February 6, 2013 Joint Work Group Meeting

Posted on February 2, 2013 by admin-srrttf

Spokane River Regional Task Force

Please Note: The SRRTTF Technical Track and Funding Work Groups will meet jointly on February 6 from 10am – 3pm. Lunch: The meeting will continue through the lunch hour, please bring your own lunch or cash (about $10.00) for Subway sandwiches.

Joint Tech Track & Funding Work Group Meeting
Date: February 6, 2013
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 pm

Location: Washington Department of Ecology
N. 4601 Monroe St.
Spokane, WA 99205
Click here for a map.

Meeting Documents
– SRRTTF Feb 6 Joint Work Group Mtg Summary
– Feb. 6 Joint Work Groups DRAFT Agenda
– LimnoTech DRAFT Consultant Services Agreement 02-01-2013
– SRRTTF Phase I DRAFT WorkPlan 1-18-2013
– SRRTTF LTI Phase 1a Budget 1-31-2013
– SRRTTF LTI Phase 1a and 1b Budget 1-29-2013
– Phase 1 Cash Flow Spreadsheet
– SRRTTF Communication Plan Discussion Notes 1-30-13

December 5, 2012 Technical Track Work Group Meeting

Posted on December 1, 2012 by admin-srrttf

Spokane River Regional Task Force

Technical Track Work Group Meeting
Date: December 5, 2012
Time: 1 pm to 3 pm

Location: Washington Department of Ecology
N. 4601 Monroe St.
Spokane, WA 99205
Click here for a map.

Meeting Documents
– Tech Track Work Group Meeting Notes 12-05-12
– SRRTTF Tech Track Work Group DRAFT Agenda 12-5-12

Ecology’s Spokane River Toxics Monitoring FY2013

Posted on November 8, 2012 by admin-srrttf

Click on the links below to access the Quality Assurance Project Plans for the FY2013 Spokane River Toxics Monitoring Activities.

Comments are requested on the DRAFT QAPP only by November 21, 2012. Submit comments to Brandee Era-Miller: BERA461@ECY.WA.GOV

DRAFT 10-28-2012 Quality Assurance Project Plan: Spokane River Toxics Fish Tissue and Preliminary Monitoring in Fiscal Year 2013 – In Support of the Long-term Toxics Monitoring Strategy. [Note: The Quality Assurance Project Plan was finalized January, 2013 and can be viewed at: https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/SummaryPages/1303103.html. To access the draft document as posted on 11/8/2012, contact us.]

The following QAPP was prepared and approved in 2002 and provided for reference. No comments requested on this document.

Quality Assurance Project Plan: Washington State Toxics Monitoring Program, Exploratory Monitoring of Toxic Contaminants in Edible Fish Tissue and Freshwater Environments of Washington State

ECOS Resolution Update

Posted on October 19, 2012 by admin-srrttf

On August 28th, during their annual conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS), which is the national non-profit, non-partisan association of state and territorial environmental agency leaders, passed a resolution addressed to the EPA that laid out several points about how to best address levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in wastewater discharges to our nation’s waterbodies.

The ECOS resolution is the most recent step in a process that began two years ago when SRRTTF members Inland Empire Paper Company along with Spokane Riverkeeper and The Lands Council wrote a letter to the EPA alerting them of the the regulatory loophole that allows PCBs to continue to be released to the environment.

“The passage of the resolution was really a significant event,” said Ted Sturdevant the director of the Washington State Department of Ecology. “State environmental regulators heard the exact same message from industry, academia and the environmental community — we need to turn off the faucet that is allowing this pollution stream to continue. That allowed a very diverse gathering of states to agree to a strong statement calling for a national solution. The states are fed up with trying to solve pollution problems at the end of the pipe, when the solutions are best found through prevention at the national level. It’s why ECOS has called for comprehensive reform of the federal law governing toxic substances, and why we’ll keep pushing at the national level, and within our own states, until we get there.” Ted Sturdevant, Director, Washington State

On September 7, 2012 the Waterkeeper organizations sent EPA a letter in support of the ECOS resolution. EPA sent this response on October 5, 2012.

Read the Huffington Post Article, “State Environmental Heads Pass Resolution about PCBs” by Bart Mihailovich.

October 8, 2012 Task Force Conference Call Announcement

Posted on October 2, 2012 by admin-srrttf

Members of the Task Force have drafted a letter to the Governor and Stan Marshburn (OFM Director) supporting the 2013-2015 Ecology budget. This was discussed at the last meeting and there was general agreement but no firm decision was made. Please review the letter below. If you have any serious concerns with the letter please let Kelsey (gryklsy@yahoo.com) know by the COB on Friday, October 5th so any changes could be turned around and sent out on Monday morning.

This letter to the Governor and OFM is very time sensitive and needs to go out ASAP as OFM will be doing a review of the budget. In order to meet the 5 day decision making rule of the SRRTTF MOA we will need to have a short conference call on Monday to formally decide to send this letter.

Members of the Task Force are encouraged to call in on Monday as we will need a quorum to confirm the letter and agree to send it off. The conference call meeting is scheduled for Monday at 11:00 am.

Call In Number: 800-704-9804
Participant Code: 34863442#

Conference Call Documents
–   Draft Letter for Ecology Budget Request 10 1 12 (revised 10-5-12)
–   Draft Letter for Ecology Budget Request 10 1 12 (2)
–   PL AM Spokane River PCB Source Abatement
–   SRRTTF Conference Call Summary 10 8 2012
–   Approved SRRTTF Letter in support of Ecology budget request 10 8 12

September 5, 2012 Technical Track Work Group Meeting

Posted on August 29, 2012 by admin-srrttf

Spokane River Regional Task Force

Technical Track Work Group Meeting
Date: September 5, 2012
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 pm

Location: Washington Department of Ecology
N. 4601 Monroe St.
Spokane, WA 99205
Click here for a map.

Meeting Documents
– SRRTTF Technical Track Work Group Meeting Notes
– SRRTTF Work Plan DRAFT 9-4-12
–   SRRTTF Technical Track Work Group Meeting Draft Agenda
– Request for Qualifications – Discussion DRAFT
– Attachment B: Evaluation Criteria and Weighting – Discussion DRAFT
–   Spokane Riverkeeper and Lands Council letter to Ecology about Toxics Sampling
–   Report: Human Health Water Quality Criteria for PCBs – Fikslin (2005)

Cleanup work to begin on three Spokane River beaches

Posted on August 27, 2012 by admin-srrttf

Washington Department of Ecology news
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Aug. 27, 2012
12-281
Cleanup work to begin on three Spokane River beaches
SPOKANE- For the remainder of the summer, residents walking along the Centennial Trail in the Spokane Valley, may encounter equipment such as loaders and dump wagons that may close the trail for a few minutes at a time.

Construction begins this week to make sure people and wildlife aren’t exposed to heavy metals that settled on some of the Spokane River’s shorelines as a result of old mining practices in the Silver Valley, Idaho.

According to the Department of Ecology, the closures won’t be for long durations, and the result will be that beach areas will be cleaner and safer for you and your family to use. Flaggers will be available and signs will be posted to let people know these access areas are closed.

Contractors will remove contaminated soil while water levels are low at three Spokane River beaches: the Barker Road North beach on the north side of the Spokane River, east of the Barker Road Bridge — plus the Islands Lagoon and Myrtle Point beaches on the south side of the Spokane River. Workers will install a protective cap over the remaining soil to reduce the possibility of exposure.

Similar work was done at the Flora Road beach in 2009. However, heavy spring runoff in 2011 damaged portions of the protective cover or cap. This year a new cap will be installed, designed to minimize future erosion.

Ecology and local river groups will plant native vegetation on the shoreline to help stabilize the banks at Barker Road North and Myrtle Point. Work will continue through September.

The beach work is part of the Eastern Washington Clean Sites Initiative, an effort that involves communities and other partners in shaping cleanup projects that improve local residents’ quality of life. Cleanup funds come from the state’s voter-approved tax on hazardous substances.

Historic mining practices in the Coeur d’Alene Basin resulted in contaminants known as heavy metals washing downstream from Idaho. The metals include lead, arsenic, zinc and cadmium. They settled in soil and sediments at certain shoreline areas along the Spokane River.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began studying mining contaminants in the Coeur d’Alene Basin in 1983. Additional studies began in 1998 that included evaluation of mining-related impacts to the Spokane River in Washington. As part of that study, the EPA identified nine beaches affected by metals.

EPA and Ecology cleaned up the Starr Road beach in 2006. Ecology cleaned up Island Complex and Murray Road beaches in 2007, Harvard Road North in 2008 and Flora Road in 2009.

###

Media Contact: Jani Gilbert, Communications, 509-329-3495; e-mail jani.gilbert@ecy.wa.gov.

For more information: Spokane River Metals website https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/gsp/Sitepage.aspx?csid=442

Ecology’s website: http://www.ecy.wa.gov

Ecology’s social media: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/about/newmedia.html

Signatories to the Memorandum of Agreement

Posted on August 24, 2012 by admin-srrttf

Voting Members

Spokane County MOA/Spokane County SRRTTF Resolution 12-0145

Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District MOA

Inland Empire Paper Company MOA

Kaiser Aluminum MOA

City of Spokane MOA/City of Spokane OPR 2012-0059

Spokane Regional Health District MOA

Washington State Department of Health MOA

Lake Spokane Association MOA

The Lands Council MOA

Spokane Riverkeeper MOA

City of Coeur d’Alene MOA

Kootenai Environmental Alliance

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Advisory

Avista Letter of Support

Sovereigns

Washington State, Represented by the Department of Ecology

Washington State Department of Ecology MOA

United States, Represented by the Environmental Protection Agency

EPA-Letter-of-Support

Ecology to Host Fish Consumption Workshops August 28, 2012

Posted on August 23, 2012 by admin-srrttf

Subject: Department of Ecology hosts workshop Aug. 28 on revised approach for Reducing Toxics In Fish, Shellfish, Sediment, and Water

On July 16, 2012, Department of Ecology Director Ted Sturdevant announced a revised approach for updating the state’s fish consumption rates for water quality and cleaning up contaminated sediments. View Director Sturdevant’s letter and a timeline for Ecology’s work here: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/toxics/docs/20120716_FCR_SturdevantLetter.pdf.

Ecology invites interested parties to attend a video conference workshop from 1 – 5 p.m., on Tuesday, August 28, 2012, at Ecology’s regional offices in Lacey, Bellevue, Yakima and Spokane. The workshop will provide an in-depth explanation of Ecology’s current approach.

Workshop topics include updates on:

Ecology’s toxic reduction strategy.
Toxic Cleanup Program’s sediment management standards rule making.
Ecology’s fish consumption rate technical document.
Water Quality Program’s water quality standards rule makings.

As part of this revised approach, Ecology’s Water Quality Program intends to move forward with adopting new human health criteria for surface water quality. An informational session on human health criteria will be included in the workshop.

Seating is limited. Please RSVP at swqs@ecy.wa.gov.

Learn about future public involvement opportunities and read more about the process ahead at:

Reducing Toxics in Fish, Sediments and Water: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/toxics/fish.html

Workshop Information:
Date: August 28, 2012
Time: 1 -5 p.m.

Eastern Regional Office
Room: 1-NW-18
N. 4601 Monroe
Spokane, WA 99205-1295

(Directions)

Headquarters Office
Room: R0A-32/34/36
300 Desmond Drive SE
Lacey, WA 98503

(Directions)

Central Regional Office
Room: 204 A
15 W. Yakima Ave., Ste 200
Yakima, WA 98902

(Directions)
Northwest Regional Office
Room: 2A&B
3190 – 160th Ave. SE
Bellevue, WA 98008-5452

(Directions)

Sandy Howard
Communications – Washington Department of Ecology
Water Quality Program – Environmental Assessment Program
360-407-6408 (desk) ~ 360-791-3177 (cell)