly meeting Wednesday night insisted they could turn the search for a Combined Sewer Overflow solution from no-win to win-win – provided they are brought more deeply into the process, getting detailed data they can use to independently evaluate the possibilities, then suggesting and supporting an acceptable alternative.
But is it too late? With the county reiterating it’s “on a track” to choose its preferred alternative this summer, Wednesday night’s Morgan discussion was the last scheduled public meeting; it wasn’t even scheduled until after the proposed alternatives received an at-times emotional reception last month (here’s our story). Now, residents are asking the county to schedule more, and asked for the creation of a “stakeholders’ group.”
More on what they said, what they heard, and what happens next, ahead:Read More
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
Many schools have Earth Day on the agenda today – among them, Gatewood Elementary, whose 4th and 5th graders made multiple stops this morning. We caught up with them at Lowman Beach Park, where they picked up litter (you’ll note the bag in front of them on the Lowman tennis court). 4th/5th-grade teacher Darren Radu tells WSB that students also went to Pelly Place for invasive-plant removal, stenciled storm drains along the streets near the school, and did litter patrol at other spots including the Lincoln Park P-Patch. (Thanks to Darren for the heads-up – let us know what your school is up to, either with an advance tip, or photos/info afterward, so we can share the news! WSB contact info is here.)
(Photos by Christopher Boffoli)
No, “green beer” isn’t just the coloring-added stuff served up on St. Patrick’s Day. It’s a double meaning today for the keg of Elliott Bay Brewery‘s Demolition Ale that an entourage including owner Todd Carden (photo above, left) and chief brewer Doug Hindman (right) delivered by bicycle to the Latona Pub in Green Lake (6423 Latona Ave NE, ) today. The keg got its own helmet and T-shirt:
Covering the departure for WSB, Christopher Boffoli reports, “Latona Pub has been doing events all week in recognition and celebration of Earth Week. All of the beers they have been serving are delivered by human power. And today Elliott Bay delivered theirs via pedal power. Todd Carden of EBB says that people should check out the EBB’s blog and Twitter feed today as they will be offering a special coupon for Earth Day and organic beer.” (You can show the coupon at EBB on your smartphone.)
For the 18th consecutive year, Arbor Heights Elementary teacher Mark Ahlness and students have just delivered specially decorated grocery bags to the Roxbury Safeway store. Ahlness founded the Earth Day Groceries Project, which involves not only Arbor Heights students, but also classes from many other cities (here are online reports from 2008 and 2009). On tomorrow, the official date of Earth Day, if you shop at Roxbury Safeway, you’re likely to get one of the special bags – while they last!
You can also track the Earth Day Groceries Project on Facebook (here), Twitter (here), and photos on Flickr (here).
Thursday is the official 40th anniversary of Earth Day, and one of the local schools celebrating sustainability success is Lafayette Elementary, which shared the photo of fifth-graders Marques Titialii and Alyx Hastings, members of its Green Team, helping with composting. Students meet monthly to come up with ideas for reducing the school’s environmental/carbon footprint; in the first year, they recycled lunchroom milk cartons, and this year, they’re working to compost everything that goes uneaten at lunchtime. They got grants from Seattle Public Schools and from ReUsies, the West Seattle-based company (two Lafayette moms!) that makes and sells reusable sandwich/snack bags, and they set up the program – for which Green Team third, fourth and fifth-graders are fully responsible, including getting their schoolmates to put leftovers in the proper bins. The district is able to pay for compost pickup because the program has reduced the school’s trash pickup costs. Principal Virginia Turner wanted to congratulate “the Lafayette students, parents and staff – led by Laurie Hertzler – for taking on the challenge of composting more than 550 student/teacher lunches each day!”
Three weeks after the first public discussion of three options for reducing “Combined Sewer Overflows” from the Murray Pump Station at Lowman Beach – including one that would dig up much of the small park – it’s back on a local agenda tomorrow: The Morgan Community Association‘s quarterly meeting. Meantime, park neighbor Dr. Ron Sterlingwrites on his website dedicated to the controversial proposal that nearly 400 signatures have been gathered on an “offline” petition, while this online petition is still open to signatures and as of this writing has more than 60 names. At the March 30 public meeting (WSB coverage here), the county described the three alternatives it’s considering for reducing overflows at the site; all involved some form of storage, with the most concern voiced about the option detailed in the graphic above, showing a large tank buried at the park and a storage pipe under part of Beach Drive, plus an above-ground odor-control/electrical vault on the park’ s north side. (The other two listed alternatives include one that would put an underground tank on land across from Lowman that now holds homes and apartments – which could be claimed by eminent domain if their owners chose not to sell – plus one with underground storage under a street uphill.) Neighbors urge anyone interested in the project, pro and con, to be at tomorrow night’s MoCA meeting, 7 pm in the downstairs meeting area at The Kenney (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW). Meantime, the county is taking comments through the end of this month – feedback options are listed here.
(Photo courtesy Nature Consortium – a West Duwamish Greenbelt pond that’s home to red-legged frogs)
Thursday is the official celebration of Earth Day – the 40th anniversary of the first one on April 22, 1970 – and just one day later, you can get an up-close-and-personal look at our city’s largest remaining contiguous forest, the West Duwamish Greenbelt, by joining the free monthly guided eco-hike (mild terrain) presented by the Nature Consortium, the West Seattle-based nonprofit that’s devoted to restoring the WDG. RSVP by calling 206- 923-0853 or emailing lisa@naturec.org; then meet at 1 pm Friday at the 14th SW/SW Holly (map) trailhead. P.S. Even if you’ve already seen our Duwamish Alive! coverage from Saturday – don’t miss the comments on this report – they include reports that two key participants added just today.
In the most contentious public meetings so far about the prospect of a big project in the Lowman Beach Park area to reduce 
We’ve covered the controversy over the past few months; most recently, the county loosened the tight timetable it had set for itself to make a decision on how to proceed, and instead of announcing a preferred alternative this month (from 
From last night’s 
But the neighbors and fans of Lowman Beach Park (
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