December 12, 1995 ENVIRO-NEWS TIPS

Washington State Department of Ecology

December 12, 1995

MORE MONEY TO CONTROL AQUATIC WEEDS REQUESTED AND MORE MONEY OFFERED THAN EVER BEFORE

This year more organizations requested money to control aquatic weeds, and the Washington State Department of Ecology offered more money than ever before to control the weeds. Recently Ecology offered local governments 11 Aquatic Weeds Management Fund grants totaling nearly $431,000. The grants will be used for control or complete eradication (destruction and removal) of non-native aquatic weeds. The local governments have until Oct. 24, 1996, to accept Ecology’s grant offer. Each local government must match the grant by 25 percent of the total project costs.

City of Everett offered $25,000 to control milfoil on Silver Lake.
Grant County Weed Board offered $53,244 to control purple loosestrife on the Mid-Columbia.
King County offered $29,062 to develop an integrated aquatic plant management plan for milfoil on Lake Wilderness.
King County offered $45,686 to eradicate milfoil on Lake Twelve.
City of Ocean Shores offered $35,000 for aquatic plant mapping and water quality monitoring of Duck Lake as a follow-up to a spring 1995 planting of grass carp.
Okanogan County Weed Board offered $16,594 to control purple loosestrife.
Skagit County offered $47,062 for continued planning for the eventual eradication of Brazilian elodea on Big Lake.
Skagit County offered $27,938 to control milfoil on Lake McMurry.
Stevens County offered $75,000 to eradicate milfoil in the little Pend Oreille Chain of Lakes.
University of Washington offered $73,121 for a research project involving the use of weevils, small bugs, to control milfoil.
Whatcom County Weed Board offered $2,900 to control purple loosestrife.

Contact: Kathy Hamel at (360) 407-6562 or Mary Getchell at (360) 407-6157.

December 12, 1995

STATE FILES SUIT FOR DAMAGE CAUSED BY LONGVIEW SPILL

The Washington State Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit Dec. 7, in Thurston County Superior Court, against the owners of the M/V An Ping 6 for natural resource damages resulting from a spill of 2,771 gallons of fuel oil from that vessel on Jan. 10, 1994. The owner, Shanghai Hai Xing Shipping Co., Ltd. of the People’s Republic of China, has not paid $43,187.41 assessed against the company by the Department of Ecology on behalf of the State Natural Resource Damage Assessment Committee. The spill, caused by crew error during refueling of the vessel, impacted habitat, fish and wildlife along the Columbia River, including a backwater known as Fisher Island Slough. The damage assessment was determined using the State Oil Spill Compensation Schedule, which allows experts to calculate damage assessments ranging between $1 to $50 per gallon of oil spilled. In August, the Pollution Control Hearings Board upheld $152,000 in penalties against the company for the spill. The penalty has been appealed by the vessel’s owners in Thurston County Superior Court.

Broadcasters Note: Xing is pronounced "shing”.

Contact: Dick Logan at (360) 407-6971 or Ron Langley at (360) 407-6162.