Blog – Page 8 – Edmonds Environmental Council

City council set March 28 to discuss Edmonds housing growth targets, document guiding Unocal property purchase

Posted: March 26, 2023

City council set March 28 to discuss Edmonds housing growth targets, document guiding Unocal property purchase

Saving Washington’s salmon from toxic tire dust

Department of Ecology
January 25, 2023

We are taking action to reduce 6PPD-quinone, a chemical that is deadly to coho salmon

For over 20 years, scientists faced a toxic mystery: coho salmon returning to urban streams and rivers in the Puget Sound region were dying before they could lay their eggs. The culprit was unknown, but it seemed linked to toxic chemicals running off our roads and highways.

Letter to the editor: The role of citizens in Edmonds’ Comprehensive Plan

Posted: October 31, 2022

Letter to the editor: The role of citizens in Edmonds’ Comprehensive Plan

Letter to the editor: Change Unocal property zoning to protect Edmonds Marsh

Posted: September 20, 2022

Editor:

It is my understanding that the Unocal property is currently zoned MP2. I would like to urge the City Council to change that zoning and designate the property to be used for public use land. It would be very sad to see such a wonderful property, situated next to the marsh and the beach, turned into a housing development, even if it were to include low-cost housing. Due to its proximity to the marsh and coastline, maintaining the open, pristine nature of this land is crucial to the long-term preservation of the quality of the marsh.

Reader view: Community volunteers dig in to restore Edmonds Marsh

By Joe Scordino
Posted: September 17, 2022

After 500 hours of hard labor on 18 days this summer, over 50 community volunteers relished in their success in restoring stream flows in the Edmonds Marsh that had been blocked by chain-link fencing and a huge, spreading mass of an invasive plant called bittersweet nightshade.

Restoring the Edmonds Marsh: Volunteers making a difference

Posted: August 10, 2022

Link to My Edmonds News article

Edmonds-Woodway High School students Isis Liaw, Joshua Ly and Makana Apio documenting improved water quality in the Edmonds Marsh.

Community volunteers are tackling the “motherlode” of invasive bittersweet nightshade in the Edmonds Marsh along Highway 104.

Letter to the editor: We must engage all residents in updating Edmonds’ Comprehensive Plan

Posted: June 8, 2022

Link to My Edmonds News article

Editor:

The City of Edmonds is embarking this year on its now once-every-10-year major revision to the Comprehensive Plan. The city, under Development Services Director Susan McLaughlin, is proposing to use an “Equitable Engagement Framework” to solicit input about this revision from communities in Edmonds that may not have participated in the past. Ms. McLaughlin envisions recruiting what she calls “community champions” to represent their respective communities and as such they may volunteer their time or be compensated for their work. But will this process ensure that the voices of actual Edmonds’ renters, business owners, homeowners, who represent the great majority of Edmonds’ residents, are listened to and that residents truly feel “heard” and engaged? And how will traditionally under-represented communities be defined?

Recommended State Action Levels for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Drinking Water: Approach, Methods, and Supporting Information

Department of Health
331-673 • Revised November 1, 2021

Summary

In October 2017, the State Board of Health (board) accepted a petition from ten organizations to establish drinking water standards for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Board authority to adopt such standards comes under RCW 43.20.050(2), RCW 70.119.080(1), and RCW 70.142.010.

To support the board, the Washington Department of Health (department) released draft state action levels (SALs) for five PFAS in November 2019. These PFAS occur in Washington drinking water and had sufficient scientific information to recommend a value. We presented the draft rule language at stakeholder workshops and at numerous meetings with stakeholders. After evaluating the feedback from these events and from two public comment periods, we updated our technical document and lowered our recommendation for the PFBS SAL from 1,300 to 345 ng/L to better protect infants. We also revised the PFNA SAL from 14 to 9 ng/L based on new evidence of serum half-life in humans. The PFHxS SAL was revised slightly to correct our calculation of average maternal body weight used in the infant exposure model. The revised SAL values are part of the proposed rule being considered for adoption by the State Board of Health in 2021.

Letter to the editor: What’s the status of Perrinville Creek restoration project?

Posted: September 26, 2021

Link to My Edmonds News article

(The following letter was sent to Edmonds Mayor Mike Nelson and is being published here at the author’s request)

Mayor Nelson:

Last March, you put out a press release titled “Mayor Nelson Calls for Perrinville Creek Restoration Project” that acknowledged the stormwater damage to Perrinville Creek and said “Once staff have formulated a better idea of the full effort and cost required to pursue a restoration project, they will present it to City Council for their review and direction, which will also include an opportunity for public input.”

Volunteers making a difference at Edmonds Marsh

Posted: August 25, 2021

Link to My Edmonds News article

Before: Nightshade thicket on fence and waterway preventing water flow.
After: Volunteers removed nightshade leaving only fence posts and open channel for freshwater flow. Note large pile of nightshade vines in foreground.

The “before” and “after” photos show the remarkable difference that community volunteers have made in restoring freshwater connections and native plants in the Edmonds Marsh-Estuary, according to project coordinator Joe Scordino.

Volunteers making progress on Edmonds Marsh restoration

Posted: August 5, 2021

Link to My Edmonds News article

Community volunteers and Students Saving Salmon club members made progress Thursday in removing invasive nightshade thickets and several sections of fence in the marsh along Highway 104. Volunteers got creative in putting the fence rails and chainlink down over cleared areas to make it easier to walk across wet areas and thick mud.

Scene in Edmonds: Volunteers help restore the Edmonds Marsh

Posted: July 31, 2021

Link to My Edmonds News article

Over 30 Edmonds community volunteers helped remove invasive nightshade and blackberry along Highway 104 over two days under a Washington State Department of Transportation “Adopt-A-Highway” restoration project.

Edmonds Marsh restoration volunteer work parties set for July 29, 31

Posted: July 26, 2021

Link to My Edmonds News Article

Joe Scordino and Greg Ferguson working to remove nightshade.

Two volunteer work parties are scheduled for this Thursday and Saturday, July 29 and 31, to begin removing the invasive nightshade in the Edmonds Marsh along Highway 104.

Mayor proposes Perrinville Creek Restoration Project to address long-term flooding, threats to fish

Posted: March 2, 2021

Link to My Edmonds News article

City crews worked through the night Dec. 21 to keep water flowing. (Photo courtesy City of Edmonds)

Citing heavy rainfall that overwhelmed the lower portion of Perrinville Creek, causing floods in December and January that washed out Talbot Road, damaged private property and threatened critical infrastructure, Edmonds Mayor Mike Nelson on Tuesday called for “immediate creation” of a plan to restore Perrinville Creek.

Scene in Edmonds: At work on Shell Creek

Posted: March 5, 2019

Link to My Edmonds News article

The Edmonds-Woodway High School’s Students Saving Salmon Club has received well-deserved press for their restoration work in Shell Creek. But there is another important person working behind the scenes: