Moby Dick Hotel

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Keith Staurum
Date: Fri, Apr 3, 2015 at 11:56 AM
Subject: comment on sepa determination for NPDES determination
To: nathan.lubliner@ecy.wa.gov

I have made testimony on this subject before and evidently it was ignored. So once again I will pass on my thoughts and knowledge on this topic. Spraying of chemicals such as herbicides or pesticides in Washington State waters is something that effects all people of the state and not just individual industries. The most important thing to remember is the players in this game. The ones that have received millions of dollars worth of tax monies from the state to fund an industry for a few.
When the state does not supply the support money it then turns to the industry itself to supply scientific data to make decisions for all the sport fishermen, crabbers oyster eaters and so on. One of the scientists they use jokingly calls himself chemical Kim because of the reference to him as just that. The players that belong to the Pacific coast shellfish growers claim to be such great stewards of Willapa bay and other shellfish growing areas in our great state. Then we look at the history of those people that talk about how long they have been and what great things they have done. History does not lie.
Example greed caused over harvest of the Olympic oyster to near distinction. Problem solved introduce another oyster whoops failed.Well lets do another kind like say the Pacific oyster. Wow they spawn but have no oyster reefs to attach to.
Lets start making our own spat that never spawns then we can sell them all through the year. After all a Frankenstein oyster only costs about $25 a bushel to have hatchery spat set. OOPS! Now we do not get the spat from real oysters setting that is free and it costs money for the triploid hatchery oyster. How do we protect our investment at all costs.
Well lets examine what is harming our genetically modified crop. Oh that’s easy all the natural nature evolved things like crab, starfish and that Sturgeon feeding monster the Ghost Shrimp. Well they are natural and we must come up with a scheme to conquer the problem at all costs, To include deception and out right bad science. In the name of invasive species we will eradicate invasive species and anything that eats our shellfish. The old story was Ghost shrimp cause their non native oysters to sink. By the way I never sprayed for shrimp and ten years ago laid oysters on shrimp piles to see if indeed they do sink. They never did. But as stated to me at a Ghost Shrimp conference by an employee of Coast when discussing Sevin application rates he stated why not meet the standard by just cutting it in half it will kill just as many crabs.
Then the growers started wondering how can we expand. Well there is about 8,500 acres of Spartina by the way in maps from 90 years ago they show the spartina land was pasture. Lets get back to the players such as Taylor shellfish and the court case where they were I guess poaching on state land owned by the state and the people. Real trustworthy people to supply info on these decisions. Then there is someone called Richard Sheldon whom I and several others including Kim Patten and a reporter witnessed screaming at a woman at the top off his lungs to go to hell. And all that for greeting him with hi Dick. Makes you wonder if this guy bullies everyone or just 5 ft 4 inch women. This is just the tip of the iceberg of the misconceptions that ecology receives in support of this permitting process. Now onto health issues. I am a cancer survivor and live right on the bay and after reviewing all the places and total acreage they are going to spray. I discovered it is all around me and I am afraid of a relapse because of the chemicals that will be evaporating into the air when the flats are exposed and blowing right at me to breath and the rest of the peninsula. When I was in chemo my oncologist informed me that if they knew what chemicals I was exposed to they could mix the right batch of chemo for me. After that I was told to stay clear from chemical exposure. Our end of the bay has a different drain time and there is a report that someone commented on earlier about flushing of the bay but it is not totally accurate and it is worse than stated. Never in all this poison actions has anyone ever approached me for input direct and the reason is total honest exposer of facts. I have not even mentioned the fact that southern green Sturgeon are in the bay and a study has been done and buried because the amount is 1/2 and they are on the federal endangered species list and ecology is aware of this fact as it was pointed out at a meeting in South Bend. I am also aware that there is a pollution board hearing coming up and I would hope that any permit process be put on hold until after that hearing and I ask that you get in touch with me to offer safety to me from this chemical. Also everyone has the ability to move their oysters because they have no reef such as me and I can not move them to another land. I would request compensation for lost crop. and the financial burden of having to relocate until the all clear is sounded. Also the cost of an independent researcher to test for the all clear as I know and have on film from the past a state employee telling me it would not drift and it did. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
Another analogy would be something I learned running the Gifford Pinchot National forest camp ground system .
It was July 4th weekend and we had just opened the road all the way to lake Takalak and campers were there. They were all coming down to the lower campgrounds because the out houses were frozen solid to the top with human excrement left by hunters during the closed camping and open hunting season.
I guess the moral of the story is you can keep dumping something into something but eventually you learn the hard way that it was to much. Out houses do not flush either but all the people using it in winter do not care because they are there to hunt. I guess the big oyster companies not only hunted there beasts to extinction, But have no regard for those who come after them for at all cost they must make money. Again I ask for relief until the truth is out from people that are honest and if you have true science to compare that is what should be done. As a matter of fact public comment is the only time someone else is invited to the table. All other actions are carried on behind closed doors. Then we are asked to answer what is already sold to the government.
In closing I attended a master shoreline meeting in Pacific county and there were about 15 members from the board present. As the meeting proceeded I was shocked to find out that almost all the members did not even understand what they were doing. As stated by one lady she did not even know how to read the report and of course Richard Sheldon was on the committee stating how he needed more say. If the people on the committee do not understand all the facts they should not be there or if they misrepresent the truth they should be removed. I feel the same way about the department of Ecology. In my dealings they nod their heads and that is it. There is a lot more discussion needed on this and I am sending a copy of this letter to legislators and department heads to include the Governor To assure someone other than Ecology reads it and also to make sure it is published under comments before the close of comments.

—
Independent Shellfish Growers of Wa. State
Keith Staurum
President
independentshellfishgrowerswa@gmail.com
(360)-244-3220

Who are these people. keep an eye on this site as I will publish all the people I have tried to get answers from that are truthful about the chemicals being poured into the bay. It started with the Governor office and went down also the feds are looking into it.

Well once again the whole country has to ask where their oysters come from so that they make an educated choice for themselves. Look up the chemical imazamox and see if it is what you would ingest. That is the chemical that will be sprayed in Willapa bay. The big oyster growers have applied for another NPDES permit to treat 3,300 acres. Being it is mostly put on the south end of the bay it will wash back and forth for a couple of months at least. In that scenario all of the product from the bay could be exposed and to what end will the big companies and small ones tell us or you? Will the choice be stop harvesting in the season that oysters and clams are at peak? Or will they continue to sell the oysters and clams from the bay to unsuspecting tourists ??? I had suspended harvest from the last poison they sprayed in state waters. Now when ready to start they are spraying all around me again and in good conscience I can not put a consumer in harms way if there is the slightest chance that the product contains this poison. By the way what the hell is it doing in the water anyway. I wonder how the salmon feel ?? I know what it does to crabs . Oh well all I have to worry about is when it evaporates and I am forced to breath it. Oh well who cares but just in case here are the aplicants for the permit tolet poison float and drift in Willapa bay. ( Coast Seafood), ( Heckes Clams,) (Harold Fish and Oyster,) ( Northern Oyster) (Station House Oyster) ( Wiegardt and Sons ) By the way they are Jolly rogers oysters if you look at the store. (Willapa Bay Shellfish) and the big guy that I find hard to believe is( Taylor Shellfish)
The important thing to remember is that these companies have different product labels sometimes. So if you look at the label closely and it does not say Willapa bay it might list a harvest reference from the bay like just out of the blue sand point. As far as I know it is a fictional area. The way I deal with it because of my intricate knowledge is I do not eat anything from Willapa bay. There are way to many old timers that have become allergic to the clams and oysters since they started putting poison into the bay. HMMMM you eat them all your life they spray and now you are having reactions to consuming them. I do know that on web sites it also tell of how after being exposed to these chemicals that cancer can show up 6 years later. I have called every office in the state and hit brick walls.

google it and see if all the writings come up

In willapa bay WA. the big oyster farmers have allowed poison to be sprayed on over 400 acres that the tide washes all over and warned no one until the day before. There were private sport fishers and crabbers hauling in there take and eating them at home with possible contamination from poison chemicals. This is always going on in grays harbor and willapa bay to include hood canal and Puget sound. All the testing they do on ocean for acidity does no good when you mix all the poisons from these areas into the ocean on tide out. In a law suite against the state for poison drift the state claimed you could not blame them because willapa bay was a chemical soup. These documents will become public shortly.East cost and mid west diners should know what they are eating from WA.State. Believe it or not the local restaurants in Pacific county continue to sell products from these areas knowing all about the poisonous situation. I guess they figure the tourist will leave and blame it on something else they ate.I always wonder what is more important to these restaurateurs. the almighty $$$$ or peoples health.Read the menus and search for Willapa bay oysters and clams.Then ask yourself what other food do they prepare and with what????

The chickens seem to be very content in their new patch of earth filled with spring green grass and other goodies to explore.
After eating too many of the scones, it was back to the kitchen, this time to make carrot bread from our sweet delicious carrots.
Roasted some beets from the garden as the guests love them in the Fritatta.

It was a beautiful sunny weekend, and the guests enjoyed clamming.

Honestly, they were so good…but I froze a few.
Today was the perfect day on the Bay. Guests in house and happy. Weather was perfect. The guys moved the chickens over a few yards to greener pasture.
Perfect ending to the day, was the ocean fog that rose and drifted over us, and then the Bay fog that met it…all is very Brigadoon.

Quick, come and see it! Actually, you have all weekend as the weather is supposed to be “Sunny”!

Bernard is planting some wild flower seeds to celebrate.

Reservations are coming in for the upcoming season, so we are looking forward to meeting new guests and greeting returning ones.

Almost 7:00. We are often asleep or almost by now, if there are not guests. It is raining, but because the groceries are in, I was able to spend the day in the kitchen baking Blueberry, Lemon and Nutmeg scones.
Also, added to my Sourdough Starter, which will be ready in about four more days for some serious first bread making.
The harder it rains, the greener it gets, and the better the garden grows. Soon the rays of summer sunshine will make this a blooming wonderland. Until then, it is dreams under raindrops.

As soon as I finished cleaning out the coolers and freezer in the kitchen, then mopping the floor, the plumber arrived. Three men gathered in the kitchen to observe his performance which consisted of replacing the kitchen sink faucet and handles.
The floor will need to be re-done, but the coolers and freezer should survive.

Before the plumber arrived the guys were happy digging potatoes in the garden to sell at market tomorrow.

Sold three more dozen eggs yesterday so our egg stash is dwindling. Time to have a chat with the girls. They strut around happily and munch on all organic treats. Snails are a big hit, and we pick them off of the wood trellis and throw them into the pen.