Taylor Shellfish Mussel Farm Update: APHETI to Appeal Shorelines Hearings Board Decision

APHETI To Appeal Shorelines Hearings Board

Decision to Reverse Thurston County's Denial of

Taylor Shellfish's Permit Application for

58 Raft Mussel Farm in Totten Inlet

(see APHETI announcement

at the end of this posting)

 

You can help support APHETI's appeal to Superior Court by donating to:

 

APHETI (as a registered 501(c)3 organization donations are tax deductible)

PO Box 11423

Olympia, WA 98508-1523

Phone: 360-866-0218

Email: apheti@gmail.com

Web Site: www.apheti.com

 

Buying up Puget Sound's

Natural Ecosystem

One Tideland Acre at a Time

 

Shellfish Industry's Vision for South Puget Sound

In January of 2012 the Senate Environment Committee heard what the vision for south Puget Sound was, clearly articulated by Jim Gibbons with Seattle Shellfish. In that testimony he told them that compared to south Puget Sound's production of 20 million pounds of commercial shellfish, Spain produced, in the same area of south Puget Sound, over 600 million pounds. His excitement over the amount of nitrogen removed was difficult for him to contain.

 

"Imagine the Nitrogen Removed"

Is this what Puget Sound needs?

(shellfish farming in France)

 

More than Nitrogen is Removed

However, as Thurston County's hearing examiner clearly recognized in the denial of Taylor's permit, the problem with "the vision" described by Mr. Gibbons - reflected in part in the mussel farm proposal - is commercial shellfish operations bring with them more than removal of a miniscule amount of nitrogen (estimated at ~1% of the total weight harvested). That nitrogen is removed as shellfish filter and feed on plankton needed by native species in Puget Sound, ejecting feces and pseudo-feces in a concentrated area which are consumed by bacteria, further lowering levels of dissolved oxygen in the area. To the point of why the permit was denied, you can no longer look at a single event (one mussel farm) within a larger system and ignore everything else which is occurring. Specific to shellfish, as anyone who is aware of the impact which nitrogen has on a body of water knows, none of the fresh water systems now safe and healthy were made so by shellfish. It was through controlling the inputs into those systems. In Puget Sound, it is the political pressures from the shellfish industry regulating what goes into Puget Sound which helps makes the waters healthy, not shellfish. 

 

CO2 in a Bottle -> CO2 in the Ocean ->

Lower pH (acidification) -> Shellfish Industry Crisis

(from Shallin Busch at The Evergreen State College)

 

Ocean Acidification, the Shellfish Industry, and Beyond

As is currently being heard throughout the country, but especially in Washington state, there is a crisis in the shellfish industry, caused by what is commonly referred to as "ocean acidification." From the breakdown of CO2 in the Pacific Ocean comes the lowering of pH levels ("acidification"), which in turn breaks down the element needed for calcification - carbonate ions. This reduction has resulted in hatcheries having had a near collapse in their oyster seed production as larvae become stressed, unable to produce shell. As more energy is used to create shell, they become more vulnerable to other external stressors, such as Vibrio tubiashii. Through "buffering" and choosing when to draw in water, production has risen, but the drop in carbonate ions remains, made less so by intensive shellfish farming.

 

These ions are needed by all species - whether native shellfish or any other species which require calcification. Through harvesting the shellfish grown, in many cases non-native species, those limited ions used to create shells are removed from the system and do not return, removing any "buffering" which occurs in a natural system.

 

Washington will Lead - Where?

In response to the shellfish industry's crisis created from CO2 emissions the Washington Shellfish Initiative was created, wrapped within the belief that by so doing will show the nation "Washington will lead" in addressing excessive CO2 emissions. [Skipped over is how allowing coal terminals to export hundreds of millions of tons of coal to Asia affects the perception of just what "leadership" there really is.] In that leadership role is a proposal to "streamline" permitting in order to facilitate the expansion Mr. Gibbons and others in the shellfish industry desire.

 

Cumulative Impacts Cannot be Ignored

To date, industry attorneys have successfully argued that current regulations cannot look beyond the myopic vision of "one farm at a time." Thurston County's denial of Taylor's permit was the first significant acknowledgement that in fact cumulative impacts have to be considered. While Taylor argues that over $1 million in studies have been done, in part funded by taxpayer dollars, having a big report does not mean it is correct and that cumulative impacts should be ignored. For this reason and others, APHETI has chosen to appeal the SHB decision. Further, it disagrees strongly with Taylor Shellfish now attempting to create their own monitoring plan through the SHB instead of Thurston County as the added condition required. More importantly, if additional monitoring is in fact needed, then it should be designed around existing operations. It is why the permit was denied in the first place.

 

The Shoreline Management Act

The Shoreline Management Act defines its shorelines as "the most valuable and fragile of its natural resources" and is in place "to prevent the inherent harm in an uncoordinated and piecemeal development of the state's shorelines." (RCW 90.58.020)  It is not in place to promote an industry's expansion and use of any methods it chooses simply because in 1971 it was considered one of the uses of Washington's "most valuable" resources. Shellfish farming is no longer Grandpa Taylor's oyster farm.

 

APHETI STATEMENT ON THE SHORELINES HEARINGS BOARD DECISION

-APHETI-

Association for the Protection of

Hammersley, Eld, & Totten Inlets

PO BOX 11523

Olympia WA 98508-1523    

Phone: (360) - 866 - 0218

Email: apheti@gmail.com     

 

June 28, 2013

RE:  State Shoreline Hearings Board (SHB) decision

Greetings APHETI Members and Supporters -

The SHB met on April 22, 2013 to hear Taylor's appeal to overturn Thurston County's denial of Taylor's application to expand aquaculture of non-native mussels in Totten Inlet.  The basis of the denial was that Taylor's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) lacked sufficient study on cumulative impacts.   

The SHB issued its decision on June 17, 2013 – overturning Thurston County's denial of Taylor's permit application – see APHETI's website www.apheti.com.  This is disappointing but not surprising.  The SHB has a historical bias of siding with the commercial aquaculture industry.  We have learned the future Puget Sound wide plan of the aquaculture industry is to use suspension aquaculture (rafts) to grow not only mussels but all other forms of shellfish - clams, oysters, scallops, sea urchins, etc.

The bottom line – unless each one of us does all we can to stop this NOW, Taylor has a green light to put 58 more mussel rafts in Totten Inlet – AND – open the door for the aquaculture industry to put more rafts not only in Totten Inlet but throughout all of South Puget Sound!  Hundreds of raft type aquaculture operations could easily develop in Eld, Budd, and Henderson Inlets and the Nisqually Reach areas of Thurston County and Hammersley, Carr, and Case Inlets in Mason and Pierce Counties.  

APHETI attorney, David Mann, says this of the SHB decision - 

“I continue to believe the SHB got it wrong on Benthic impacts, dissolved oxygen, Gallo mussels and cumulative impacts. The only way they could get to their answer was to ignore entirely our legal arguments, our cross examination, and the multiple holes in the analysis.” 

“Frankly I believe all of the issues the Examiner raised and we defended before the SHB are worthy of appeal. It will be an uphill fight, but it is by no means a slam-dunk against us.” 

APHETI intends to appeal the SHB decision to Superior Court.  This will require substantial financial resources.  Your help is needed.  Previously, we asked for your financial contribution to support this coming appeal and some have responded most generously – THANK YOU!  Additional resources are needed though.  If you have not yet considered making a contribution please do so now for without your support APHETI's appeal may not be possible.  

APHETI is an IRS registered non-profit charitable organization.  Contributions may be tax deductible and all are acknowledged in writing.  The identity of all donors is kept strictly confidential.  Please use the enclosed pre-addressed envelope to mail your contribution to APHETI or use APHETI, PO Box 11523, Olympia, WA 98508-1523 if you are receiving this communication via e-mail.  

As always, please feel welcome to contact APHETI (360/ 866-0218) with any questions you may have.  We again, Thank You! for your continued support.  

APHETI Board of Directors

Shellfish Alchemy: Turning CO2 into Nitrogen

In December of 2011, after Bill Dewey with Taylor Shellfish commented on Govenor Gregoire having been "dressed down" by the shellfish industry for not acting on water pollution, the Governor announced the Washington Shellfish Initiative, including the formation of a "Blue Ribbon Panel" to address ocean acidification. [click here for Bill Dewey's comment] Due to the deep sea upwellings of low pH ("acidic") waters, the "natural" sets of non-native Pacific oysters in Willapa Bay have ceased and hatcheries have seen their production rates of this genetically modified non-native species of oyster drop dramatically.

Taylor Shellfish Hatchery

Dabob Bay, Hood Canal

Taylor changed their source of water to a deeper level

where typically lower pH (more acidic)

waters exist. How this helped is unclear.

 

Since March of this year the "Blue Ribbon Panel" has been meeting to determine what can be done to address CO2 and the lowering pH levels, with increasing focus on assistance for the shellfish industry. So much so that panel members have expressed varying concerns. Some are concerned of the perception that this significant effort in time and money is only for the benefit of the shellfish industry. Some question whether it is appropriate to focus on problems a non-native genetically modified (triploid) oyster has with lowering pH levels [click here for a study showing how different varieties of oyster have little trouble with lower pH levels]. Finally, some question whether the "alchametic" change in focus from CO2 to nitrogen is appropriate and whether deep sea upwellings will overwhelm any attempts made at the local level, whether it be CO2 or nitrogen. While these and other questions are appropriate, the evolving focus on whether local sources of nitrogen is the cause of lowering pH levels may be most appropriate.

There is no question CO2 is altering the world we live in. It can be clearly linked to rising temperatures and the lowering pH levels. Not so easily linked is how nitrogen decreases pH levels, and if it does, whether the local sources of nitrogen are even significant. The shellfish industry would certainly have us believe human activities along Puget Sound's shoreline are the primary source, perhaps best reflected in a sentence from an article by Jim Gibbons, owner of Seattle Shellfish: Excessive nutrients largely come from human activities that generate nitrogen, including broken or undersized septic systems, lawn fertilizers, storm water runoff, farm runoff, and pet wastes. (South Sound Green Pages, 2008) (Note: Jim Gibbons also testified before state legislators of his consideration to sue the state over "excess nitrogen.")

A matter of scale: Satellite image of the

annual algal bloom off Washington's coast.

Nutrient source: deep sea waters. When combined

with warming temperatures, large blooms result.

Algae is both a food source and absorbs CO2. Is that bad?



It appears, however, humans being the primary source of nitrogen in Puget Sound's Hood Canal is not the case. A September 14, 2012, report from the EPA and the Department of Ecology "...concluded that human sources of nitrogen contributing to low-oxygen events in the mainstem of Hood Canal were "insignificant," while evidence linking humans to oxygen problems in the more troubled area near the canal's end in Lynch Cove "is not strong."
"The overwhelming causes of fish kills, the agencies concluded, are the geography of the canal and ocean conditions." (Seattle Times, September 18, 2012)

There is little question the shellfish industry has both created the "Blue Ribbon Panel" and has moved the focus from CO2 emissions to nutrient reduction, specifically nitrogen. So doing now runs the risk of deflating the balloon which may have helped lift awareness of excess CO2 emissions and its impact. If it is perceived the majority of actions recommended only address the problems a non-native and genetically modified oyster is having in adapting to conditions which other shellfish are not having, an opportunity will have been lost, and a great deal of time and money will have been lost. The scientists and committee members are all intelligent enough to know you cannot turn lead into gold. It is unlikely CO2 can be turned into nitrogen.

IMPORTANT PUBLIC NOTICE: TAYLOR SHELLFISH WASTE DISCHARGE PERMIT

Aerial Photograph of Taylor's

Processing Facility and Waste Discharge Areas

(click on photo to enlarge)

Comments are due by August 2, 2012
email to - carey.cholski@ecy.wa.gov, referencing Permit ST 6157
Click here for Fact Sheet
Click here for Draft Permit

Taylor Shellfish has applied for a State Waste Discharge Permit for industrial waste water from their Shelton processing plant. Waste water volumes in 2011as high as 180,492 gallons per day were allowed under the previous permit which expired June 30 of this year. In April 2010, the monthly volume averaged 160,821 gallons per day. In July of 2007 the Department of Ecology stated the average over a seven year period was 150,000 gallons per day.

Despite Taylor Shellfish's claims of increasing demand; a pending permit for a mussel farm adding more than 1 million pounds to production; reports of increasing nitrogen in Puget Sound (shellfish contain ~30% seawater by volume); and the shellfish initiative potentially adding large numbers of acres for production, assumptions in the current Draft Permit and Fact Sheet assume no increase in volume.

Groundwater Flows Into

Little Skookum Inlet

(from page 7 of the July 2007 Fact Sheet)

(click to enlarge)

As described in the fact sheet, the upper layer of groundwater is separated from the deeper aquifer by a layer of clay like material. This results in the upper layer of soil becoming saturated during wet months which flows downgradient and exits into Little Skookum Inlet through adjacent streams and seeps. Downgradient seeps measured by Taylor indicate Nitrate/Nitrite levels which range from 2 mg/L to 5 mg/L, an order of magnitude higher than normal background levels, typically lower than 1mg/L. On page 5 of the fact sheet Taylor reports background aquifer levels of nitrate to be .72 mg/L; Sodium to be 4.09 mg/L; total dissolved solids to be 77 mg/L; and chloride to be 4.1 mg/L. (Note: There appears to be no background levels established for the upper level of groundwater.)

From the chart above, it would appear that as saturation levels rise and downgradient flows increase during the wet winter months so too do the various levels of components within the waste water being discharged (sodium, nitrate, total dissolved solids, and chloride). All downgradient levels are well above the background levels submitted by Taylor (see page 5 of the Fact Sheet). Taylor's report states the increased levels cannot be tied to their waste water discharge. What is the cause?

Why does the increase in nitrate/nitrite levels matter? In the water quality report recently submitted to the EPA the Department of Ecology noted one area in Totten Inlet which is considered to be "polluted" due to low dissolved oxygen levels not attributable to natural conditions: the mouth of Little Skookum Inlet.

Little Skookum Inlet

The Only Low Dissolved Oxygen Area

In Totten Inlet

While there are many causes of low dissolved oxygen, algae blooms feeding off of anthropogenic sources of nitrates and nitrites are felt to be a primary cause. While Taylor's mussel farm to the south may play a role, so too may Taylor's waste water discharge draining into Little Skookum Inlet. Either way, cumulative impacts from shellfish farming do have an impact on the water quality of Puget Sound which agencies need to consider in their permitting decisions.

(Note: The waste water discharge permit for Taylor Shellfish's Samish Bay facility which expired June 28, 2012, has avoided public comment through Ecology's administrative extension of the current permit for another five years. See extension letter here.)

Comments are due by August 2, 2012
Comments should be sent to:
Carey Cholski
Department of Ecology
Southwest Regional Office
P.O. Box 47775
Olympia, WA 98504-7775
E-mail comments should be sent to carey.cholski@ecy.wa.gov