Palisades water supply cleared for drinking as Bass touts speed of fire recovery
The "do not drink" notice will be lifted Friday, the two-month anniversary of the deadly Palisades fire, after engineers and experts at the L.A. Department of Water and Power confirmed the absence of contaminants in the water supply.
Bass credited DWP crews for working seven days a week to restore and flush out toxic substances from the water supply, drawing a comparison to the November 2018 wildfire in Paradise, where the do-not-drink advisory remained in place until May 2020.
"In the tragic Camp Fire, it took 18 months. It was done here in two," Bass said at a news conference at Palisades Recreation Center. "I'm committed to rebuilding this community at lightning speed."
Janisse Quiñones, chief engineer and chief executive of DWP, said that before using water Friday, residents and businesses in the Palisades should flush their systems for at least 10 minutes, turning on all spigots, showers and faucets. Customers will receive a $50 credit on their next bill, "so you don't have to worry about the cost of running water," Quiñones said.
Read more: Inside the battle to restore drinking water in Altadena and Pacific Palisades
"We flushed the system all the way to the meter," said Quiñones, who called on residents to finish the flushing process inside their homes and eliminate any remaining contaminants. "Once you flush it and the water comes clear inside your structure, we know the water from the meter is clean — so you should be good."
Residents and businesses will be able to drink, shower and cook with the water as they had prior to the wildfire.
At the Palisades Recreation Center, Bass and city officials also highlighted progress in the recovery efforts since the Jan. 7 blaze, which destroyed thousands of homes and killed 12 people. Noting that the Environmental Protection Agency completed debris removal last week in a third of the time originally projected, Bass said that 60 properties were now in Phase Three — the permitting and rebuilding process.
Bass thanked the Trump administration for providing the staff and resources "to move so quickly."
Both Bass and the DWP chief reiterated their commitment to "undergrounding" power lines in the Palisades. Parts of the Palisades — including the Highlands and some streets in Castellammare — already had underground power lines. DWP engineers began planning the move about a week after the Jan. 7 fire broke out and have so far designed 4,000 feet of new underground lines that are now "ready for construction," Quiñones said.
Read more: What — or who — started the Palisades fire? Two leading theories emerge as investigation intensifies
"The goal is to have all of Palisades with new underground infrastructure, power infrastructure," Quiñones said.
Underground lines are protected from wind, falling branches and lightning, reducing the risk of sparking a wildfire.
DWP plans to place underground the 80 miles of electric lines across the Palisades area, a process that can take several years. Each mile of subterranean electric line can cost from $1 million to $4 million, and Quiñones said the utility was assessing how to finance the overall installation.
Meanwhile, Quiñones said, the utility has rebuilt distribution systems and replaced 800 power poles to restore electricity to nearly every customer.
As of Thursday, 143 customers in "hard to reach areas" of the hilly, coastal neighborhood remained without power, Quiñones said.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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3 hours ago
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WSF boats are going hybrid, but disposal of old ones poses environmental, legal risks
An abandoned former Washington state ferry, the Olympic, rests slanted on a shoreline off Ketron Island, in southern Puget Sound. Aboard, flakes of corroded steel and other debris scatter across the floors, graffiti lines the walls, and at high tide, water pours over the deck. Rust has crept over its forest green paint, the signature color of Washington State Ferries. Some 25 years ago, the Olympic sold for $71,000 at a state surplus auction. Years later, it sold again. This time, allegedly, on eBay. The ferry has been beached for 15 years, and it's not likely to be removed anytime soon. At 206 feet, it surpasses what Washington's Derelict Vessel Removal Program is permitted to remove. Plus, it's on private property, making the legal custody process tedious and with no guarantees. The ship's owner hasn't removed the ferry although he told state officials he would. 'This one you'll be looking at for a long time,' says Troy Wood, manager of the vessel removal program. Earlier this year, Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a $714.5 million contract to construct three new hybrid-electric ferries by 2030. The contract made headlines over Ferguson's controversial decision to hire a Florida shipbuilding company. But for state transportation officials, the construction of new ferries presents them with another difficult choice: What should they do with the old ones? If all follows schedule, the state will have on hand 16 newly constructed hybrid-electric ferries in about 15 years as it moves to replace its diesel-powered fleet by 2040. Washington's efforts to eliminate the largest source of carbon emissions among state agencies calls into question whether the old ferries will go on to pollute marine waterways in Washington or elsewhere. Related: Washington's first battery ferry ready to enter service in July Selling them in a public auction risks future abandonment that could harm the marine biome. Transporting them to another facility without prior and proper cleanup could violate the Toxic Substances Control Act, an Environmental Protection Agency-enforced law. Sending them to a shipbreaking facility in Brownsville, Texas — the nearest one — could cost nearly $1 million for transportation alone. Washington isn't alone in its surplus of aging ships. Older ships, constructed with now-banned materials, don't have a place on the West Coast to be dismantled sustainably and responsibly. The absence of safe disposal methods leaves owners of ships across the U.S. West Coast and British Columbia muddled in a logistical, financial and legal dilemma. Recently, Washington has tried to sell two other retired ferries to Adelca, an Ecuadorian steel manufacturing and recycling company that paid $200,000 last year for both vessels, the Klahowya and the Elwha, decommissioned in 2017 and 2020 respectively. But that, too, has proved controversial. Hazardous waste treaties designed to protect workers in developing nations from toxic chemical exposures govern international borders. Last fall, Adelca contracted a shipping company to transport the vessels, but when they tried, the towline broke before a ferry could be taken out of Elliot Bay. Later, allegations arose that the crew lived in poor working conditions. Adelca did not respond to a message from InvestigateWest seeking comment for this article. State officials cited these issues as reasons to halt the ferry sale until Adelca submits a new towing plan that's green-lighted by the Coast Guard, the U.S. Maritime Administration and other state agencies. But if another buyer can offer a bid before then, the ferries could go to them instead, said John Vezina, deputy assistant secretary of Washington State Ferries. The state does not want future ferries to end up like the Olympic. 'We don't want them on a Washington beach, Oregon beach, California beach, Mexican beach,' Vezina said. 'We need to make sure they can get to Ecuador.' International ship recycling advocacy groups say if Washington does transport the ferries to Ecuador, it could be violating the Toxic Substances Control Act, leaving the door open for potential financial penalties, civil and even criminal liability — if proven it knowingly violated the law. 'If you use and profit from an asset for decades, the least you can do is make sure that it reaches the end of its life in a proper way without creating human and environmental costs,' said Nicola Mulinaris, senior communications and policy adviser for NGO Shipbreaking Platform, a coalition of organizations that advocate for ship recycling worldwide in hopes to end exploitative occupational practices in countries like India and Pakistan. Potential legal liabilities The Toxic Substances Control Act is triggered when ships containing concentrations of 50 parts per million or more of a now banned chemical called polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs, are transported out of the country. These can appear in paint, electrical cabling, rubber sealing material and caulk. The U.S. banned PCBs in 1979. Ships made before then, like the Elwha and Klahowya, are likely to contain them, according to James Aidala, former assistant administrator of the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention and now a regulatory expert at Bergeson & Campbell law firm. Prior to transportation, the act encourages ship owners to collect paint, surface, liquid, insulation and cable samples to determine if PCBs are present. The act mandates that PCBs onboard not exceed the 50 parts per million threshold. PCBs are classified as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Washington State Ferries contracted a third-party company to test for PCBs. In testing surface and paint samples, it found the PCBs did not surpass 50 parts per million. But one watchdog group has also expressed concern that sales to developing countries like Ecuador go against a United Nations treaty called the Basel Convention, which is designed to prohibit the transport of hazardous materials from developed to developing countries and to minimize such hazardous exposures to people and ecosystems. Last fall, the Basel Action Network, a group that advocates for Basel Convention compliance, urged the Washington State Department of Transportation to reconsider its sale of the Elwha and Klahowya ferries to Adelca after reviewing hundreds of pages of the state's inspection surveys for the vessels. 'It does not appear that the ex-ferries Elwha and Klahowya were sufficiently tested to determine whether they contain hazardous wastes on board or if they trigger the 50 ppm PCB export ban found in' the Toxic Substances Control Act, wrote the Action Network's executive director Jim Puckett to Washington State Ferries in an October 2024 letter obtained by InvestigateWest. According to the inspections, the Elwha and the Klahowya contained 1,500 and 500 gallons, respectively, of 'miscellaneous lubes.' Puckett said these lubricants are considered hazardous materials under Basel. If the transport of the ferries does occur, the Action Network says Washington could inadvertently leave Ecuador as the party to violate the Basel Convention. The United States is not a party to Basel, but Ecuador, like 190 other countries, is. 'Even if WSF was 100% confident that a ship did not contain hazardous materials that would trigger Basel, WSF still needs to be extremely careful not to send ships to a ship scrapper engaging in exploitative and dangerous labor practices,' Puckett wrote in the letter, referring to Washington State Ferries. 'By design, it can be difficult to determine exactly where a ship will end up once handed off to a cash buyer, which gives sellers plausible deniability on being complicit in improper disposal of their ships.' Adelca, the steel company, plans to dismantle the ferries and recycle the parts, according to Vezina, assistant deputy of Washington State Ferries. The EPA's Region 10 Office, which covers the Pacific Northwest, is unaware 'whether the ferry vessels in question contain PCBs,' according to Kristin Ching, public affairs specialist. 'Owners/operators are responsible for determining whether their vessels contain regulated levels of PCBs and must remediate or remove PCB materials for disposal before export unless an exception or exemption applies,' Ching said in an email to InvestigateWest. Washington's authority to sell directly Since 2011, Washington's Department of Enterprise Services has been responsible for selling the state's surplus items. It's tried selling Washington state ferries before, but no bid was high enough to meet the market value that the state wanted, according to a transfer of authority request letter obtained by InvestigateWest. For at least the last three decommissioned ferries, transportation officials received total authority from the Department of Enterprise Services to sell its own vessels, ruling out input from the state agency in deciding who will buy the state's ferries. 'WSF's attempt to sell seven previous auto/passenger ferries and four passenger-only ferries… have all been unsuccessful, even after re-listing vessels with lower reserves,' wrote the then-state transportation director of legal services, Timothy McGuigan, in a 2019 letter requesting authority over the sale of another ferry, the Hyak. One ferry, he wrote, listed for $300,000, but the highest bid was only $53,000. Prior to 2013, sales were negotiated at or close to fair market value, he said. Additionally, the Hyak was marketed as 'non-operational' in its sale listing due to the removal of navigational equipment for use on other active ferries. Everett Ship Repair bought the ferry earlier this year for $100,000 and will use it as a floating office. Transportation officials also said that based on previous ferry sales experience, the high cost of transporting it to a foreign country was a 'prohibitive factor for many interested parties,' citing costs that could exceed $800,000 if a ferry was towed to the Caribbean, for example. The lack of a regional shipbreaking option The process of selling Washington state ferries calls into question whether a shipbreaking facility based on the West Coast would be a solution to Washington state's current and future needs. 'I keep thinking that a regional solution here in the Salish Sea could be good,' said Doug Helton, retired operations supervisor at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who assisted Washington and states across the country in recovering large abandoned watercraft. Because deconstructing a vessel the size of a Washington state ferry would produce large amounts of steel, the scrap value could outweigh the cost to destroy it, Helton said. 'But, scrap prices fluctuate, and the project could get upside down in a hurry even if it started with good intentions.' Commercial shipping yards contracted by state agencies to destroy abandoned vessels are sometimes hesitant to accept bids due to concerns of legal liability if an environmental disaster were to occur. 'They don't want to tie up their facilities with a potentially lengthy and environmentally risky scrapping job,' Helton said. Wood, manager of Washington's Derelict Vessel Removal Program, says a closer shipbreaking facility on the West Coast would make his job much easier and would ultimately be safer for the environment. But without that, options are limited. 'I don't condone scuttling them in deep ocean, but that would be a whole lot less harmful than putting [them] right on the tidal zone, the most aquatic diverse area we have out there. Fish use it for breeding, and birds use it. Deer use it.' It's questionable if even a conveniently located ship recycling facility would work. Historically, the state has sold retired ferries for a profit. If it chose to destroy the vessels instead, the agency would likely pay thousands for its dismantling, possibly coming out even after selling the ship's parts. 'If there was a local shipyard, we would certainly talk with them and it would be great to have something closer than Ecuador or Texas,' said Vezina, deputy assistant secretary of Washington State Ferries. With the high cost of West Coast real estate, securing the location for a shipbreaking facility would be difficult. Additionally, such a facility would be a large waterfront industrial use, said Sheri Pemberton, chief of external affairs for the California State Lands Commission on behalf of the agency's vessel removal program. The facility would have to meet state, local and federal permitting requirements and be environmentally regulated. 'Best practice is to disassemble vessels out of the water, which is most protective for the environment,' Pemberton said. For now, the Basel Action Network is still urging Washington State Ferries to end the sale of the Elwha and Klahowya to Adelca, the Ecuadorian steel company. Christopher Hudak, the group's senior policy adviser, said rather than looking to Washington, D.C., for a solution, 'a state law would be more realistic' in preventing sales to developing nations and mandating state agencies to destroy their own ships. The abandoned Olympic ferry Passengers aboard the Steilacoom ferry to Anderson Island can see the beached Olympic ferry in the distance off Ketron Island's eastern shoreline. It, too, once carried passengers to and from the island. Up close, mussels, barnacles and private property signs cling to its hull. Cormorants dive into nearby waters. The Washington State Department of Transportation logo is clearly visible on its chimney. At low tide, water pours out of portholes. The owner of the Olympic owns one other ferry that he reportedly sailed from Virginia through the Panama Canal to Washington. It, too, is abandoned, docked on another island and in even worse condition than the Olympic. '[The Olympic] is definitely worse than some of them [former government vessels],' said Wood, the manager of Washington's derelict vessel removal program. 'It was made out of steel a long time ago. It's really hard to deconstruct. It's really hard to decompose. 'You see the paint that's coming off with it?' Wood said, looking at a recent image of the ferry. 'That paint was meant to prevent life from attaching itself from this boat. It's shiny. It gets eaten up by little critters in the environment, and it gets concentrated as it moves up the food chain.' The Derelict Vessel Removal Program became aware of the Olympic in 2010 after the Coast Guard and the Department of Ecology sent photos of the ship to the Department of Natural Resources. 'This looks awful,' wrote Kristin Swenddal, now-retired manager of the aquatic resources division for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources in an internal email obtained by InvestigateWest. 'It appears the entire boat is going to tip at any time.' In the 15 years since, little has changed. 'It's obviously damaging the environment,' Wood said. 'My job is to remove those vessels from the environment. I can't touch this vessel, which is unfortunate.' Wood said to remove the vessel, the state Legislature would have to provide special funding and authorization since the vessel surpasses the 200-foot threshold of what the program is legally allowed to remove. But even then, Wood said, he would have to go through a lengthy bureaucratic process to gain custody of it and get permission from the property owner to go on-site. 'It's very frustrating,' he said. InvestigateWest ( is an independent news nonprofit dedicated to investigative journalism in the Pacific Northwest. Aspen Ford, InvestigateWest's first Roy W. Howard fellow, can be reached at aspen@ This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Legal, environmental risks with WA ferries shift to hybrid-electric Solve the daily Crossword
CNET
2 days ago
- CNET
Choosing the Right Home Generator: Natural Gas, Propane, Diesel or Electric
According to experts, between 2000 and 2019 extreme weather events became more frequent, as did the devastation from them. January's Los Angeles fires are an unfortunate example of that, and the Environmental Protection Agency has warned that the situation is getting worse. Rising temperatures, heat waves and other climate changes suggest extreme weather events aren't going anywhere. Those events often affect the way we live our lives, not least by taking out the local power grid. Power cuts can be catastrophic, and there's little you can do to stop them from happening. The good news is there are ways you can at least prepare for power outages, including looking at gas-powered generators, batteries and other ways to provide backup for your home. If you're looking for ways to keep the power at home on during outages, a whole home generator might be a fit. But knowing which one is right for you is dependent on your home and your needs. Factors to consider when shopping for whole home generator There are a number of factors to consider when shopping for a whole home generator. First and foremost, you'll want to consider whether a generator is right for your situation. Then you'll need to consider what capacity, fuel type and additional features you might need, all while keeping in mind a budget that makes sense for you. Do you need a generator at all? Before anything else, you should ask yourself this foundational question: Do you need one? The reality is that some situations do not necessitate or are not suitable for a whole home generator. If you live in an apartment complex in a populated city, you are unlikely to need this much power and may face challenges even installing one. You are also less likely to experience long-term power outages if you live in densely populated or wealthier areas. Studies suggest rural and suburban areas and low-income neighborhoods are statistically more likely to face extended outages. If you are in a smaller space or do not need to power your whole home and instead just need access to essential spaces or appliances, consider a portable generator or even a home power station that can provide power for essential devices like cell phones or small appliances. Determining wattage needs Determining the wattage necessary to keep your house powered should the grid go down is a key consideration. One practical method is to simply add up the wattage of the appliances you'll want to have access to during an outage. You'll need to regulate usage to ensure that you do not exceed your capacity, but this will allow you to save on both up front costs and fuel. A reputable generator dealer or installer should also be able to help you determine which size you need. It's probably best to speak to more than one so you can compare their answers. Finding the best fuel Whole home generators typically use three main fuel options: natural gas, propane and diesel. Each fuel type has its own set of benefits and downsides. Natural gas generators are popular due to the convenience of a continuous fuel supply provided from the utility grid. They're cleaner-burning and require less maintenance compared to other options. However, gas lines can be disrupted by storms, affecting the generator's functionality. Propane generators offer flexibility as they can use portable propane tanks or be connected to a larger, stationary tank. Propane has a longer shelf life than gasoline, but is sometimes less readily available than natural gas and the cost can fluctuate. You'll need to monitor and refill propane tanks to make sure you have the fuel necessary to ride out an extended outage. Diesel generators are often more fuel-efficient than their gas counterparts and can provide a stable power source for extended periods of time. However, diesel generators usually require more maintenance and the fuel can degrade over time. Storage of diesel fuel also requires attention to prevent contamination. Typically generators powered by gasoline or diesel "must be refilled every 12 to 16 hours depending on the load on the machine," says Don Whaley, former president of Texas operations for Direct Energy and adviser to OhmConnect. "Homeowners choosing this option will need to ensure an ample supply of fuel on hand to carry them through several days of outage." Batteries can power devices, appliances or parts of homes depending on their size and about an electric home battery? Electric home battery backup systems store energy that you can use to power your house during an outage. Batteries get that electricity from your home solar system or the electrical grid. As a result, they're much better for the environment than fossil fuel-powered generators. They also might be better for your wallet. Separately, if you have a time of use utility plan, you can use a battery backup system to save money on your electricity bill. Instead of paying high electricity rates during peak usage hours, you can use energy from your battery backup to power your home. In off-peak hours, you can use your electricity as normal at a cheaper rate and recharge your battery when it costs less. Batteries connected to solar panels don't require a fuel supply in order to provide power. Solar batteries also come with a high price tag, so the up-front cost will play a major factor for most people. Keep your budget in mind While a generator has a host of benefits, the reality is that budget will be one of the biggest determining factors in most peoples' decisions. HomeAdvisor estimates that whole-house generators range in cost from $5,000 to $25,000. This expense, along with the cost of fuel, will be a limiting factor for many households. If cost is a significant factor, Whaley suggests going with a cheaper, smaller option like a portable generator. "Smaller generators will run refrigerators, lights, televisions, computers and Wi-Fi routers," he says. There are some trade-offs. Most small generators "will not run central air or heat, so if consumers opt for smaller units, they will need to make allowances for heating or cooling their homes in extreme weather conditions." Whole home gas generators and safety Whole home generators ensure your safety by keeping essential home systems functioning, but they are not without risks. The potential for carbon monoxide emissions means there is a potential for carbon monoxide poisoning, which can cause headaches and dizziness and even lead to loss of consciousness and death. To address this, many modern generators come equipped with carbon monoxide shutoff switches that automatically turn off the unit if elevated levels are detected. These are essential to your safety and the safety of others in your home. You'll also want to ensure proper ventilation for the device. Generators should be installed away from windows, doors and vents to prevent exhaust gasses from entering your home. Whole home gas generator options There are a number of trusted and reliable brands of whole home generators to choose from, most with modern safety features and flexibility when it comes to capacity and fuel sources that will allow you to find the right option for you and your home. Below are three suggestions of options to get you started, though CNET has not reviewed or tested any of them.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Homeless charity closes following funding dispute
Homeless people face losing their accommodation in a town after a funding dispute between the charity which housed them and a council. West Northamptonshire Council said in a statement that Northampton Association for Accommodation for Single Homeless (NAASH), which supported accommodation for about 200 people, had closed. NAASH has said council funding has been held up because the authority has disputed the "validity" of housing benefit claims made on behalf of clients. The Reform UK-controlled council said the charity must "follow the guidelines" and said it was "taking steps to support" affected tenants. 'Homelessness risk' NAASH services director Theresa Kelly said the organisation supported "some of Northampton's most vulnerable people" after they were referred to them directly by the council. She said her team believed they had "fully complied" with housing benefit regulations. "This is not the first time essential services like NAASH have been forced out by West Northamptonshire Council's cost-cutting measures," said Ms Kelly. "Each closure leaves vulnerable people once again facing the very real risk of homelessness." NAASH, which has supported homeless people since 2000, is the landlord of several supported accommodation properties. It does not own its housing and mostly rents rooms in houses of multiple occupation. 'Acting proactively' The council said each tenant's case was being looked at individually so that "tailored support" could be offered. The authority said NAASH's closure followed a "long period of discussion and negotiation" relating to housing benefit claims. Charlie Hastie, the council's cabinet member for housing, said: "We are actively engaging with other providers to ensure there is support available to help residents through this difficult time. "We recognise the deep anxiety this situation causes for people with complex health and personal challenges. "We as a council have already made a commitment to reduce homelessness and its wider impact, and we are acting proactively to address this." The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which administers housing benefit, previously said it could not comment on the case. "Local authorities decide if a customer is eligible for the benefit, applying DWP rules to ensure the right support is going to the right place," a spokesperson said. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Related stories Homeless charity fears closure over funding dispute Homeless charity prepares to open self-funded cafe Related internet links NAASH West Northamptonshire Council Department for Work and Pension
