Dear Sky Valley Residents, 
SVENA stands for Skykomish Valley Environmental & Economic Alliance. Our mission is to protect an environmentally and economically sustainable future of the Skykomish River Valley. We are working towards a safer, cleaner, healthier, more beautiful and economically sustainable place to live, work and visit. You can find more information at our website svena.org.
SVENA does not affiliate with any political party but supports candidates who have similar goals and vision.
Contents:
- Skykomish River, its watershed as a source of drinking water, their protection, PUD’s Sunset Falls Hydro Project
- WFSP long-term planning meeting and more info
- Toxics and spraying
- Fun reads
- The latest FPAs (Forest Practice Applications) for Skykomish River Valley
- Skykomish River and its watershed are a precious gift to our community. All three –
the River, watershed and our community – are important and very connected. We
live, work and play here, raise our kids, drink water from here. Health of the River and its watershed is health of our community. They should be protected by us, community members, from toxic contamination and destruction. No one else will do this for us or for our children.
Chapter 35.88 RCW “Water Pollution—Protection From”
RCW 70.54.010 “Polluting Water Supply – Penalty”
More info for massive toxic aerial spraying on industrial timber plantations in Sky Valley
“Snohomish PUD hydro project will harm salmon”, HeraldNet 11-20-2017
More facts for PUD’s Sunset Falls Hydro Project
PUD Commissioners emailcommissioners@snopud.com
PUD Districts and Commissioners
Please send a Short request to abandon the Sunset Falls Hydro Project for good, share and spread the word.
SnoPUD management is currently going through a process of deciding PUD’s
priorities for the next few years. Right now, the Sunset Falls Hydro Project is again on the table. It has a long 6-year history and a lot of local opposition. Only feasibility studies were budgeted at $6 million. To date, over $10 million has been spent just on the studies. PUD has purchased for this project quite a bit of property in the area, the exact amount of which is still being calculated. It is not trivial, however. Ratepayers are footing the bill for this folly. The Sunset Falls Hydro Project is extravagant on many levels, but harm to the salmon is the primary one. A lot of water will be diverted to the turbines. Fish cannot survive without adequate water, but PUD doesn’t seem willing to accept that fact.
In April 2016 the Tulalip Tribes and the Snoqualmie Tribe sent letters to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the agency responsible for making the decision on whether to license this project. The Tulalip Tribes and the Snoqualmie Tribe asked FERC not to grant a license for the project. FERC can’t make a decision until PUD submits the Final License Application (FLA). As of November 2017, PUD has not submitted the FLA. PUD seems stalled but hasn’t abandoned the project. Lets help them ditch the Sunset Falls Hydro Project for good.
The PUD seems to think that just a few people oppose this project. You can prove them wrong by sending a quick note to emailcommissioners@snopud.com and recruiting two more people to send a note also. This mucky ordeal has been going on for too long with too much ratepayers’ money spent on it. Help the Commissioners do what is right and abandon the Sunset Falls Hydro Project for good without wasting a few more millions of dollars on the studies about its feasibility.
- On November 15, 2017, Sultan held an open public meeting with reps of WA State Parks Department for long term planning of Wallace Falls State Park (WFSP).
Many local residents and stakeholders attended this productive meeting and gave their input. The planning process will take one year with three more public meetings in the future. SVENA will include dates for the future meetings as they become available.
WFSP is famous, popular and overcrowded. Last year it had 225,000 hikers. The Park is an economic engine of the Skykomish Valley, with every single local business benefiting directly or indirectly from the visitors.
If you would like to get updates, please contact Randy Kline, Park Planner and Project Lead at randy.kline@parks.wa.gov. More info
- Toxics and spraying
> Moms Across America announces a nationwide campaign to ban glyphosate
herbicides in all fifty of the United States. More info
> Change.org petition “Governor Inslee: Ban Glyphosate in Washington!”, please sign and share.
> WA State PTA resolutions 2017: Section 11.25 “MITIGATING ENVIRONMENTAL 
HAZARDS AND CONTAMINANTS IN SCHOOLS”
“WA State PTA supports adoption and enforcement of legislation and policies that improve environmental health in schools with safer chemical use, specifically in school cleaning programs, pest management, and grounds maintenance, and work to update and support minimum environmental standards for all educational facilities.
Washington State PTA should support all efforts to implement safer chemical policies at the state and school district levels. This can include advocating for minimum environmental health standards for all of Washington, IPM (Integrated Pest Management) in schools, and green cleaning policies that focus on safer procurement of cleaning supplies for District and school custodial staff as well as purchasing lists used by parents for classroom supplies
Washington State PTA encourages and calls for members, policy makers in government, inter-governmental bodies and non-governmental, school and community organizations to raise awareness to reduce and mitigate environmental hazards in schools.
In recognizing that every Washingtonian is accumulating a body burden of toxic chemicals associated with health impacts, we call for appropriate policies that ensure that only the safest chemicals are used in all schools, and we call for efforts to update and support stronger environmental standards in schools.”
- Fun reads:
> “Crops in 25 States Damaged by Unintended Drift of Weed Killer”, The New York Times 11-1-2017
> “Weyerhaeuser responds to aerial spray concerns”, Monroe Monitor 11-6-2017
> “Forterra raises funds to spare Lake Serene acreage”, Monroe Monitor 11-6-2017
- It takes only a couple of minutes to check the latest FPAs for Sky Valley (Forest Practice Applications) and more info for FPAs. We encourage that you look out for your neighborhood and watershed in terms of logging, toxic chemical spraying and trash that can affect your health and safety as well as those of your family. The value of your property and business depend on your vigilance. More info is in three simple steps for becoming an FPA reviewer.
If you are concerned, you can also call the timber companies, government agencies and elected officials, ask questions and express your worries. Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper, contact TV and radio, tell your neighbors and community about the proposed spray, share information on social media etc – please be proactive and creative, but also respectful and non-violent. Call timber and ask to be notified between 3 days to 2 weeks in advance about future dates of spraying. Not many people know that toxic aerial spraying happens in Sky Valley but would be concerned, if they knew. Most importantly, keep yourself and your family safe. Contact info, What to do before, during and after toxic aerial spraying, More info.
SVENA is working to bring a substantial value and benefit to the Skykomish Valley. Please support our efforts and visit SVENA website, become a sponsor or a member, join 
our Facebook Group, or simply click on a “Like” button at our Facebook page. Please spread the word, share this page with your family, friends and neighbors, let us know if you have questions / economic, public health or environmental concerns / interesting facts or photos, if you would like to add someone to the mailing list or to opt out of receiving SVENA updates.
Warm regards,
Inessa Pearce
President
SVENA (Skykomish Valley Environmental & Economic Alliance)
svena.org
Welcome to SVENA! 