SHR2010-00019, SHC2010-00023
The Whatcom County Planning Department recently issued a SEPA Determination of Nonsignificance for a joint dock on South Lake Whatcom for boats and a float plane. They are now soliciting public comment for a conditional use permit (CUP) and shoreline development permit (SSDP) that will be reviewed at a hearing by the County Hearing Examiner, undoubtedly approved, and then sent to the Department of Ecology for final approval. The County Planning Department’s comment period for the CUP and SSDP ends on 2.4.11, but you will still be able to send your comments to the Hearing Examiner or to the Department of Ecology.
The applicant failed to assert or establish any need for a float plane. He has access to existing roads that will serve his transportation need. The applicant and the County have failed to address noise impacts to neighbors or impacts to fish and wildlife, or to provide any compensatory mitigation. The applicant failed to establish his background or training as a pilot, the type of plane he will be flying or what methods he will use to reduce the opportunity for the introduction of invasive species into Lake Whatcom.
Washington laws prohibits introduction of aquatic invasive species that pose a great threat to Washington waters. RCW 77.12.875. An aquatic invasive species prevention account has been created to, in part, inspect recreational and commercial watercraft, as well as evaluate the risk posed by float planes in spreading aquatic invasive species into Washington State waters. RCW 77.12.879. Invasive species can be unintentionally transported from one waterbody to another on the floats of seaplanes. The transfer of zebra mussel and Eurasian water milfoil has already been documented.
Talking Points With Regard to Float Planes and Invasive Species:
• Aggressively invade new areas and reproduce quickly. A female zebra mussel can produce upwards of one million eggs per year.
• Colonize almost any hard surface including watercraft hulls, motors or anything immersed in the water and can interfere with engine cooling systems.
• Negatively impact essential power and water-based infrastructures by obstructing water-intake pipes, such as, for public drinking water supply and cooling systems. They can clog watercraft water intake pipes causing costly repairs.
• Threaten native fish and wildlife by reducing species of algae and microscopic aquatic animals that are important for the food chain. Zebra mussels attach to native mussels and crayfish making it hard to them to survive.
• Costly nuisance to boaters, commercial fishers, anglers, and beach-goers. Zebra mussels can reduce recreational potential by littering beaches with numerous sharp shells and producing foul odours from decaying, dead zebra mussels.
Zebra mussels, introduced to the Great Lakes, have created over 5 billion dollars worth of damage. They reproduce in large numbers, can live on almost any surface, and are therefore very successful at inhabiting US waters. There are no known natural enemies of the zebra mussel in the US at this time and once they are established, they are hard to eradicate or control. Zebra mussels reproduce faster and more efficiently than our natives because their larvae are free swimming and do not need a host fish to grow to adult stage. They live in such large numbers that they also attach themselves to drifting aquatic plants—an ability that can contribute to their spread. When the plant dies and sinks to the bottom, the mussel detaches itself and moves to the bottom.
Because the mussels can live out of water for up to a month if they are not subjected to heat or extreme drying conditions they may be easily transported on recreational boats. They can be on aquatic plants attached to boats or trailers, or as microscopic larvae in bilges, live wells, motor cooling systems and other water systems, or attached to the hulls, especially around trim tabs, transducers, keels or propellers.
They accumulate in huge numbers by attaching themselves to almost any surface with threads (called byssal threads). They can clog canals, irrigators, sprinkler systems, and have even clogged four-inch pipes. They will also attach themselves to other mussels in great numbers and compete for the same food drifting in the rivers.
In the Pacific Northwest, there is concern that Zebra mussels could attach to fish ladders, screens, and hatcheries. Their shells are very sharp and could injure the passing fish, they could build up and disrupt water flow, and ultimately, they could threaten salmon recovery efforts. Zebra mussels are the ONLY freshwater mussel that firmly attaches itself to solid objects, including rocks, watercraft hulls etc. Native mussels will bury into soft substrates on lake and river bottoms.
Thus, zebra mussels would be a particular concern for Lake Whatcom, and float planes, which travel greater distances and can visit more water bodies than a normal watercraft, should be prohibited from Lake Whatcom to protect our potable drinking water supply. How many other jurisdictions in the state, or even in the nation, allow float planes to land and dock on a drinking reservoir?
If float planes were allowed on Lake Whatcom, strict rule and regulations reducing the opportunity for introduction of invasive species should be enacted and enforced. However, under the SEPA review, the County failed to mandate any specific procedures to protect the Lake, its drinking water, shoreline property owners, or native fish and wildlife species.
An example of the type of guidelines in place in other jurisidictions is set forth below:
Clean the aircraft to remove ANS (invasive species) before traveling, rather than after landing at new locations. In addition, it is important for you to incorporate the procedures listed here into the operation of your seaplane. However, plane safety is the first priority when considering and following these guidelines.
Guidelines:
Before entering the aircraft--
Inspect and remove aquatic plants from the floats, wires or cables, and water rudders;
Pump floats, which may contain infested water; and
If moored in waters infested by zebra mussels for extended periods, check the transom, chine, bottom, wheel wells, and step area of floats (see diagram 2). If zebra mussels are present on the floats, you can use (any) one of the following methods to remove or kill them: (1) Wash the floats with hot water. (2) Spray the floats with high-pressure water. (3) Dry all parts of the floats for at least 5 days.
Before takeoff--
Avoid taxiing through heavy surface growths of aquatic plants before takeoff;
Raise and lower water rudders several times to clear off plants. This will also minimize cable stretch and improve the effectiveness of the rudders for steering.
After takeoff--
Raise and lower water rudders several times to free fragments of aquatic plants while over the waters you are leaving or while over land; and
If aquatic plants remain visible on floats or water rudders, return to the lake and remove the plants. Storage or mooring--
Remove aircraft from the water, as is often done at seaplane bases, and allow all parts of the floats to dry. A few days of hot, summer temperatures will kill adult zebra mussels (longer drying times of up to 10 days are required to kill adult mussels during cool, humid weather); and
Aircraft moored for extended periods in zebra-mussel- infested waters may have zebra mussels attached to the floats and should be cleaned regularly. In remote locations, where zebra mussels are present, but where there are no provisions for drying, spraying, or treating the floats with hot water, the best option available for preventing the spread of the mussels is to hand-clean the submerged portions of floats with a scrub brush and to physically remove adult mussels. (Aircraft moored for extended periods in zebra-mussel-infested waters may have zebra mussels attached to the floats and should be cleaned regularly.)
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