Ecology issues new recommendations for greenhouse gas limits in Washington

Climate change is one of the most significant issues we face today in Washington State. Tackling climate change is a priority for Ecology and we are working hard to protect fish, farms, and waters from the damage rising temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns will cause in our state. That’s why we adopted one of the nation’s most progressive regulations to cap and reduce greenhouse gases, and also why Ecology recently provided a report to the Legislature that recommends lower greenhouse gas limits for our state.

Washington’s climate change forecast

With our temperate climate and typically wet weather, you might think Washington would

fare better than many places in dealing with climate change. The truth, however, is that Washington faces serious impacts to our snowpack and water supplies as temperatures climb. Another threat comes from increases in ocean acidity, which will harm our state’s shellfish industry. And, climate change will lead to more extreme weather such as heavy rainfall that will increase the risk of flooding.

Take a look at the thermometer chart below. If global emissions continue to grow in a business-as-usual fashion, Washington is projected to experience the “green” conditions at the bottom of the chart in the coming decades. By the mid 21^st century, though, that “business-as-usual” trend will bring us into the “yellow” zone, which includes serious consequences such as a 56-70 percent decrease in snowpack and large increases in ocean acidity. By the end of the 21^st century, we would be into the “red zone.” 

The predicted effects of these significant increases in average temperatures would be severe – large decreases in snowpack and summer precipitation, devastating increases in ocean acidity, increased flooding and jumps in sea level that will damage many Washington communities. Our best tool to prevent these effects is reducing emissions, both in Washington and around the world.

While the 21^st century may seem like the distant future, the effects of climate change can be seen today. Washington has already suffered a substantial loss of snowpack mass in glaciers during the 20^th century, as shown in the chart below. While the severe drought in 2015 cannot be attributed solely to climate change, scientists agree that it offered a sobering preview of the conditions our state will regularly face as temperatures rise. 

Washington’s leadership limiting greenhouse gases

Many years ago, our Legislature recognized the threat climate change poses to Washington. In order to protect our natural resources and infrastructure for future generations, the Legislature set limits on the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.

At that time, Washington was a national leader in establishing greenhouse gas limits. In concert with the latest science, today you’ll find that many states in the U.S. have adopted more stringent limits than Washington did in 2008. Since taking office, Gov. Jay Inslee has introduced a range of strategies to combat climate change. Washington is a founding signatory of the Under 2MOU, an agreement between 165 jurisdictions from 33 countries on six continents to do their part to limit warming below 2° Celsius.

Updated recommended greenhouse gas limits

When Washington’s Legislature adopted our state’s original greenhouse gas limits, it recognized that that climate change science was rapidly evolving, and our legislators had the foresight to require periodic review of our targets.

Today, there is a global consensus that we need to reduce greenhouse gases. In 2015, 197 countries, including the United States, committed at the United Nations climate summit in Paris to do their part to limit increases in global temperatures to 2°C.

When developing updated recommendations for Washington’s greenhouse gas limits, Ecology:

• Consulted with the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group on current climate science. 
• Reviewed other state greenhouse gas limits.
• Considered Washington’s Under 2MOU commitment.
• Acknowledged the U.S. pledge to reduce greenhouse gases.
• Evaluated current Washington state policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gases.

Given the need to stabilize atmospheric carbon (from greenhouse gases) in a way that limits global temperature increases to below 2°C, and preferably below 1.5°C, Ecology is recommending the Legislature adjust the current state limits.

Recommended limits:

• By 2020, reduce overall emissions of greenhouse gases in the state to 1990 levels (unchanged).
• By 2035, reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions in the state to 40 percent below 1990 levels (currently, 25 percent below 1990 levels).
• By 2050, reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions in the state to 80 percent below 1990 levels (currently 50 percent below 1990 levels).

Earlier this month, Ecology provided the Washington Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Limits report to the Washington Legislature. While the Legislature has no obligation to adopt the recommended limits, given the projected impacts on Washington, Ecology believes that the Legislature, local governments and state agencies must work together to reduce greenhouse gases.

By Camille St. Onge, Air Quality Program

Water for the long haul

2016 forecast will guide water management in Columbia River Basin

Ecology’s Office of Columbia River (OCR) has a mission to “aggressively pursue development of water supplies to benefit both instream and out of stream uses.”

Since 2006, the program has been building water resiliency in Eastern Washington, especially in response to changing climate and drought.

The 2016 Water Supply and Demand Forecast for the Columbia River Basin tells a story of Washington’s water future and is helping water managers to anticipate likely water needs across the Columbia River Basin over the next 20 years (2035).

“This is a powerful tool for our state,” said Tom Tebb, OCR director. “Not only does the forecast describe where our current demands for water exist, it’s helping us to understand how our local and regional water supply is likely to change in the future.”

Tebb noted the information puts a fine point on where we need to develop projects to ensure we have reliable water supplies and where our investments will be most successful.

Recently submitted to the Legislature, the forecast is produced every five years and builds on past reports. It provides a summary of water supply and demand impacts on:

Climate: The Pacific Northwest is expected to experience increasing temperatures and shifts in precipitation, leading to wetter winters and springs, drier summers, declining snowpack, earlier snowmelt and peak flows, and longer periods of low summer flows. Temperature changes anticipated range from plus 2.2 degrees F to a high of 8.5 degrees F by mid-21st Century.

Economics: While some crop groups have seen relatively large changes within existing cropland, the relative acreage share for the region is expected to remain stable, with hay and grains covering the most acreage. Conversion to specialty crops such as grapes, blueberries and tree fruit is expected to rise by about 6 percent.

Population growth: The region could see an 18 percent increase in demand for municipal and domestic water, totaling some 80,000 acre-feet of water. (An acre-foot covers one acre of land one foot deep)

Water management: Increases in water storage capacity from planned projects can reduce vulnerabilities to drought, or can supply water for new uses, including development of new irrigated lands. Over the next 10 years, the program has a goal to develop more than 300,000 acre-feet of water for irrigation.

This forecast provides recommendations for modeling refinements, data gap needs, and policy changes that can help us adapt and succeed in the future.

Recommendations for future forecast reports

• Include groundwater supply estimates in future reports by increasing groundwater monitoring and risk analysis of declining aquifers to assure sufficient water supplies.
• Include any changes to Columbia River reservoir operations that occur when a new International Columbia River Treaty is ratified, now under review by Canada and the United States.
• Refine future agriculture water demand by understanding the double cropping patterns across Eastern Washington and
• Improve municipal and hydropower forecasting methods to enhance future water policy decisions 

The forecast research team, led by the Washington State University and the State of Washington Water Research Center, includes scientists Drs. Jennifer Adam, Michael Brady and Jonathan Yoder from Washington State University, in collaboration with Ecology and others.

Office of Columbia River celebrates decade of work

For 10 years the Columbia River Water Management Program has been working to find integrated water solutions for farmers, growing communities and to benefit endangered salmon and the natural environment.

Today, through innovative partnerships, we’ve developed more than 400,000 acre-feet of water in Eastern Washington, including:

• Water for vineyards on Red Mountain 
• Water for potatoes, corn, seed crops in the Columbia Basin.
• Water security for towns like Twisp and Bridgeport and the cities of White Salmon, Kennewick and Pasco
• Water made available to improve streamflows all along the Columbia River and in important tributaries like the Methow, Peshastin and Yakima. 

This work supports a $12 billion agricultural and food processing industry, protects an aquifer that has dropped as much as 200 feet since 1980, and supports endangered fish in key basins along 80 miles of river as well as anticipating municipal and domestic water concerns.

More information

2016 Supply & Demand Forecast

By Joye Redfield-Wilder, Central Region communications manager

Drayton Harbor success story

Environmental Excellence awards honor water quality stewardship

 Jan Hansen, Drayton Harbor Shellfish Protection District advisory committee, and Geoff Menzies, Puget Sound Restoration Fund, among those who received environmental awards from Ecology's Doug Allen. 

It’s great to have the opportunity to celebrate water quality successes. Cleanup of Drayton Harbor is one such story.

At a celebration event Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, Bellingham field office manager Doug Allen presented Environmental Excellence awards recognizing those who for many years have led efforts to improve water quality in Drayton Harbor.

Since the late 1990s, high levels of fecal coliform bacteria in Drayton Harbor forced shellfish harvest closures for all or part of each year. Fecal coliform bacteria in water are an indicator for pathogens, or disease-causing organisms.

This month, 810 acres of shellfish beds in the harbor were reopened to year-round harvest. That means for the first time in many years people will be able to harvest shellfish during the holiday season!

Drayton Harbor watershed residents can be proud of this accomplishment – it’s a true example of a community coming together to address some really tough water quality issues. Those recognized include:

• Geoff Menzies - for advocacy and action leading to water quality improvements in Drayton Harbor
• Drayton Harbor Shellfish Protection District Advisory Committee – for leadership and community service in support of local shellfish protection
•  Whatcom County Public Works, Natural Resources - for dedicated leadership and implementation of a Drayton Harbor shellfish protection 
• Whatcom County Health Department, Environmental Health - for effectively implementing an septic system operation & maintenance program contributing to watershed health 
• Whatcom Conservation District – for services to the agricultural community in support of water quality improvements in Drayton Harbor
• City of Blaine - for stormwater and wastewater infrastructure improvements supporting water quality improvements in Drayton Harbor 

Drayton Harbor is a story of many different bacteria sources, and many agencies and community members coming together to address each source. Where does the bacteria come from? Failing septic systems, pets, livestock and wildlife can all contribute to fecal coliform bacteria pollution.

It hasn’t been easy and it can take a long time. Harbor reclassification took 20 years! So we need to remain vigilant. And there’s more that remains to be done. Still, it's important to celebrate this reopening and the people who helped along the way.

Let’s keep the momentum going. The taste of success (and the locally harvested oysters) is sweet, indeed.

Drayton Harbor marina view

NOTICE: Web network maintenance is scheduled for Wednesday, December 14

We'll be doing maintenance on the network that will disrupt access to our web applications. Work is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, December 14 at 6:00 pm PST and be completed before midnight.

During this time many of Ecology's online applications will be unavailable, including:

•Areawide Remediation Environmental Information System (AREIS)

•Children's Safe Product Act (CSPA) Reports

•Cleanup Site Search

•Cleanup Levels and Risk Calculations (CLARC)

•Coastal Atlas

•Columbia River Water Resources Explorer

•Environmental Permit Handbook

•Facility/Site Identification (F/SID) System

•Fertilizer Database (Wastes in Commercial Fertilizers)

•Grade Level Expectations (GLE) Correlations to Environmental Education Resources

•Hazardous Waste Services Directory

•Industrial Permits

•Integrated Site Information System (ISIS)

•Laboratory Accreditation

•Polluted Waters - 303(d) Listing

•Public Involvement Calendar

•Publications and Forms

•Recycling (1-800-RECYCLE)

•Shoreline Aerial Photos

•Smelter Search

•Solid Waste Information Clearinghouse

•Staff directory and subject referral look up tools

•Thermal stream surveys

•Water Quality Permit Databases

•Water Resources Explorer

•Well Construction and Licensing System (WCLS)

•Well Logs look-up

While the applications are off-line, you'll get a server error message instead of getting access to the tool. For more information about these online applications, see Ecology's Databases. The Ecology website will not be affected.

Eyes Over Puget Sound: La Niña is here!

With La Niña present we are seeing wetter and warmer conditions. Heavy rains in October swelled Puget Sound rivers and streams to above normal levels. As a result, water temperatures, salinities and oxygen in Puget Sound are returning to normal.

Click here to read the November report.

While surface water in Puget Sound has cooled, it is still warmer than in the Straits.

I can see clearly now

We continue to see large groups of jellyfish in finger Inlets of South Sound and slowly fading red-brown blooms in Eld and Budd Inlets. A lot of suspended sediment was observed east of Steamboat Island and south of Squaxin Island. Otherwise, we have clear water.

What is Eyes Over Puget Sound?

Eyes Over Puget Sound combines high-resolution photo observations with data from our monthly monitoring stations, from our regional partners and from instruments we have on ferries. We use a seaplane to travel between many of our monitoring stations because they are so far apart.

Once a month, we take photos of Puget Sound water conditions and turn those out, along with data from our stations, in the monthly Eyes Over Puget Sound report.

Eyes Under Puget Sound: Critter of the Month – The Frost-Spot Corambe

Winter is coming! With the impending chilly season upon us, we thought it would be fitting to introduce a frosty-looking fellow as this Critter of the Month: the Frost-Spot Corambe.

Corambe pacifica on a microscope slide. Photo courtesy of Gary McDonald.

Corambe pacifica is a beautiful beast with frosty white speckles that seem to glow as if it just swallowed a set of twinkly lights.

Sink or swim

Click to enlarge image.

The Frost-Spot Corambe belongs to a group molluscs called nudibranchs (pronounced NEW-dih-branks, meaning naked lungs or gills), also known as sea slugs. Like most nudibranchs, C. pacifica begins its life with a coiled snail-like shell in a swimming larval stage. The shell is then shed as the larval nudibranch grows into its adult form.

Keeping up appearances

Feathery gills are visible beneath the mantle,
and the foot can easily be seen with its distinct white rim.
Photo courtesy of Gary McDonald.

Frost-Spot adults grow to a small 10 mm in length and have a flat disc-like body. They have a wide fleshy skirt called a mantle with a notch in the middle posterior (rear) end. Feathery gills used for breathing protrude from under the notch. The gills are a series of simple finger-like plumes which range in number (6-14) depending on the animal’s age.

LEFT: An exposed rhinophore. RIGHT: A rhinophore
partially covered by the protective sheath.
Photos courtesy of Gary McDonald.

Almost all molluscs (with the exception of octopus/squids) have a flat muscular organ called a foot that is used for crawling. The Frost-Spot Corambe’s foot is narrow and translucent with a white line running around the outer edge.

Sitting on top of the animal’s head are two rhinophores, similar to an insect’s antennae. The Frost-Spot has grooved rhinophores that function as sensory organs to detect food, and can retract inside a trumpet-shaped sheath for protection from nibbling predators.

Hide and seek

The Frost-Spot, a master of camouflage, has markings that are designed to perfectly match its habitat, making it almost invisible to potential predators.

Can you spot Corambe pacifica hiding in its habitat on the bryozoan colony Membranipora?
Photo courtesy of Gary McDonald.

In  this case, the habitat being mimicked is Membranipora, a particular bryozoan on which it feeds exclusively. Bryozoans are colonial animals that grow on hard surfaces. Each bryozoan colony is made up of many little “chambers”, each containing an individual animal that makes a tasty snack for the sea slug to slurp up.

The Frost Spot is moderately common in Puget Sound, but it is not often collected during sediment monitoring because of the location of its preferred habitat. Membranipora is found encrusting kelp blades, seagrasses and other hard surfaces that we don’t often encounter with our sampling equipment.

Corambe pacifica deposits its eggs in a spiral shape.
Photo courtesy of Gary McDonald.

Eggs over easy

If you can’t spot the slug itself, you might be able to spot its bright white egg mass. The Frost-Spot Corambe lays its eggs on the bryozoan in a spiral ribbon that looks like a cinnamon roll.

Why the spiral shape, you ask? The spiral gives the eggs a better shot at survival by keeping them close together, but still with plenty of space for oxygen to move between them.

By: Dany Burgess & Angela Eagleston, Environmental Assessment Program

Critter of the Month

Corambe pacifica in its environment. Photos courtesy of Gary McDonald.

Our benthic taxonomists, Dany and Angela, are scientists who identify and count the benthic (sediment-dwelling) organisms in our samples as part of our Marine Sediment Monitoring Program. We are tracking the numbers and types of species we see in order to understand the health of Puget Sound and to detect any changes over time.

Dany and Angela share their discoveries by bringing us a Benthic Critter of the Month. These posts will give you a peek into the life of Puget Sound’s least-known inhabitants. We’ll share details on identification, habitat, life history, and the role each critter plays in the sediment community. Can't get enough benthos? See photos from our Eyes Under Puget Sound collection on Flickr.

Tis the season for smoky air

Clear the air by following these tips, and there will be fewer burn bans

The weather is getting colder, which sets up ideal conditions for temperature inversions that trap air pollution close to the ground.

The source of this pollution? Smoke from woodstoves and emissions from highway traffic.

How can you make a difference? Follow a few tips to prevent pollution in the first place and obey burn bans when they are called.

In the summer, burning may be banned for fire protection, due to tinder dry conditions and the threat of wildfire. In the winter, smoke can stack up in our valleys for long periods of time, causing unhealthy air for us to breathe. The goal is to stay within state and federal ambient air quality requirements designed to protect people’s health.

By following these top practices year-round the air will clear and fewer burn bans will be called:

• Make sure your fuel is well seasoned, low in moisture and stored undercover to keep dry
• Never burn green, wet wood. Doing so is inefficient and creates smoke
• Check your chimney 20 minutes after you start a fire. You should see only clear vapor heat waves and very LITTLE smoke.
• Remember, breathing smoke is harmful, especially for the young, elderly and those with respiratory ailments. So protect yourself and your neighbors.
• Check www.waburnbans.net before lighting a fire in the home, shop, business or outdoors.

Burn bans are called in stages by local, state and federal agencies, depending on the jurisdiction.

During a Stage 1 burn ban -- NO use of uncertified wood stoves or fireplaces indoors and NO, outdoor burning, agricultural, and forest burning.

During a Stage 2 burn ban -- NO burning indoors or outdoors, unless wood is your sole home-heating source.

Consider upgrading. Check for incentive programs where you live. If you choose to burn, create small fires with lots of air… no damping down. We’ll all breathe easier.

Learn more and watch demonstration videos on this page:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/outdoor_woodsmoke/Burn_Ban.htm