Category Archives: Ecology News

PMF & Green Chemistry final reports/Ecology & EPA news/EAP sampling schedule/Upcoming mtgs.

Posted on by

Task Force,

The PMF blank study final report with the changes discussed at the last Task Force meeting can be seen on the website at this link: http://srrttf.org/?page_id=10186

The final IPCBs and Pigments report from Northwest Green Chemistry can be seen at this link: http://srrttf.org/?page_id=10179

Ecology’s Water Quality Program is offering more than $183 million in financial assistance for 106 high-priority clean water projects across the state.  See the link below for more information:
From onsite septic repair to stormwater infrastructure, $183 million is going to more than 100 clean water projects

EPA’s May 2019 Fish and Shellfish Program Newsletter focuses on PCBs. Click the link for some interesting articles.

Brandee Era-Miller and Siana Wong from the Dept. of Ecology will be out on the Spokane River doing sampling work the first week in August and they could use one additional person to help on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday August 6-8. Please email Siana Wong, swon461@ECY.WA.GOV if interested.

Upcoming work group meetings (conf. calls: 605-313-5141, 723394#):
July 31 – Tech Track @ 10 am (Dept. of Ecology office, 4601 N. Monroe St., Spokane)
Aug. 7 – TSCA conf. call @ 10 am
Aug. 8 – Data Management conf. call @ 3pm
Aug. 13 – Education and Outreach @ 10 am (Spokane Regional Health District office)
For meeting materials please follow this link on the website: http://srrttf.org/?page_id=9623 and then select the work group you are interested in.


Draft QAPP addendum for Spokane River Screening Study

Posted on by

The Department of Ecology has completed a draft Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) addendum and are looking for feedback from Task Force members. 

This draft addendum is for the plan, “Measuring PCBs in Biofilm, Sediment, and Invertebrates in the Spokane River: Screening Study.”  It describes follow-up sampling of biofilms on the Spokane River that is being planned for summer of 2019. 

Please click on the link below to access the addendum:
https://www.ezview.wa.gov/site/alias__1962/view_our_committees_spokane_river_technical_assistance_projects/37308/spokane_river_technical_assistance_projects.aspx

Task Force members and contracted technical review teams may provide comments to this draft until July 15, 2019. Please email comments to Siana Wong at swon461@ECY.WA.GOV

Riverkeeper withdrawal letter from SRRTTF/Upcoming Mtgs./Rulemaking announcement WAC 173-201A Variances

Posted on by

Hi Task Force and other interested parties:

Here is a recent letter from Spokane Riverkeeper to the Department of Ecology regarding their withdrawal from the Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force: 20190604_Riverkeeper_SRRTTF_Letter

Upcoming SRRTTF and work group meetings:
(Conference call in number: 605-313-5141, 723394#)
June 18 – Tech Track conf. call at 10 am
June 18 – Green Chemistry conf. call at 1 pm
June 26 – SRRTTF Task Force meeting – 8:30 am to 12 pm, Spokane County Water Resource Center
July 3 – TSCA conf. call at 10 am
July 8 – MOA ad hoc committee mtg. at 10:30 am at Spokane City Hall, Conference room 2B
July 9 – Education and Outreach meeting at 10 am at Spokane Regional Health District, room 350

The Department of Ecology (Ecology) is beginning a rulemaking to consider amending the Water Quality Standards for Surface Waters of the State of Washington, Chapter 173-201A Washington Administrative Code (WAC). Ecology is considering adopting one or more variances to the water quality standards that meet the requirements of WAC 173-201A-420 (Variance section), for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) for the Spokane River, in water resource inventory area (WRIA) 57.

Ecology will consider amending sections of Chapter 173-201A WAC that address variances to the standards, including amendments to 173-201A-420 (Variance) and 173-201A-602 (Table 602-use designations for fresh waters by water resource inventory area), as well as any other sections that need to be amended to support adopting the above-noted variances.

More information on the rulemaking and links:

Comment on the scope of the EIS: http://ws.ecology.commentinput.com/?id=KTMcA

Contact:
Susan Braley
WA State Dept. of Ecology
Email: swqs@ecy.wa.gov
Phone: 360.407.6414

 

New Technical Reports and Upcoming Events

Posted on by

The new Ecology report, Atmospheric Deposition of PCBs in the Spokane River Watershed, is available at https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/SummaryPages/1903003.html. It is also posted on the SRRTTF website under Department of Ecology publications. In 2016 and 2017, Ecology’s Environmental Assessment Program investigated atmospheric deposition of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Spokane area. If you have questions about this report, contact Brandee Era-Miller at 360-407-6771 or brandee.era-miller@ecy.wa.gov.

The final SRRTTF 2018 Technical Activities Report by LimnoTech (Dave Dilks) can be found on the SRRTTF website here:

Technical Consultant Activities – 2018 Spokane River Studies

SRRTTF_2018_TechnicalActivitiesReport_Final_03-27-2019
Appendix B _ Gravity 2018 Field Report
Appendix C _ QAPP_addendum5_072318
Appendix D – Lab results spreadsheets available upon request (lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com)

The Spokane River Forum is having a conference on April 16 and 17 at the Davenport hotel in Spokane. You can find more information on their website
Spokane River Forum Conference 2019 Some of the Task Force members are presenting during the conference.

The next SRRTTF meeting will be held Wednesday, April 24, 2019 from 8:30 am – 12:00 pm at Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District.

Upcoming SRRTTF work group meetings:
Education & Outreach – April 9 at 10 am at the Spokane Regional Health District, Room 402
TSCA – May 1 at 10 am (we have a new conf. call in number (605) 313-5141, 723394#)


Upcoming February Meetings & State Fiscal Year 2020 Draft Funding Offer List/Use Plan

Posted on by

Upcoming Meetings:

Feb. 5 – Tech Track work group, 10 am – 12 pm, Dept. of Ecology, 3rd floor conf. room, 4601 N. Monroe St., Spokane (contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for call in info.)
Feb. 6 – TSCA work group conference call, 10 am, 641-715-0857, 723394#
Feb. 12 – Education & Outreach work group meeting, 10 am at the Spokane Reg. Health District (contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for call in info.)
Feb. 27 – SRRTTF meeting, 8:30 am – 12 pm, Spokane County Water Resource Center, 1004 N. Freya St

Ecology has announced the availability of the State Fiscal Year 2020 (SFY20) Draft Funding Offer List and Intended Use Plan (Draft List) for public review and comment. The Draft List describes how to use state and federal dollars to fund water quality improvement projects across the state. In addition, the Draft List and other SFY20 Funding Cycle information is available at the Water Quality Grants webpage.  Money is made available each year from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, Stormwater Financial Assistance Program, Centennial Clean Water Program, and Clean Water Act Section 319 program. This year approximately $183 million is proposed for funding from a request of $338.5 million (statewide).

The Spokane area projects include:

  • Approximately $10 million for wastewater facility funding
  • Almost $6.3 million for stormwater
  • $22.5 Non point


How to comment: A public review and comment period on the Draft List is open until 5:00 pm on Feb. 18, 2019. They will hold a public information meeting to present the Draft List and discuss the project evaluation and Funding Cycle process.

Informational Meeting
Feb. 6 at 1:00 pm
Pierce County Library
3005 112th Street East, Tacoma, WA.

Please email or mail comments on the Draft List to:
Daniel Thompson
Department of Ecology
Water Quality Program – Financial Management Section
P.O.  Box 47600
Olympia, WA 98504-7600
Email: daniel.thompson@ecy.wa.gov
Phone: 360-407-6510

Next Steps: They will respond to all comments received during the comment period when the Final List is published. They expect to publish the Final List by June 28 after approval of the state’s 2019-2021 Biennial Budget. All commenters will be notified by email when the Final List is published.

How does this apply to the Task Force? Governments and nonprofits (501(c)3 organizations) are eligible to apply for different types of funding. Background: Ecology rolls all of its water quality funding into a combined program in order to simplify the process for everyone.

The annual cycle starts in the summer (August) with informational meetings. Here is information to help prepare for the next cycle: https://ecology.wa.gov/About-us/How-we-operate/Grants-loans/Find-a-grant-or-loan/Water-Quality-Combined-Funding-Program

Many of the Task Force members organizations have applied for and received funding for clean water projects (point and nonpoint) in the past: City of Spokane, Spokane County, the Lands Council, Conservation Districts, etc.).  Individually, these projects have supported the work of the Task Force by putting in infrastructure or addressing nonpoint source pollution, education and outreach.

Spokane River Permitting Tools Workshop #2: Decoding the VarianceProcess

Posted on by

You are invited to join us at our second Permitting Tools Workshop on Monday, November 5, 2018 from 1 — 4  p.m. at CenterPlace Regional Event Center in Spokane Valley. This workshop follows our August 8 Permitting workshop. Based on your feedback, Ecology is holding an additional workshop with a focus on the details associated with the Variance Tool.

 You may also attend via WebEx by registering here.


This workshop will focus on:

•                    How to submit a request for a Variance (requires agency rule-making);

•                     Details about the submittal package requirements;

•                     The projected schedule for the completion of the rule-making process; and,

•                     How the variance process affects the permit cycle.

 

Additional details regarding the agenda will be provided closer to the date of the Workshop.  For more information, contact Karl Rains at (509) 329-3601 or karl.rains@ecy.wa.gov.

If you would like to know more about the permitting process and workshop information see these links below:

https://ecology.wa.gov/Water-Shorelines/Water-quality/Water-improvement/Total-Maximum-Daily-Load-process/Directory-of-improvement-projects/Spokane-River

https://www.ezview.wa.gov/site/alias__1962/view_our_committees_spokane_river_clean_water_permitting_process/37218/spokane_river_clean_water_permitting_process.aspx

New Ecology Report: PBTs in Lake Sediment Cores, 2016

Posted on by

The report, PBT Trends in Lake Sediment Cores, 2016 Results, is available at https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/SummaryPages/1803029.html.

 The Department of Ecology’s Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic (PBT) Monitoring Program conducts long-term monitoring of freshwater sediment cores to help characterize the occurrence and temporal trends of PBTs in Washington State.  A single sediment core is collected each year from three waterbodies and age-dated in order to reconstruct contaminant deposition profiles. 

 In 2016, sediment cores collected from Deep Lake, Spanaway Lake, and Lake Spokane were analyzed for up to 209 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners.  Age-dated sediment core profiles indicated the following trends:

·         Total (T-) PCB concentrations in Deep Lake and Spanaway Lake sediments have declined since peak levels, and recent concentrations appear to have stabilized.

·         T-PCBs were fairly stable in Lake Spokane sediments between the early 2000s and early 2016, but increased in the most recently deposited sediment layer.  Current T-PCB levels were much lower than historical peaks observed in the 1960s.

·         PCB congener profiles revealed no consistent temporal patterns in individual congeners across sites.  PCBs associated with Aroclor sources and resistant to degradation were dominant in all three cores.

 The report recommends that the PBT Monitoring Program continue to evaluate how levels of PCBs in the environment are changing.  The next sampling for PCBs is scheduled for 2022.  Additional investigation into sediment-bound PCBs in Lake Spokane is also recommended.

 If you have questions, contact Callie Mathieu at 360-407-6965 or callie.mathieu@ecy.wa.gov.

Ecology Announcement: Draft QAPP Available for Review

Posted on by

The Department of Ecology is providing technical assistance to the Spokane River Toxics Task Force. The Agency has drafted a Quality Assurance Project Plan for assessing PCBs in biofilms, sediment, and invertebrates in the Spokane River. The Task Force has been asked to provide feedback on the draft plan because this is a specific project the Task Force requested Ecology’s Environmental Assessment Program to conduct.

If you are a member of the Task Force, or a contracted technical review team for the Task Force, please provide your feedback to Siana Wong (swon461@ecy.wa.gov) by Aug. 16, 2018.

The draft Quality Assurance Project Plan is available for review:

QAPP Biofilm – DRAFT for External Review 8-2-18

Ecology News: The Water Quality Financial Assistance 2015-2017 Biennium Outcomes Report

Posted on by

The Water Quality Financial Assistance 2015-2017 Biennium Outcomes Report is now available!

You can find it on fortress and there is a link on our grant and loan general resources web page, under the heading for Reports and Surveys.

Please share the link with anyone you think might be interested.

About the outcomes reports

The biennial outcomes reports provide an overview of our grant and loan programs, and summarizes two-years of closed projects. It includes a breakdown of how our funding is helping improve water quality, with specific focus on wastewater, stormwater, nonpoint source, on-site sewage systems and aquatic invasive species and algae control. It features many photos, highlighting the great work accomplished by our funding recipients, many of whom are also permittees. If you’re curious, the previous report is also available: 2013-2015 Biennium Outcomes Report.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!

Best Regards,

Eliza Keeley-Arnold
Clean Water Needs and Outcomes Coordinator
Water Quality – Financial Management
WA Department of Ecology
Ph: (360) 407-7489 Em: eliza.keeley-arnold@ecy.wa.gov