TMDL CULTURAL AND NATURAL IMPACTS

June 7 letter to Washington Department of Ecology:

The Wikipedia article Blaine, Washington notes the Semiahmoo people are a portion of the ancestry of Lummi Nation who occupied Semiahmoo Spit as well as the mouth of Dakota and California Creeks on Drayton Harbor for 4,500 years, until being forced to leave by the Alaska Packers Association, which usurped their village site for a salmon cannery. Alaska Packers salmon traps ended the Semiahmoo reef-netting industry at Point Roberts. The present day Semiahmoo Indian Reserve is adjacent to White Rock, British Columbia.

The Drayton Harbor TMDL clean up plan should acknowledge the extensive archeological artifacts of the watershed, as well as the current cultural and natural resources of Lummi Nation, that are impaired by human fecal bacteria pollution--presumably from the mismanagement of sewer and stormwater systems by the City of Blaine, which is consistent with the findings of failing sewers on Cain Creek--a Drayton Harbor tributary, which is slated for salmon recovery by Washington State. 

This municipal pollution will inevitably worsen with the SEPA zoning text amendments to the Blaine Municipal Code, proposed to be adopted June 8, 2026 by the Blaine City Council. These amendments significantly curtail public hearings, public participation, government transparency and accountability. March 9, 2026, Blaine City Council suspended the code for all planning in the Central Business District, on the shore of Drayton Harbor, in order to benefit developers. Hundreds of new condos are planned in this congested area adjacent to Cain Creek and Drayton Harbor. No EIS was done. On March 15, 2025, the Blaine City Council Urban Mixed Use rezone reduced creek setbacks and critical area protections on Cain and Dakota Creeks, salmon-bearing streams in the 303 clean up area.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BLAINE TOXIC COVERUP

2/25/25 letter to City of Blaine : BLAINE TOXIC COVERUP A Town that Never Learns By  Jay Taber Blaine Water Coalition Blaine City Council member  Mike Hill --recently under investigation by the Whatcom County Sheriff's Department for accosting Blaine Water Coalition activist Otto Pointer at the November 12, 2024, city council meeting (Case #24A39027)--has a problem with his plan to develop condos across Peace Portal Drive from his  Chevron  station downtown. In a November 28, 2023,  Hazardous Materials Analysis Report  presented by GeoEngineers to the City of Blaine, Hill's Chevron is listed as a 'high-risk' Department of Ecology site (Cleanup Site ID # 9280) due to confirmed releases of petroleum products--including  Benzene --on and off the property,  contaminating the groundwater  that migrates from the Chevron station under Starbuck's toward  Cain Creek  and  Drayton Harbor . The  Drayton Harbor estuary  is home t...
Read more

GUEST COMMENTARY REJECTED BY CASCADIA DAILY NEWS

The CDN article about the  East Blaine de-annexation  and UGA Swap excludes any mention of the extensively documented Blaine Water Coalition objections we sent to CDN well in advance. I feel this is not fair and balanced coverage. CDN reporter Julia Tellman attended the July 14, 2025 Blaine City Council meeting where as a city council vacancy applicant I introduced myself as a member of the Blaine Water Coalition (BWC) speakers bureau, and provided both an oral and written presentation with alleged legal violations by the city related to the proposed UGA Swap, as well as BWC's legal objections to previous well-documented evidence of City misconduct. Tellman mentioned none of this, nor the fact that I alone was hastily appointed at the meeting to write the voters pamphlet statement against the city-sponsored initiative, despite four additional qualified  ‘Con’  applicants  (important n ote: the City received only one ‘Pro’ Applicant) . . This city attem...
Read more

CARA PROTECTION DISTRICT PROPOSAL

November 24 letter to Whatcom County Council : Protect ing  Blaine and Birch Bay Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas (CARAs) Whatcom County oversees many special purpose districts with taxing authority to meet public needs. A  CARA Protection District  for Blaine and Birch Bay that can purchase the east Blaine and Birch Point CARA properties under county jurisdiction in order to protect our joint public water supply system, reduce flooding, and control urban pollution fits that purpose well.  Combined with improved stormwater management in the Drayton Harbor and Birch Bay watersheds, putting these aquifers in public hands would allow for public health, educational and recreational opportunities within an area beset by luxury, gated, planned unit developments. They could become forested 'greenway parks' as a n oasis from the surrounding chaos. Recommendation Whatcom  County Council   adopt  a  moratorium on  new  development applications...
Read more