Washington Department of Ecology Archives | Northwest Public Broadcasting

Washington School Districts Set To Deploy New Electric Buses, Including In Pullman And Republic

By Courtney Flatt May 20, 2020

The first electric bus for a Washington school district went to the Franklin Pierce School District in Tacoma. Courtesy of Washington Governor's Office

Earlier this year, there was only one electric school bus in the entire state of Washington. By this fall, the electric school bus fleet should be vastly expanding. Forty new buses may transport students in districts throughout the state possibly starting in the fall — assuming in-person classes are back on. Read More

Washington State Steps In To Regulate Water Temps Behind Federal Dams To Help Salmon

By Courtney Flatt May 9, 2020

The Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River. CREDIT: BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION

Water temperatures are expected to increase as the climate warms. Rivers saw a glimpse of what the future could hold five summers ago, when low water flows and hot temperatures killed thousands of salmon. Continue Reading Read More

One Person’s Trash Is Another’s Mess. So Please Stop Dumping It During Pandemic, Officials Ask

By Courtney Flatt May 1, 2020

Cyclists found a pile of trash near the roadside south of Kennewick. Cyclist Mike Robinson says he’s seen more trash dumped by the edge of the road since the pandemic started. Courtesy of Mike Robinson

Highway rest area dumpsters have been filled to the brim. Recently, Washington Transportation Dept. employees hauled two truckloads of appliances, scrap metal and other junk from the side of State Highway 225, outside Benton City. Read More

Washington High Schoolers Won’t Get Litter Crew Jobs This Summer — But Adults Can Apply

By Courtney Flatt March 27, 2020

Washington high school students won't get the chance to get job skills in outdoor litter crews this summer. But the Dept. of Ecology will hire adults for the crews. CREDIT: Washington DOE

The state Dept. of Ecology will bring the student crews back next summer. But the agency will will hire more adult crews, ages 18 and up, to pick up litter. There won’t be as many openings as with youth workers because the adults will work longer than three weeks. Read More

Tugboat Carrying Diesel Fuel Sinks In Columbia River Near Umatilla Above McNary Dam

By Monica Samayoa February 24, 2020

Google Maps - Oregon Tugboat diesel spill in Columbia River - Twitter image

Crews from multiple state agencies responded Monday to reports of a 38-foot tugboat that has sunken in the Columbia River. According to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the tugboat reportedly has 750 gallons of diesel on board. Read More

Washington State Regulators Fine Feds More Than $1 Million Over Hanford Cleanup Data

By Anna King January 6, 2020

A new sign graces the entrance onto the Hanford site near Richland, Washington. CREDIT: ANNA KING

Washington Department of Ecology leaders say without access to this data, they can’t effectively protect the land, air and water for residents in eastern Washington and surrounding communities. They say they’ve attempted to negotiate this issue with federal Energy managers for years. Read More

Lower Columbia River Methanol Refinery Halted By Washington Regulators For Environmental Review

By Monica Samayoa November 24, 2019

The proposed site at the Port of Kalama where NW Innovation Works is proposing a 90-acre methanol plant. CREDIT: NW INNOVATION WORKS

A $2 billion methanol project proposed for the Lower Columbia River town of Kalama, Washington, hit a new roadblock Friday, when the Washington Department of Ecology said the environmental review did not adequately assess its greenhouse gas emissions and contributions to climate change. Read More

Feds Say Hanford’s PUREX Plant Is Degrading, Needs Stabilizing Soon

By Anna King July 9, 2019

File photo of Hanford's PUREX plant. COURTESY MICHELE GERBER/N3

A new federal report says that a massive building at the Hanford Nuclear Site is worse off than managers thought. The so-called PUREX -- Plutonium Uranium Extraction -- plant isn’t clean. Starting in 1956 the plant processed loads of plutonium. Its walls are up to 6 feet thick, and it’s as long as three football fields. Read More

Washington State Sets New Deadlines For Hanford Waste Cleanup

By NWPB News July 3, 2019

Demolition work at the Plutonium Finishing Plant at the Hanford Site is a year behind schedule and the project has been plagued with the spread of radioactive waste. CREDIT: ANNA KING

The state of Washington is setting new deadlines for cleanup at Hanford and the plutonium production site that contains a massive quantity of radioactive waste. Continue Reading Washington State Sets New Deadlines For Hanford Waste CleanupRead More

Willapa Bay Oyster Farmers Struggle As Shrimp Population Booms

By Molly Solomon June 18, 2019

Kathleen Nisbet Moncy is a second generation oyster farmer. Her family has been farming in Willapa Bay for the past four decades. CREDIT: KAYLEE DOMZALSKI/OPB

Of the 70,000 acres of mudflats in Willapa Bay, less than 10,000 acres are used for shellfish cultivation. Researchers estimate about a quarter of that farmable land has already been taken over by burrowing shrimp. But the battle over land between shellfish growers and the shrimp is not entirely new. Read More

Washington May Soon Join Its West Coast Neighbors In Mandating Lower Carbon Fuels

By Courtney Flatt February 26, 2019

File photo of tailpipe vehicle emissions. CREDIT: Flickr/eutopication and hypoxia

Washington could soon join the ranks of its West Coast neighbors, requiring fuels at the pump that produce less carbon pollution. A low-carbon fuels bill passed its first big test Monday, moving out of the House Appropriations Committee. Read More

Federal Hanford Cleanup Watchdog Put To Sleep During Government Shutdown

By Anna King January 15, 2019

The partial government shutdown is blocking some of important oversight at Hanford. In the past 10 years, the Environmental Protection Agency office in Richland has shrunk from nearly 10 experts working on Hanford issues to just three – including the top manager. Read More

Washington Ecology Dept. Has Burning Desire To Clean Up Long-Smoldering Pasco Landfill

By Courtney Flatt September 27, 2018

This photo from the 1970s shows various solvents and industrial chemicals that Washington state Ecology officials are trying to clean up in a Pasco Superfund site. CREDIT: WA DOE

After nearly 20 years, a troubled landfill-turned Superfund site outside Pasco may soon have a final cleanup plan. Washington State Department of Ecology managers presented options Wednesday at a public meeting in the Tri-Cities. Read More

Meetings Seek Public Comment On Hanford Tunnel Filled With Radioactive Waste

By Anna King August 27, 2018

Preparations are nearly complete to begin making grout near the Plutonium Uranium Extraction Facility or PUREX Tunnel 2. CREDIT: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Recently, several mayors in the Tri-Cities publicly called for Tunnel 2 to be filled in immediately. They’re worried a collapse of the tunnel could throw up a plume of dust exposing workers or the public. Continue Reading Meetings Seek Read More

The Entire Northwest Is Abnormally Dry, With Severe Drought In Parts Of Washington And Oregon

By Emily Schwing August 9, 2018

Washington map of U.S. Drought Monitor conditions for August 7, 2018.

The U.S. Drought Monitor says the entire state of Washington is abnormally dry. In Oregon, nearly 90 percent of the state is facing moderate to severe drought. Continue Reading The Entire Northwest Is Abnormally Dry, Read More

Washington Lawmakers Propose Banning Controversial Type Of Chemicals

By Emily Schwing January 23, 2018

Washington State Capitol Building. CREDIT: WSDOT / FLICKR

The Washington House Environment Committee hosted public hearings Tuesday on two bills that would restrict a class of chemicals found in everything from firefighting retardant to food wrappers. Continue Reading Washington Lawmakers Propose Read More

Study Estimates Wildfire Smoke Contributes To Tens Of Thousands Of Deaths

By Anna Boiko-Weyrauch December 29, 2017

A new study estimates smoke from wildfires contributes to 25,000 deaths per year around the world. CREDIT: INCIWEB Listen The wildfires that burned through the Northwest this past summer caused hazy skies throughout Washington and Oregon. Air pollution from tiny particles released by fire is a known health hazard. New research from Colorado State… Read More

Landowners Fined More Than $600,000 For Illegal Water Use in Central Washington

By Emily Schwing December 22, 2017

File photo. landowners near Moses Lake, Washington, have been fined $618,000 for illegally pumping 500 million gallons of water from the Odessa aquifer. | ANNA KING / NORTHWEST NEWS NETWORK Listen Four landowners near Moses Lake, Washington, have been fined $618,000 for illegal water use. The water was pumped from the Odessa aquifer, which has been… Read More