Manufacturers of various kinds of containers were ready to accept a ban on baby bottles. In fact, major producers — including Gerber and Playtex — are no longer using BPA in infant products sold in the United States.

But the amendment (added by the House and approved today by the Senate) shows that industry representatives were unsuccessful at drawing a line for BPA in adult products. The argument is that young children are more vulnerable to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, because their immune and reproductive systems are still forming.

Jan Teague, president of the Washington Retail Association, was quoted in the Puget Sound Business Journal as saying manufacturers are “ready” for the state to ban BPA in baby bottles, sippy cups, and other containers used by children, but adult products are another thing.

“The bill is about children’s safety—not adult sports bottles,” Teague told reporter Kaitlin Strohschein. “I think we’re going to be fine on the baby bottles and stuff but not on the sports bottles.”

It is not hard to find sport bottles that are without BPA, if you can believe the labels. Go into any store where the bottles are sold and you’ll see “BPA free” as a key selling point.

Industry officials still seem worried about any further bans, saying so far there are no good alternatives for five-gallon water bottles, given their strength and light weight. They also remain opposed to banning the use of BPA as a liner for steel cans, given that the plastic can greatly extend the life of food products.

In a story in the Washington Post, reporter Lyndsey Layton recently described how manufacturers are spending millions of dollars to find alternatives to BPA, but none has been successful so far.

I began my first tentative reporting on this issue in Water Ways in April 2008 and have followed developments ever since. In January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration did an about-face on the issue and voiced “some concern” about its effects on infants and young children. Advocacy groups had been arguing that the FDA’s position against a ban was based on poorly designed studies conducted by industry sponsors.

If our governor signs the bill as expected, Washington will be the second state — behind Connecticut — to ban BPA in sports bottles. Others have approved or are proposing bans on baby bottles and sippy cups. Last week, reporter Meg Kissinger of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has signed a bill into law dealing with baby bottles, while Maryland lawmakers have approved a similar bill. Legislation is pending in Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington, D.C.

In February, a similar measure fell one vote short of approval in the Oregon Senate, as described by Rob Manning of Oregon Public Broadcasting.

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In his latest video, Flow Man comes to the rescue of a snowboarder. This particular athlete is about as far from an Olympic medalist as you can get. Flow Man’s nonsensical, but amusing, answer is to put a ragged edge on the snowboard.

When I first started posting the Adventures of Flow Man, I didn’t know that the corporate headquarters for the company responsible — Flow International Corporation — was located in Western Washington. The company was started by former Boeing engineers who saw the advantages of cutting with high-pressure water jets.

With its corporate headquarters in Kent, Flow employs more than 700 people in offices in Indiana, Michigan, Canada, Brazil, Germany, UK, Sweden, Spain, Italy, France, Taiwan, Japan, and China.

As for the benefits of water-jet technology, Wikipedia is running a well-written, basic article about the history, technology and benefits of high-pressure water. What is impressive is that jets of water can make cuts as fine as a human hair. One of the strong selling points is the low temperature, since most cutting techniques generate heat that can damage the cutting material. See this video overview of the technology.

What can’t be cut? According to the Wikipedia article, water jets don’t work for tempered glass, diamonds and some ceramics.

Other recent Flow Man videos ask these questions:

Can water cut a rug?

Can water cut a cheeseburger?

Can water cut a bowling ball?

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If you haven’t heard, a veteran orca trainer at Seaworld Orlando, 40-year-old Dawn Brancheau, was apparently petting the whale, named Tillikum, when the incident occurred.

Witnesses told the Orlando Sentinel that the whale grabbed Brancheau by the arm, tossed her around in his mouth and pulled her under water during a scheduled program about 2 p.m. today at Shamu Stadium.

Reporter Jason Garcia of the Orlando Sentinel described how Tillikum, a 12,000- pound male known as “Tilly,” was considered a dangerous whale. Only select trainers were allowed to handle him, and nobody was allowed to swim with him.

Chuck Tompkins, in charge of animal behavior for SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, told Garcia that Tilikum worked well with Brancheau. “He knew her, and he liked working with her,” Tompkins was quoted as saying.

But many killer whale advocates were quick to argue that orcas don’t belong in captivity and that their confinement in close quarters can lead to psychological problems for the orcas.

The following are statements from OrcaNetwork of Washington state and Lifeforce of British Columbia, followed by a couple of opinion polls on this issue and links to the most informative news reports.

Death of Sea World Orlando Orca Trainer

The tragic death of a veteran trainer at Orlando Sea World from an apparent attack, according to witnesses, by Tillikum, a male killer whale captured from Iceland in 1983, demonstrates the hidden costs of captivity for these highly social mammals.

The 30-year-old male orca is likely the largest captive orca, weighing in at 12,300 pounds and 22.5 feet in length. In the wild, orcas travel 75 to 100 miles per day and live in close, socially-bonded pods. Providing a suitable, humane, captive “habitat” for a wild mammal such as an orca is virtually impossible given their size, intelligence, social needs, and the need to be constantly swimming and diving.

There have been previous cases of captive orcas becoming depressed to the point of being suicidal from the stress of living in captivity, often isolated from other orcas or forced to live with orcas from other communities. In the wild, orcas have never been known to attack or harm a human.

Tillikum has been involved in two other incidents resulting in human death. In February of 1991 at Sealand of the Pacific, Canada, Tillikum and two other orcas were involved in an attack on 20-year-old trainer Keltie Byrne after she slipped and fell into the whale pool. She was dragged across the pool and repeatedly submerged. After that incident, Tillikum was moved to Sea World Orlando in 1992, where he has been kept primarily as a breeding male, with little involvement in the whale shows.

In July 1999, a man entered Orlando Sea World and hid, then apparently removed his clothing and entered the tank with Tillikum during the night. A dead, naked body was discovered in the early morning, draped over Tillikum.

As the primary breeding male for all three Sea World parks, Tillikum is a very valuable asset to Sea World, as captures of orcas in the wild have virtually been stopped and the population of captive orcas has been going down in recent years. Tillikum should not be euthanized or punished for behaviors brought about from confinement by humans; and after 27 years of captivity he should be given the chance to retire to an ocean sea pen in his home waters of Iceland to live out the rest of his life.

This incident is a reminder that orcas should be left to live their lives in the wild, and not taken from their pods, forced to live in tanks and perform tricks to entertain and provide income for humans. The education provided about orcas by marine parks is presented in a setting that demonstrates human dominance over the animals, and masks the true beauty, intelligence, and power of orcas in the wild. Observing orcas in the wild, or learning about them from multi-media means such as IMAX movies, video, and websites provides a better education about the true nature of orcas and is better for both the orcas and humans involved.

Orca Network has worked for decades to return Lolita, or Tokitae, the only surviving Southern Resident orca in captivity, back to her home waters of Washington State to retire after spending nearly 40 years in a small tank at Miami Seaquarium.

Susan Berta & Howard Garrett
Orca Network
www.orcanetwork.org

It is time to stop petting and swimming with killer whales and other dolphins

In captivity orcas and other cetaceans are deprived of their behavioral and social freedoms. Confinement in aquarium prisons results in psychological harm resulting in neurotic, aggressive behaviors. Captivity can drive them insane.

“No one would put zoo keepers in a bear pit. Aquariums must stop putting trainers into whale tanks and stop all other public contact. “ stated Peter Hamilton, Lifeforce, who has studied orcas in the wild, “For the sake of both animals and people, the imprisonment of all dolphins must be phased out. It is also time to immediately stop petting and swimming with killer whales and other dolphins. Close contact with such wildlife for financial profit is a hazard to people. ”

There has been many attacks on humans by captive orcas. None by wild orcas. There’s been some serious employee injuries but hush up orders/settlements kept a lot of it quiet. This also applies to swim with dolphin programs in which there are numerous dolphin aggression problems. Petting/feeding programs, such as those at the Vancouver Aquarium, also present public safety risks.

Lifeforce is a Vancouver-based ecology organization that attended the inquest hearing into the death of Sealand employee Keltie Byrne in 1991. We made several recommendations such as stopping any further contact with Tillikum and the other two orcas. Lifeforce told them that is is likely that Tillikum would attack again. Now he has caused the death of a third human.

Peter Hamilton, Lifeforce Founding Director

Online polls

Should the whale be put to death? (CBS News online poll)

Yes: 23 percent
No: 77 percent

What to do with the killer whale (Orlando Sentinel online poll)

The activists are wrong. Trainers and orcas have worked together countless times with very few incidents. We should not overreact to this case, no matter how tragic. 16 percent

The activists are right. These creatures should be free, not kept in tanks and trained to perform tricks. 53 percent

The activists have a point. But the animals at SeaWorld live in luxury compared with creatures in the wild, and they perform a valuable service by increasing our knowledge and appreciation of orcas. 31 percent

Do you think killer whales should be kept in captivity? (New York Daily News online poll)

Yes, they live a good life and they bring a lot of joy to people. 11 percent
No, it’s not fair to them. 79 percent
I’m not sure. 11 percent

Most informative reports

Orlando Sentinel: Stories, pictures, more

Miami Herald: Death reopens killer-whale debate

San Diego Union Tribune: SeaWorld San Diego suspends Shamu show

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In an e-mail to participants and supporters of the project, Castle again declared that Kitsap County is the “low-impact development capital of Washington,” as he did last April. See my Kitsap Sun story from April 7, 2009.

The following is a final assessment of the project, as listed in the summary, along with a map of low-impact development projects throughout Kitsap County. (Click on the pins for descriptions.)

“This project has met and/or exceeded all its goals. Every jurisdiction in Kitsap County has adopted the same LID Standards, The Kitsap County Low Impact Development Guidance Manual is well thought of for both how comprehensive it is and how current the information on low impact development — it’s modeling and use — is.

“The challenges that remain are transitional. While much progress has been made in Kitsap County with the engineering community, there are still some in both the public and private sector who have yet to acquire the technical knowledge to become comfortable in designing and/or reviewing projects that include low impact development.

“The PSP/WSU Technical Training Workshops are the most comprehensive and contain the most current technical information in the country. However, the quantity and quality of technical training opportunities needs to be expanded and supported for some time.

“The Kitsap Spreadsheet Modeling Tool (LID Calculator) will provide an “ease of use” element to meeting the sizing and use of LID features in new and retrofit projects… In our ‘Kitsap County Low Impact Development Guidance Manual’ workshops and Webinar, it should be noted that all the presenters are from Kitsap County…. These private and public sector individuals were selected to recognize the low impact development knowledge that Kitsap pubic officials and industry professionals have achieved and to show that Kitsap County has the knowledge, leadership, and technical expertise to successfully implement low impact development.

“As more and more new development, and commercial and homeowner retrofit projects are completed the increased aquifer recharge and the water quality benefit of natural treatment will result in significantly less pollutants in runoff reaching streams and water bodies. In addition, low impact development practices will result in less peak runoff caused erosion in stream channels.”

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Like it or not, political power is what gets things done in our city councils, Legislature and Congress. Voting by qualified citizens is certainly one form of political power.

Whether Congress spends our money to fight wars or to restore the environment is a result of political power. Some would say we have no choice but to fight wars at key times in history. Others would argue that we have no choice but to save the Earth. But, of course, there are choices in how Congress spends our money.

I got to thinking about this after I wrote a story for today’s Kitsap Sun about U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks and his change in chairmanships in the House Appropriations Committee. Dicks will soon move from a position where he has a major say about environmental spending to a position where he will have a major say about Defense spending.

His predecessor on the Defense Appropriations Committee, Rep. John Murtha, held a reputation for wielding political power to bring federal projects to his home state of Pennsylvania.

Dicks enjoys a favorable reputation among environmentalists nationwide for his work on restoring national forests and national parks as well as his support for regulations to protect the environment. But Dicks is celebrated in his home state of Washington for his intense focus on our local forests and waterways.

That makes this Bremerton native a target for those who think our money is better spent on other things or not at all. I wonder how that perception will change when he becomes more focused on Defense issues, which attracts a more conservative constituency. That’s not to say that Dicks has not already wielded political power on defense issues, given the large number of military bases and defense-oriented companies in Washington.

For some reason, this very notion of political power seems a little distasteful, but it is how government gets things done — or not done. It is political power, after all, that the brings Republicans together in a solid block —without a single vote out of line — to block some of President Obama’s prize initiatives.

What actions would you like your government to take? As they say, political power is a little like sausage. We may not want to see the process that gets it done, but we can enjoy the result nonetheless.

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Today, I’d like to reflect on a couple of small hazardous waste cleanup projects and some juggling involving hundreds of millions of dollars in state cleanup funds.

In years past, the Washington Department of Ecology signed agreements with property owners dealing with hazardous chemicals that had leaked from underground tanks on their property. The owners were required to pay what they could, although some were not able to pay anything. Ecology might then lead the cleanup, using funds from the state’s Model Toxics Control Account. That account derives its funds from a tax on petroleum products, pesticides and other specific chemicals.

The federal economic stimulus program has provided $3.4 million for such leaking underground storage tanks in Washington state. As I reported in the Kitsap Sun this week, work is beginning on a renewed cleanup at Country Junction Store in South Kitsap while a proposed plan would clean up soil near Hansville Store in North Kitsap. These are both small, community stores whose owners signed consent agreements with Ecology years ago.

It just so happens that the Washington Legislature has been taking money out of the state’s toxics account to help balance the state’s general fund budget.

According to a report by Jim Brunner of the Seattle Times, lawmakers diverted $180 million last year and Gov. Chris Gregoire proposes to pull out $80 million this year.

All this comes on the heals of a report exploring ways to finance the cleanup of contaminated sites across the state. The report was requested by the Legislature when it became obvious that existing funds would not be enough to pay for hazardous site cleanup, especially when money is being taken out for the general fund. Quoting from the report, called “Model Toxics Control Act Remedial Action Grants – Alternative Financing Evaluation”:

Demand for MTCA funds is increasing. While the grants have supported closure of many sites, a stream of new smaller projects and a growing number of larger, more complex cleanup projects continues. Coupled with the recent downturn in the economy, these trends have created a gap between the availability of funds and the real need. This situation has increased the uncertainty surrounding the future availability of MTCA funds and the subsequent need to use these limited funds more effectively than the traditional cash grant program.

If you recall, earlier this year environmental groups were proposing a higher fee on oil products to raise money to address stormwater problems throughout Puget Sound. Stormwater is considered the primary source of contaminants to the Sound, and holding back stormwater would effectively reduce toxics getting into the waterway.

Since then, the focus has shifted to tripling the existing MTCA tax of $7 per $1,000 on the wholesale price of hazardous substances. The new money — $13 per $1,000 — would go into other accounts, starting with 69 percent moved into the state’s general fund to help balance that out-of-whack budget. The rest:

• - 20 percent into a new account to address stormwater
• - 1.9 percent for oil spill prevention
• - 2.05 percent for the recovery of Puget Sound
• - 2.05 percent into a new State Clean Water Account
• - 5 percent into the Motor Vehicle Account for roads, trails and sidewalks

Under the current proposal, House Bill 3181, more of this new money would be shifted out of the general fund and into the stormwater fund each year — unless the Legislature changes its mind.

What we’re seeing is a lot of shifting of money as lawmakers try to plug a $2.7 billion hole in the state budget while offering environmentalists the hope of addressing Puget Sound cleanup in a meaningful way.

Let me know what you think about this shifty spending plan.

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Last week, I wrote in the Kitsap Sun about two Bremerton public works projects — sewers in Gorst and a new Bremerton water-treatment plant. Together, they are using $13.5 million in federal stimulus funds.

It has been said that the $7.5 million in stimulus money for the Gorst sewer project is a lifesaver for that community, because local residents never could have afforded sewers without it. Public officials have been trying for years to finance that project. Every time someone added up the costs, it looked like low-income residents would be hit with sewer assessments in excess of $20,000 each. Now the hookups will cost them nothing.

Meanwhile, officials with Kitsap County Health District kept rushing around Gorst, forcing homeowners and businesses to put band-aids on their failing septic systems. This project will mean an end to that nonsense.

The $6-million Bremerton water project — required because of new rules from the federal Environmental Protection Agency — might have been possible with local dollars. But that would have required a sizable hike in utility rates among Bremerton residents. Remember, these are the same folks who already pay very high rates to finance more than $50 million in stormwater projects designed to prevent raw sewage from flushing into local waters during heavy rains.

After nearly 20 years, Bremerton can say it has addressed its combined sewage overflow problem — while Seattle and many other older cities are still struggling with the issue. See Water Ways Aug. 26, 2009.

This brings me to the state’s Public Works Trust Fund. If the Gorst sewer and Bremerton water projects were to be done locally, they would certainly need the low-interest loans provided by the trust fund. The fund was vital to financing Bremerton’s stormwater projects with local dollars. But the state’s budget crisis caused the Legislature to take most of the money — $368 million — out of the trust fund to pay for other government operations. And so public utilities statewide have put many projects on hold, though I can’t tell you how many would have been built in this time of economic uncertainty.

John Kounts of the Washington Public Utility Districts Association wrote about that funding shift in the WPUDA’s publication Connections (PDF 240 kb).

And so the federal stimulus money became extremely important for the Gorst sewer and Bremerton water projects. According to Bremerton documents, about 200 jobs will be created before the work is done.

Taking money out of the Public Works Trust Fund may have saved jobs in state agencies, but it must have cost some jobs in the public works sector, because of projects put on hold. I’m not sure about the net balance in job numbers.

Something I don’t understand, however, are statements by politicians who say the federal stimulus money has created no jobs. Yes, the federal government has borrowed money to run the program, but it seems clear that these grants have resulted in projects that would not be done anytime soon. That means a net surplus of jobs created.

Tomorrow: More shifting dollars

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Some people laugh; others stare in disbelief at the unique creature that reminds some people of the male anatomy.

After you’ve lived in Washington state, you learn that this massive mollusk is not only funny, it is big money on the international market. Geoducks are believed to play an important role in the ecosystem, where they filter water and can live for 100 years or more.

Geoducks grow naturally in deep water and are harvested by divers who dislodge them from the seabed with jets of water. Revenues go for managing the resource and to local governments willing to make recreational improvements to the shoreline. Some people contend that the state is over-harvesting, at least in certain locations.

Geoducks are also at the center of political battles involving the management of state and private tidelands. Artificial propagation of geoducks and its effects on beaches is still hotly debated.

But I digress. Amusing Monday isn’t about the serious side of life, so I’d like to offer a couple of videos for your viewing. The first, an embedded video on this page, is a three-minute trailer for a documentary produced by Justin Bookey. The film, called “3 Feet Under,” won a first-place award for the Best Short Documentary at the Port Townsend Film Festival in 2004.

The second video is a featured segment of the Discovery Channel’s TV show “Dirty Jobs” with Mike Rowe. Beyond the jokes, I learned something about cooking the giant clams in a part of the show where Rowe heads into the kitchen to prepare the “duck” for eating.

So let me know what you think about geoducks, especially if you are one of the brave hunters who like to dig for geoducks, famous for their deep digging. If you have a geoduck joke suitable for mixed company, feel free to share.

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It was the first idea that came to me when I learned about the goal of providing Kitsap County with 7,000 acres of publicly owned open space in North Kitsap in exchange for allowing Pope Resources to increase development in the Port Gamble area.

“The devil is in the details.”

Pope Resources lands

It has been the most common reaction from people who have talked to me about the plan, which has the potential of being the largest habitat conservation project in the history of Kitsap County.

It appears that everyone involved recognizes that the values acquired by the Kitsap County and by Pope Resources must be carefully balanced. Pope would get increased density, enough to justify public services. Other values might come from conservation grants, which would give Pope cash for some of the land. The county could seek public works grants and loans to help pay for public services.

The values must be carefully balanced, but another unquantifiable factor is in play. Steve Bauer, the county commissioner from Hansville, and Jon Rose, property manager for Pope Resources, acknowledge that their desire is to create an enduring legacy that will serve the people of Kitsap County.

Bauer and Rose have taken the first step, but we must watch closely as the details begin to emerge and the effort starts through a public process that will determine if the project can succeed.

Please read the stories that Brynn Grimley and I have written so far this week. Brynn is working on one today, and I will post that link here later.

New Plan for Port Gamble: Develop 1,000 Acres, but Preserve 7,000 Acres

Kitsap County Commissioners Offer Tentative Support for Port Gamble Plan

Environmentalists Cautiously Optimistic About Port Gamble Partnership

Port Gamble Project Seen as Potential Economic Boon for Kitsap

OPINION: The Development is In the Detals

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Dennis McLerran

I’m not sure why it took so long, but I understand there was considerable discussion about the position within the Northwest congressional delegation. McLerran, executive director of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, appeared to be the choice of both Washington senators. Still, it was not as long as President Clinton took to name Chuck Clark to the post, as I reported in that July blog post.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson made this statement in a news release:

“I look forward to working closely with Dennis on the range of urgent environmental issues we face, in region 10 and across the nation. At this moment of great challenge and even greater opportunity, I’m thrilled that Dennis will be part of our leadership team at EPA. He will certainly play an instrumental role in our Agency’s mission to protect our health and the environment.”

Here’s McLarren’s bio from Seattle’s Green Ribbon Commission, of which he is (was?) a member:

Dennis McLerran is the Executive Director of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, the regional air quality agency for King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

Mr. McLerran is an attorney and former Chair of the Land Use and Environmental Law Section of the Washington State Bar Association. He has also served as the Director of the City of Seattle’s environmental and permitting agency, as the City Attorney for the City of Port Townsend and has been engaged in the practice of environmental and land use law in both the public and private sectors.

He joined the air quality agency in June 1994. In May 1998, the Municipal League of King County named him Public Employee of the Year. He has been President of the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials, the national association of local air agencies in the US.

He has led the Agency in developing a number of national award winning programs, resulting in EPA Clean Air Act Advisory Committee awards in two of the last five years. These innovative programs include Diesel Solutions, a broad-based voluntary diesel retrofit and clean fuels program; the Puget Sound voluntary summer clean gasoline program; and the Washington State Clean School Bus program, making $5 million per year available to clean up 9,000 school buses.

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