Environment

Temporary irrigation cutoff coming for many Kennewick residents

Sun, 03 May 2026 21:00:00 -0400

Nearly all customers of Kennewick Irrigation District will be without irrigation water for up to 10 days as the pumping facility that supplies its canals undergoes repairs.

Settlement reached in Walla Walla gas station leak

ty@tcjournal.biz — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0400

The owners of a Walla Walla Chevron gas station have reached a settlement with state ecology officials regarding penalties and cleanup costs for a 2023 gasoline leak that contaminated groundwater and led to the evacuation of the historic Marcus Whitman Hotel.

Aid available for Benton County businesses impacted by drought

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0400

The U.S. Small Business Administration is making low-interest loans available to Benton County businesses in response to the ongoing drought, but not all are eligible.

WSU researchers find cheaper means to unlock the power of sewage

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0400

A team of Washington State University researchers, including some based at the WSU Tri-Cities campus, have found a new method to treat sewage that reduces the costs of wastewater treatment while also creating renewable natural gas.

Reach Museum hosts Earth Day Festival

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0400

More than 50 organizations are gathering to celebrate Earth Day at a free event April 18.

Umatilla tribes plan to use $6.91M for regional fish hatchery projects

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0400

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation will use millions of dollars in funding from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to modernize and maintain its fish hatchery facilities around the region.

Amazon plans another data center southwest of Tri-Cities

ty@tcjournal.biz — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0400

Planning officials in Oregon’s Morrow County recently approved a proposal from Amazon to build a data center campus with buildings encompassing 816,000 square feet just east of the Boardman Airport.

Darigold to pay $2M in settlement over Yakima River pollution

ty@tcjournal.biz — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0400

One of the state’s largest milk producers has reached a settlement with an environmental group related to pollution from its processing facility in Sunnyside.

‘Our new normal’: WA confronts another year of drought

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0400

Farmers face tough row to hoe

ty@tcjournal.biz — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:30:00 -0400

Farmers face a fourth consecutive year of drought, forcing tough decisions on irrigation, crop survival and water management for orchards and vineyards across the state.

Kennewick gives sewage a second life

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:30:00 -0400

Kennewick is turning wastewater and sewage sludge into nutrient-rich Class A fertilizer using innovative greenhouse-based technology, creating a sustainable, revenue-generating solution for the city.

Federal funding hits record for Hanford, but billions more needed

ty@tcjournal.biz — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:30:00 -0400

Hanford remains the nation’s most expensive and technically complex cleanup project, and delays, legal obligations and debates over how to treat tank waste – including whether to vitrify or grout certain wastes – mean the site could still take decades and tens of billions more to fully clean up.

First vitrified waste deposited in Hanford landfill

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0400

The first stainless steel containers containing treated wasted are now permanently stored at a designated special disposal facility on the Hanford site.

Amazon to pay $20.5 million settlement over northeast Oregon nitrate pollution

abaumhardt@americanpublicmedia.org — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0400

Tech giant Amazon will pay $20.5 million to settle with northeast Oregonians living with contaminated groundwater in exchange for no admission of guilt in the polluting.

Bud break starts in Columbia Valley vineyards

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 21:00:00 -0400

The first signs of the wine grape growing season have appeared in regional vineyards, about two weeks ahead of the average start of the season.

Benton County among sites for newly recorded bee species in Washington survey

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 21:00:00 -0400

Benton County is among the locations where the Washington State Department of Agriculture’s Washington Bee Atlas identified a bee species never before recorded in the state.

WA hunting, fishing licenses moving toward digital

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 21:00:00 -0400

Outdoor enthusiasts may need to have their smartphones on them while sitting in their blind or casting lines beginning later this year.

WA ag officials: Sign up to have your property treated for invasive beetles

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 21:00:00 -0400

The Washington State Department of Agriculture is again pressing property owners in Pasco and parts of Kennewick to sign up to have their property treated for invasive Japanese beetles that can devastate numerous crops as well as gardens and lawns.

Yakama Nation receives state funding for clean energy projects

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 21:00:00 -0400

The Yakama Nation will receive $4.9 million from the state Department of Commerce to advance several clean energy projects.

Group says state omitted critical wind farm comments from record

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 08:48:42 -0400

One of the opponents of a proposed wind farm south and west of the Tri-Cities claims the state attorney general’s office left public comments opposing the project out of records transmitted to the Washington Supreme Court.

Federal judge orders increased spill from Snake, Columbia dams

ty@tcjournal.biz — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0500

A recent federal ruling that sets how much water must spill from and stay behind the lower Snake and some Columbia River dams is garnering mixed reactions from advocates for the infrastructure that supports agriculture, energy and transportation needs across the Pacific Northwest.

DOE proposes cheaper, faster cleanup process for some Hanford waste

ty@tcjournal.biz — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0500

Federal officials are pushing to have more of the hazardous waste at the Hanford site treated by a cheaper and faster method than solidifying it in a glass form at the now operating Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant.

A record fourth year of drought in the Yakima Basin is likely

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0500

The Yakima Valley hasn’t experienced four consecutive years of drought since record-keeping began in the late 19th century. That could change this year, as the window closes for snowpack to build across the Cascades.

BPA projects stronger finances, but challenges with cash reserves

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0500

Bonneville Power Administration officials are feeling more optimistic about the power provider’s finances for 2026 than at this time last year, but still anticipate challenges ahead.

Millions in climate dollars go toward transportation projects

ty@tcjournal.biz — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0500

Nearly $111.8 million in funding from the state’s Climate Commitment Act was spent in Benton and Franklin counties during the 2025 fiscal year, according to state-provided data.

Recycler avoids $3.4M penalty for collecting, hauling solid waste

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0500

A recycler of everything from construction and demolition materials to organic and electronic waste will avoid millions of dollars in penalties by improving tracking of its operations and taking efforts to avoid collecting non-recyclable trash via its collection sites.

State continues studying potential impacts of Snake River dam removal

ty@tcjournal.biz — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0500

The federal government may have pulled out of an agreement that could have led to removal of the four Lower Snake River dams, but the state continues to evaluate how their removal in the future could impact transportation networks.

Richland receives $500K for wastewater upgrades

Sun, 08 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0500

The Washington State Public Works Board will provide the city of Richland $500,000 to pay for a portion of the cost of essential upgrades at the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

Feds greenlight $2B renewable energy project on Yakama Nation sacred site

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0500

Federal energy regulators on Jan. 29 greenlit a roughly $2 billion renewable energy megaproject on a Yakama Nation sacred site overlooking the Columbia River in Klickitat County.

Free nitrate testing available for some WA residents

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 21:00:00 -0500

Residents in the Lower Yakima Valley whose wells may have been polluted by nitrates have access to free testing and water filters, thanks to a Washington nonprofit.