Four the Future - Oil and Methane

Today, methane sector air pollution is increasing, a massive methane leak is finally capped, there's limited information on oil train bridges, but some first responders are receiving new information in Washington.

• Air Pollution from Natural Gas Industry in Pennsylvania on the Rise
  Source: Planetizen; August 27, 2016
  Summary: As methane (natural gas) production increases, so does the amount of pollution this sector of the energy industry creates. This includes sulfur dioxide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). However, this is more than balanced out by improvements in emissions by the switch to natural gas from coal.
  Opinion: I've addressed fracking in the Marcellus Shale in the past. Lately, the EPA is moving to tighten methane emissions standards in the oil sector, where methane emission is a byproduct of oil production. There has been increased interest in regulation of fuel production at more than just the federal level....


• New oil train rule will give emergency responders advance notice of shipments
  Source: Spokesman-Review; August 26, 2016
  Summary: Beginning in October, the State of Washington's emergency responders will receive notice of crude oil shipments through their communities.
  Opinion: Ecology's has set up a webpage concerning the new rule on the Oil Movement by Rail and Pipeline Notification web page. It is critical for public safety that the first responders have the information they need to manage an emergency situation.


• California Declares State Of Emergency Over Months-Long Gas Leak
  Source: National Public Radio; January 7, 2016
  Summary: Methane was leaking in Southern California for months by the time of this article (which includes an audio story and video of the leak). The leak was originally detected on October 23, 2015. The operator stated that they finally stopped the leak on February 11, 2016.
  Opinion: Methane is an odorless, colorless gas, but the article contains great video of what the leak actually looks like through an infrared camera. People had been driven from their homes due to the odor (the hydrogen sulfide added by utility companies) and cases of nausea.


• Railroads keep most bridge inspection data secret
  Source: Spokesman-Review; September 5, 2016
  Summary: Federal law requires that railroads provide information on their bridges to local governments, but the information provided is limited. The bridges are inspected by the railroads based on the railroads "strong financial incentives" to keep them functional. Some of the bridges look unsafe, but what the bridges look like isn't important, just whether the bridge is safe or not.
  Opinion: While it's probably true that the bridges' appearance isn't telling, the fact that the railroads won't explain how they are evaluating the bridges is telling. These organizations are dismissive of the public. They believe they're above examination. After events like the recent oil train derailment in Mosier, Oregon, they're going to find that the harder they resist input from the public, the harder the push back will be. They're almost guaranteeing that the hammer will come down harder on them in the end.

Four the Future - December 20

The current controversy over the construction of a new Spokane County Jail.

• King County faces glut of jail space
  Source: Seattle Times; December 8, 2010
  Summary: King County has such a large a glut of space in their jail that they are reducing their per inmate fees to the cities in order to stay competitive. This is despite increasing costs.
  
  
  In addition, there are several cities in south King County which are considering the construction of another jail. The council is considering a reduction in the corrections workforce, but the last time the King County Council reduced the number of corrections officers, their union sponsored an initiative to reduce the number of county council members to 9 from 13. If the number of inmates continues to decrease, they will consider closing the Kent jail.
  
• Medical Lake site chosen for jail in 2-1 vote
  Source: Spokesman-Review; September 29, 2010
  Summary: Spokane County Commissioners voted 2-1 (Mielke and Richard in favor, Mager opposed) to adopt the "Medical Lake" site for the new county jail and voted, by the same margin, to declare an emergency to exempt the necessary land use change from the normal comprehensive plan amendment schedule. The site at the I-90 Medical Lake exit was chosen despite two consecutive studies that recommended a site near the county courthouse. Operational costs at the downtown site are lower due to transportation costs. The comprehensive plan will still need to be amended to allow the jail at that location. Sheriff Knezovich said that the downtown jail is overcrowded and the Geiger Corrections Center is unsafe. Spokane County laid off 67 corrections officers this summer due to a reduction in inmate population. Spokane County Commissioners have scheduled a ballot measure for April to raise taxes to build the jail. A group called "No New Jail Project" has been formed to oppose it.
  Opinion: The first time the recommendation favored the downtown site, the same county commissioners (Mielke and Richard) didn't like it. So, they ordered a new study so they could get an answer they liked. But, the second study said the same thing: build it adjacent to the county courthouse. The are significant advantages to having the jail near the courthouse that can't be swept away by simply doing a new study. Not only is it better for transportation issues, but for providing services to the people who are being incarcerated and their families. Also, for those who are not incarcerated but can benefit from the same kinds of family- and community-centered services, having a downtown location is better for them as well.
  
• Jail site choice a crime
  Source: Spokesman-Review; December 16, 2010
  Summary: A letter to the editor by Bart Haggin. The jail shouldn’t be placed out on the West Plains. The transportation costs will be huge. Better, yet, don’t build it at all because "building more jails and prisons to prevent crime is like loosening your belt to prevent obesity."
  Opinion: Since transportation costs escalate faster than general inflation, and the indirect costs of sprawl is also well understood (after all, this new jail will need sewer and water services and new roads, etc.), the 40-year ROI that Mielke and Richard cites is actually not anywhere near that long. In the final calculation, Mielke and Richard are seeking the more expensive option.
  
• County Jail Populations Drop: So What Should We Do?
  Source: American Civil Liberties Union of Washington; December 14, 2010
  Summary: While several King County cities are considering the construction of a new jail and Spokane County will be asking for funding for a new jail in spring 2011, jail populations are going down and jails are experiencing a glut of space. The lessons here are: 1) population forecasts are unreliable, and are determined by policy changes not societal factors; 2) crime rates have been going down for decades, but populations have increased despite it; 3) alternatives to incarceration are working, so investments should be in rehabilitation programs, not new jails.
  Opinion: No one claims to know why there is a drop, but it's acknowledged that a large part is the increased use of rehabilitative programs, rather than merely storage of offenders in little boxes where they can turn bitter and learn the more advanced skills they could not out on the streets. It is easy to conceptualize that separating people from society makes them less connected to society, and less concerned about society's welfare. Keeping them with their families and in society could, for those who can be rehabilitated, reduce recidivism. Ironically, recent cuts reduced the alternatives program in Spokane County. So, who knows, perhaps the Spokane County Commissioners will increase crime enough to need the jail after all.
  

Four the Future - December 17

Today: Housing, casinos, panhandling, and community organizing. Theme? We don't need no stinkin' theme....

• U.S. Home Prices Face 3-Year Drop as Inventory Surge Looms
  Source: Bloomberg; September 15, 2010
  Summary: After the exuberant homebuilding over the past decade and the foreclosure crisis, the nation is facing a much larger inventory of housing than is necessary to house the population. Homebuyers sense that there’s too much inventory, and seem to be waiting for prices to keep coming down. The median price of a previously owned home is $182,600, equivalent to 2003 levels. Analysts are predicting a further price drop of 5% to up to 15%. In Nevada, 68% of homes were "underwater," or more money was owed on the mortgage than the house was worth.
  Opinion: Investing in sprawl real estate is a losing deal for multiple reasons. In addition to falling property values, the governments don’t have enough resources to provide services, either. Looks like it wasn't sustainable. The communities which bought into it weren't resilient enough to retain their value.
• Proposed Airway Heights Casino could have national implications
  Source: Indian Country Today; October 6, 2010
  Summary: Tribes are permitted to build casinos off of their reservations provided that there is some reason why the reservation itself is unable to host a casino. In the case of the Kalispel Tribe, a casino was built in Airway Heights, Washington, because their reservation "located on a flood plain with no potable water" met the criteria. The Kalispel is now arguing that the Spokane Tribe, whose aboriginal land the City of Airway Heights now sits, should not be permitted to build there, too, because the Spokane reservation is larger and already supports multiple casinos. According to Kalispel Tribal Business Council member Nick Pierre, "If a purely market driven desire becomes an approved exception to federal law regulating where a casino can be built, it will become a dangerous model for our communities and our tribes."
  Opinion: Echoes of European treatment of the tribal communities that preceded them. As tribes rightfully begin to assert their inherent sovereignty, there will be more and more issues like these. A great deal of work will need to be done to resolve these issues, and good strategic, communicative, and potentially advocate planning must have a major role in it.
• Millwood officials report sharp rise in panhandling
  Source: Spokesman-Review; October 16, 2010
  Summary: Spokane Valley passed a panhandling law. Now neighboring Millwood is experiencing a sharp increase. They are not sure what they are going to do about it, or even if it is a long term issue.
  Opinion: Spokane Valley’s ordinance doesn’t go to the root of the problem (poverty, joblessness, etc.) so it could not be expected to have done anything except move the problem. You can’t solve problems by treating the symptoms. You need to treat the disease.
• Neighbor group sues over parking lot
  Source: Spokesman-Review; December 16, 2010
  Summary: Families of Manito has appealed the hearings examiner’s decision to allow the construction of a larger parking lot for St. Mark’s Lutheran Church.
  Opinion: There is something going on in this area of the city where community members are taking on developments and the city. They community around Manito Park has already elected a couple of city council members due to its members networking activity. Whether you think there should be greater parking in this area or not, the existence of ongoing community activity is remarkable.

Ponderosa Neighborhood Appeal Successful

Yesterday, the Washington Court of Appeals ruled that a proposed subdivision adjacent to the Ponderosa neighborhood in Spokane Valley is a potential safety hazard in the event of a wildfire, making it subject to an environmental impact statement.

This case is full of twists and turns. The City of Spokane Valley issued a mitigated determination of nonsignificance (MDNS) in approving a preliminary plat in March 2007 on the hillside above the Ponderosa neighborhood. (An MDNS says that there are some things that a developer must do--in this case, preserving any archeological sites--to gain approval for the project.) This approval was appealed by the Ponderosa Neighborhood Association (PNA) on the grounds that Ponderosa is a high fire danger area, and additional housing units on the east side of Browne's Mountain would add traffic to an area which has insufficient evacuation routes.

The hearings examiner, Michael Dempsey, received testimony from the developer's traffic engineer that evacuation was not a problem, even under the worst-case scenario. However, the hearings examiner performed his own statistical analysis and under the same conditions and found that, in fact, the evaluation was performed under ideal conditions: that there were no stalled cars, no fallen trees, and no smoke near a major fire. He concluded as a matter of fact that 20 percent of the existing residents, and none of the new residents, could escape within a 30-minute time frame. The hearings examiner directed the city to perform an environmental impact statement.

The hearings examiner reasoned that, "Preparation of an EIS [environmental impact statement] for the project would allow for consultation with local law enforcement, fire districts and emergency planning authorities regarding an evacuation plan for the Ponderosa, the search for and the feasibility of a third (3) public access, consideration of the various wildfire scenarios in the Ponderosa, and the exploration of other strategies to evacuation in wildfire events that may have merit in the Ponderosa area." He also stated that a similar EIS was performed for a similar development and was successful.

Lanzce Douglass, the developer, appealed the hearing examiner's ruling to superior court. Amongst the arguments were: there is no legal basis for a 30-minute time frame, and that, even if it were the case, there was an existing deficiency that he was not responsible for fixing. He concluded that the hearings examiner had improperly denied the plat. Superior court agreed with Douglass.

However, the PNA appealed this ruling stating that the plat had not been denied, merely sent back to the City for an EIS. The court also found that while the 30-minute standard was mentioned in the hearing examiner's ruling, it was not applied as a matter of law, but as a matter of fact. This fact was used to determine that there was a probable environmental impact of the development. This is the standard by which an EIS is deemed necessary.

Additionally, the court found that the plat was not conditioned upon improvement of an existing deficiency. Cumulative traffic impacts are precisely the kind of issue analyzed by an EIS. Consequently, the appellate court overturned the superior court and agreed with the PNA.

Four the future - December 15

In this edition: Spokane County emergency calls, downtown Spokane parking, Turnbull expansion, and West Plains annexation.

• County testing 'reverse 911'
  Source: Spokesman, 091215
  Summary: Spokane County has a new system which allows them to make automated phone calls to an area in the event of an emergency.
  Opinion: This would have been more useful in the past, when cell phones were a minor part of the communications infrastructure. Younger residents, who tend not to have landlines, will be excluded from this entirely unless they sign up. But, of course, if you needed to sign up, you wouldn't need this system. Since you can't make it useful by reaching everyone, perhaps it could achieve greater market penetration by being for more than just public safety: when there's a public hearing on planning issues in your neighborhood, for instance. Then, it can be more useful, and reach those who otherwise wouldn't be protected. Anyway, I don't think this system will be long for this world simply because the world will move on.


• Tuesday Morning Quarterback
  Source: Spokane Councilmember Jon Snyder, 091215
  Summary: The new plan for downtown Spokane ("Fast Forward Spokane") proposed a ban on stand alone surface parking lots. It was the most controversial issue of the evening but passes 4-3. French, McLaughlin, and Apple voted to remove the ban. Snyder, Corker, Rush and Shogan voted to sustain it.
  Opinion: This ban was a long time in coming. One of the more tragic things that has happened across America was the "suburbanization of downtown." Other cities have moved to reverse it and have been handsomely rewarded. This was an excellent move toward strengthening downtown Spokane. Just a few days ago, this might not have happened. This is the new coalition coming into its own. With the addition of Waldref to replace French, Spokane might actually have a council that cares about the neighborhoods and downtown all at the same time. How refreshing!


• Federal budget allots $1.5 million to expand Turnbull refuge
  Source: Spokesman, 091217
  Summary: The federal government has allocated $1.5 million for property acquisitions near Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. It is intended to purchase about 500 acres of the 12,000 acres identified as priorities. Turnbull's wetlands is threatened by nearby residential wells which lower the water table and phosphorus from septic systems which cause algae blooms. There has been increasing public awareness of Turnbull's ecological importance. The history is described.
  Opinion: First, wetlands can't be moved, and certainly not ones of this magnitude. There are geological reasons why one place is a wetland and another is not. Second, the Federal government should have a partner in Spokane County, but without cash consequences associated with the expansion of the urban growth boundary, critical lands will continue to be lost. Third, good on the feds to recognize Turnbull's importance. I've been working on a project in Cheney which might help increase public awareness even more in a way that will improve Cheney's economy as well. It's no coincidence that green is the color of nature and money.


• Annex This!
  Source: Inlander, 091217
  Summary: The article itself is a summary of the maze of deals between Spokane County, the City of Spokane, the City of Airway Heights, and Fire District 10 for the annexation of the West Plains. However, the map and article don't seem to be on the web site.
  Opinion: Spokane County better get its house in order. Its long term failure to correct the balance between its revenues and expenses bit them before. It got its first warning in 2001 with the incorporation of Liberty Lake, then a stern rebuke with the incorporation of Spokane Valley in 2003. In two years it will get worse with the loss of the airport and its environs. Next up: the North Spokane Urban Growth Area.