Western Front - 2000 July 18

              o> TUESDAY, July 18, 2000
Soecial Collections
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The Western Western Washington University Volume 113 Issue 5 Bellingham, Washington
Pipe to be replaced under middle school
G-P officials plan to halt chlorine use
Citizens question environmental impact of new discharge permit at public forum
Chris Goodenow/The Western Front
Naomi Watkins, a security guard, watches the fenced-off hole near Kulshan Middle School,
under which a section of pipline ran.
Engebretson
recognized for
academic
achievements
By Aaron Jacoby
THE WESTERN FRONT
Western geology professor
David Engebretson was induct­ed
into the Olympic College Hall
of Fame during a ceremony May
19.
Olympic recognized
Engebretson—who attended the
college in the early 1970s—
along with 13 other former stu­dents,
community leaders and
faculty members, for achieve­ments
in academics.
"Mr. Engebretson is a prime
example of the quality of stu­dents
originating from the
state's community colleges and
contributing to the growth in
education of our communities
See PROFESSOR, page 3
By Mike Dashiell
THE WESTERN FRONT
Sixty community members,
government officials and press
members crowded the
Bellingham YWCA Thursday to
discuss a plan to replace 400
feet of petroleum pipe beneath
Kulshan Middle School.
Olympic Pipe Line Co. offi­cials
dug up the pipe on school
grounds last month after finding
a dent along the line. "~
The hour-long meeting
marked the first public appear­ance
by BP Amoco representa­tives,
who took control of
Olympic July 1.
"I will personally make my
pledge to make sure that this
pipeline operates safely," said
Bobby Talley, the new vice pres­ident
and district manager of
Olympic, at Thursday's meeting.
Talley, a 27-year veteran of
pipeline operations, fielded
questions and concerns from
audience members.
"My philosophy is that every­one
(working on the pipeline) is
expected to perform, be held
accountable with respect for
community and the environ­ment,"
Talley said.
Talley listened to family mem­bers
of June 10, 1999 pipeline
explosion victims.
Frank King, father of 10-year-pld
Wade King, who died from
burns suffered in the explosion,
quieted the room with his
words.
"Your industry is nothing but
a pack of professional liars,"
See PIPELINE, page 3
By Travis Phelps
THE WESTERN FRONT
Georgia-Pacific and the
Washington State Department
of Ecology proposed a new five-year
discharge permit for the
paper mill at a public hearing
June 28 at the Port of
Bellingham Harbor Center
Building.
The new discharge permit
requires G-P to discontinue the
use of chlorine in its bleaching
process and switch to chlorine
dioxide and oxygen by
November, G-P Public Relations
Director Orman Darby said.
During the five-hour hearing,
Bellingham citizens raised ques­tions
concerning the monitoring
of G-Fs emissions, air quality
and the use of chlorine dioxide
in its bleaching process, DOE
Communications Manager Joan
Pelley said.
The public hearing follows a
protest by Bellingham citizens
on June 26, when the police
arrested nine people for disor­derly
conduct. Protestors were
concerned about the effects of
chemical discharge in
Bellingham Bay.
"We want our air and water
clean," Ellen Kenna said at the
protest.
The group, calling for a mora­torium
on G-P's discharge per­mit,
blocked one of the plant's
key entries, forcing trucks and
employees to find an alternate
route.
Bellingham Police warned
protesters several times to move
or be arrested, Lieutenant Dae
Jamison said.
"Those who chose to be arrest­ed
were," Jamison said. "Those
Angela D. Smith/The Western Front
Georgia Pacific's chlorine and alkali operations.
who couldn't afford to be arrest­ed
went to the sidewalk."
Darby insisted that G-P
knows of no human health con­cerns
related to the use of the
mill.
He also claimed that using
Chris
Goodenow/
The
Western
Front
Brad
Clements
spent
$36.90 on
89-octane
gas to
fuel his
truck.
Prior to
the hike
prices,
Clements
said he
never
paid more
than $30
to fill his
tank.
Gas prices top off at $1.69
OPEC's plan to increase oil production
could result in lower costs at the pump
By Tim Houssain
THE WESTERN FRONT
Western junior Carmen
Courter relies on her 1998 silver
Saturn to get around
Bellingham, but with gas prices
on the rise she finds it difficult
to spend $15 per week to com­mute.
"When the price of gas rose I
was concerned," Courter said. "I
wouldn't offer to take people
places and got rides when I
could."
In the past two weeks the
price has risen 10 cents, putting
gas at $1.69 per gallon for regu­lar
unleaded.
The cost is 30 cents more than
it was at this time last year.
The increase in price hasnt
affected local gas stations,
Randi Clemenson, a gas atten­dant
at the Samish Way Texaco
said.
Ken Kurcz, also an attendant
at the Samish Way Texaco,
believes the rise in gas prices is
also due to the higher travel
time during the summer.
"People still need to drive, so
business hasn't decreased,"
Clemenson said.
According to an article in the
June 17 issue of The Bellingham
Herald, the increase was caused
by a decrease in oil production
by the OPEC cartel. OPEC is a
group of 11 oil producing coun­tries
that set the standard price
on crude oil
See GAS, page 3
chlorine dioxide for bleaching
purposes is different from chlo­rine.
He contends that the chem­ical
compound is an environ­mentally
safe alternative for the
proposed use.
See G-P, page 3
IN THIS ISSUE
32nd Annual Boys and
Girls Club golf
tournament.
Local golfers combined
efforts and raised $25,000
to support the club.
See story page 7.
Footloose
Dance instructor Jerry
Lesniak
teaches stu­dents
the
'ABCs' of
ballroom
dancing at
the
Bellingham
YWCA.
See page 5.
For news tips, call (360) 650-3162 or e-mail the Western Front at wrront@cc.wwu.edu http://westenifront.wwu.edu