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MembersLetter
Monthly Features Issues Watch RCO Proposes to Update and
Expand its Boating Facilities Program Policy Plan The Recreation and
Conservation Office (RCO) is updating its 2003 Boating Facilities Program Plan,
which helps determine the funding priorities for motor-boat oriented grants
under the Boating Facilities Program. The plan explores the broad
context of recreational boating in Washington, presents relevant results of a
boater survey, and proposes policies for guiding funding in all RCO-managed
grant programs. These draft policies are
intended to help ensure that grants go to projects that satisfy boater needs,
address provider challenges, and respect the environment. The policies, if
approved by the Recreation and Conservation Funding Board, will be worked
into grant program rules and evaluation criteria. A draft plan is available at www.rco.wa.gov/rcfb/boating_survey.htm. Comments, due May 29, 2009,
should be addressed to Jim Eychaner at jim.eychaner@rco.wa.gov or
360-902-3011. Knowing the Waters What’s
the process under state law for a port to acquire or assume operations of a
park currently operated by a state agency? Port districts have not traditionally been in the business of operating
parks. Port authority and power
as set forth in RCW Chapter 53 focuses upon waterfront improvements and
economic development. Prior to recent legislation regarding tourism, the ability of ports to
engage in park development and operation was limited to the building of park
facilities that were ancillary (related to) authorized port function. An example might be park-like
facilities associated with the building of a marina or human amenities
associated with the development of port project mitigation. More recently, RCW Chapter 53.08.255 (tourism promotion and tourism-related
facilities authorized) has been modified to authorize port districts
“either individually or jointly” with another municipality, or
person, or any combination thereof, to acquire and operate tourism-related
facilities.
“Operation,” “Tourism,” “Tourism
Promotion,” “Tourism-related facility,” and
“Tourist,” are all defined at RCW Chapter 67.28 and would
conceivably allow for an interpretation that park operations that attract
tourists are within port authority. Please be aware that the law requires concurrence of local park
authorities before a port may engage in park development. As always, consult with your own counsel for
advice on your individual situations. Editor’s
Note: The Port of Port Townsend has been in discussions with the State Parks
Department regarding their taking over Old Fort Townsend State Park. The
process is still in the beginning stages and details aren’t fully
available. “Taking Over and Operating a State Park” will be a
roundtable at the upcoming 2009 WPPA Spring Meeting. Port News The Port of Shelton recently hired
John Dobson as their new Executive Director. He is currently the President of
the Washington Pilots Association and has a wide network of aviation
relationships throughout the state. Dobson has a strong background in
aviation, marketing, finance and project management. He also brings ideas for
improvements that will result in business growth in all aspects of the port's
operations, including the Oakland Bay Marina and the John's Prairie Industrial
Area. Keller
Appointed to Transportation Plan Scott Keller, Executive Director at the Port of
Benton, has been appointed to serve as the ports’ representative on the
Transportation Plan being developed by the Washington State Transportation
Commission. Paulson
Appointed to FMSIB Larry Paulson, Executive Director of the Port of
Vancouver, has been appointed by Governor Gregoire to serve on the Freight
Mobility Strategic Investment Board.
He replaces Jim Toomey of the Port of Pasco, a long time member of
FMSIB and former chair of the board. Port to Begin New Phase of Study at Former Crop Dusting Site The Port of Skagit County started a new phase of investigation at
a former crop dusting hangar adjacent to Taxiway F at the Skagit Regional
Airport. The hanger was used as the base for crop dusting operations between
1978 and about 2000. The operations released contaminants to the environment.
Recognizing its role as a steward of public assets and with the
intent to restore the site to ecological health and productive use, the port
entered into an agreement with the Washington State Department of Ecology to
study the nature and extent of contamination and assess ways to clean it up. Port
Commissioner Glenn Allen stated, “Clean-up of the Taxiway F site is
something we would like to bring to a conclusion. It is good to be working
with the Ecology toward that end.” Port of Kennewick Gets Clean Audit With its recent clean audit, the Port of Kennewick marks
the 13th consecutive year the port received no audit findings. “The Port of Kennewick recognizes that
we must be good stewards of the public’s trust and resources, and we
strive to uphold the highest integrity in all our operations,” stated
Tim Arntzen, Port of Kennewick executive director. Added, Tammy Fine,
the Port’s director of finance/auditor, “A clean audit is the key
to assuring taxpayers that the Port of Kennewick takes its responsibilities seriously
and that the taxpayer’s dollars are being used to benefit the
community.” Port of Vancouver successfully sells bonds, closes Alcoa
purchase The Port of Vancouver announced
the successful sale of $25.8 million in limited tax general obligation bonds
for the acquisition of industrial property, capital improvement and
refinancing outstanding bonds. Some of the bond proceeds were
used to complete the acquisition of the 218 acres formerly used for the
smelting and extruding operations of Alcoa and Evergreen Aluminum. That property will be turned into
the port’s new Terminal 5. Construction of a unit train rail facility
and wind energy storage area are expected to begin later this year. At full
buildout, the port expects the new Terminal 5 could bring as many as 1,000
new jobs to the community. Ports Work to Improve Air Quality Clean ports are competitive
ports. Earlier this month the Port of Seattle staff proposed a new clean
trucks program aimed at keeping older, more polluting trucks off roads and port
terminals and the Port of Tacoma unveiled a fee-free Truck Emissions Improvement
Program. The Port of Seattle will continue
to demonstrate its environmental commitment by contributing $2.3 million to
the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. The port would donate the funds for
programs that reduce diesel emission from maritime sources, including ocean
going vessels, trucks, and cargo handling equipment. Additional funds
available from other sources will be used to replace older trucks with newer,
cleaner retrofits that produce less pollution. At the Port of Tacoma, their
Truck Emissions Improvement Program is designed to improve air quality,
increase gate efficiency and be environmentally sustainable. The program,
which is fee-free, was developed collaboratively with the trucking industry
and other port customers. The programs reduce emissions as
outlined in the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy. The ports continue to join
together in implementing common components of each port's truck program and
coordinating efforts to expedite transportation infrastructure improvements. |
National Heritage Area
Proposed for Washington’s Coast and Puget Sound The State
Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation is conducting a
feasibility study in a first step to encourage Congress to designate
Washington’s saltwater shoreline as a National Heritage Area. The study
is required as part of a proviso in last year’s state budget
(originally introduced as Senate Bill 6144 in the 2007 legislative session). The National
Heritage Areas Program is administered by the National Park Service. The
program exists to recognize and preserve our nation’s historic,
cultural and scenic resources. Currently, there are over 40 sites in the U.S.
that are designated National Heritage Areas. The furthest west is the Great
Basin National Heritage Route in Utah and Nevada. A handful of areas are hundreds of
miles long, and one, the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area,
encompasses an entire state. More information on the National Park Service
program, including a map of officially designated areas, is available at www.nps.gov/history/heritageareas/. Besides protecting
and respecting areas of natural or historic importance, much of the appeal
for official designation seems to be the possibility of additional federal
funds. Over the past decade, Congress has appropriated hundreds of millions
of dollars to National Heritage Areas throughout the country. The program
has not been without opposition. The U.S. General Accounting Office conducted
a review of the program in 2004, specifically to establish a more systemic
process for designating National Heritage Areas and to improve accountability
of federal funding. The report noted concern among private landowners
and local governments that “heritage areas may be allowed to acquire or
otherwise impose federal controls on nonfederal lands.” Although
the report concluded that such concerns appear to be unsubstantiated, it
acknowledged that some “provisions encourage local governments to
implement land use policies that are consistent with the heritage
areas’ plans, which may allow the heritage areas to indirectly influence
zoning and land use planning in ways that could restrict owners’ use of
their property.” National
Heritage areas are not subject to any additional federal regulation. For
instance, there would not be any additional NEPA or SEPA requirements as a
result of National Heritage Area designation. Whether or not private
landowners’ concerns are alleviated depends largely on the details of
the management plan for a specific area.
In part for this reason, the Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation
will be holding public meetings to receive input on the feasibility
study. The meetings will be held
at the following times and locations: · Monday,
April 20, 10:30 a.m.-noon: Kitsap Regional Library (Sylvan Way Branch) in Bremerton · Monday, April
20, 3-4:30 p.m.: Hoquiam
Timberland Library · Tuesday,
April 21, 10-11:30 a.m.: Whatcom Museum of History and Art in Bellingham · Wednesday,
April 22, 3-4:30 p.m.: Peninsula College House of Learning Cultural Center
(Longhouse) in Port Angeles · Thursday, April
23, 2:30-4 p.m.: Anacortes Museum · Friday,
April 24, 11 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.: The Working Waterfront Maritime Museum in Tacoma · Monday,
April 27, 10-11:30 a.m.: Naval Reserve Armory Building in Seattle Fauna
Doyle, a consultant with Berk and Associates, is working with the Department
of Archeology and Historic Preservation to conduct outreach on the
feasibility study. She can be
contacted with questions or concerns at 206-324-8760 or fauna@berkandassociates.com. For Earth
Month, Marina Recycling Program is “Picking Up” Volunteers
picked up more than 1,740 plastic bottles on Washington’s beaches and
shores last year – and those are just the containers they found –
not the bottles that got washed out to sea. To help stop
lightweight containers from getting blown overboard or washed into Puget
Sound, some port-owned marinas are kicking off a new recycling program at
their marinas this Earth Month: “Pick It Up.” The initiative reminds marina visitors
to recycle bottles and cans in existing recycling bins. To further
protect Puget Sound, marinas are encouraging their business tenants to
provide additional recycling for workers and customers. Litter of any kind is unsightly and
can be dangerous to marine animals.
Plastic bottles are a particular concern, because the plastics can
break down and be eaten by fish, birds and marine animals. “On
average, volunteers collect 13 plastic bottles per mile when they clean up
beaches in Washington state,” says Lisa Friend of RE Sources for
Sustainable Communities, a partner in the “Pick It Up”
program. She’s referring to
data from the “International Coastal Cleanup,” an annual trash
pick-up event that’s been taking place around the world for more than
20 years. “This new initiative will remind
folks to recycle their bottles and drink cans during Earth Month and
throughout the year,” Friend says.
“As a result, we hope to find fewer bottles on Puget Sound
beaches when the summer is over.” “Washington’s
ports are proud to support this worthwhile project by the members of RE
Sources and community volunteers in making an important contribution to the
health of Puget Sound,” said Washington Public Ports Association
executive director Eric D. Johnson. Port-owned
marinas often have service contracts with private recyclers for collection of
paper, cardboard, bottles and cans.
Throughout the northwest, collected materials are processed by private
recycling companies. Some
recycled products are shipped abroad for manufacture into building materials,
while others remain in the U.S. and are made into a variety of materials. For more
information about the “Pick It Up” program or to volunteer with
this year’s International Coastal Cleanup, contact RE Sources at
360-733-8307 or go online to www.re-sources.org
|
April
2009 Upcoming Events January 12 – April 26
Proposed
Changes to the Federal Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Standards The
International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) has developed a proposal
that could force airports of all sizes to comply with the controversial
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards for Aircraft Rescue and
Fire Fighting (ARFF) at FAR Part 139 Airports. To meet NFPA
standards, airports would be required by the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) to dramatically increase the number of fire fighters at their
facilities without any evidence that additional personnel are actually
necessary. The added operating
costs would be an airport responsibility and in most cases would be several
times the current expense for ARFF services. Most
airports would be required to purchase additional ARFF equipment and expand
existing facilities to house it.
The capital cost for equipment and infrastructure could come from the
FAA’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and/or the Passenger Facility
Charge (PFC) program, however, the ongoing maintenance and operating costs
for new equipment and larger facilities would fall on the airport. A national
survey of 55 airports was conducted in December 2008 and revealed the capital
costs to comply with NFPA standards would range between several thousand
dollars and $33 million with the average capital cost of compliance being
$6.5 million. The same responding
airports also reported that application of NFPA standards would increase
their annual operating cost between $25,000 and $10 million with an average
cost for compliance of $2.5 million per year. Airport Size Number of Responses Large hub 14 Medium hub 13 Small hub 16 Non-hub 12 Airports need to consider their position on efforts to include the IAFF’s proposal as a provision in the next FAA reauthorization bill that is now being considered by Congress and notify their Congressional Representative and State Senators Murray and Cantwell of their position on the proposed legislation as soon as possible. RFP for Marine Debris Research and Technology
Grants
The
Marine Debris Research and Technology Grants Program is a partnership between
the NOAA Marine Debris Program
and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to provide grants to organizations
working on projects to improve our understanding of the impacts of marine
debris on our marine and coastal resources, and to reduce and prevent debris
in our marine environment. Competitive
grants to finance innovative proposals are available to ports and marinas with projects that
create or improve best management practices to decrease the threat of marine
debris to marine life and/or navigation safety. To
apply, submit a pre-proposal via the Foundation's on-line pre-proposal
application by May 8, 2009.
For more information, please contact Tom Barry at tom.barry@nfwf.org or 202-857-0166. Port Employment
Opportunities Harbormaster,
Port of Kingston |
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Ports Association. All rights reserved |
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