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Environment

May 15, 2025
A notice of proposed development sign stands on the city of Camas’ Well 13 property off Southeast Cramer Lane on Thursday, May 8, 2025. A Camas hearings examiner will oversee a public hearing at 5 p.m. May 29 at Camas City Hall to consider the city’s plan to build a treatment facility on the Well 13 site to remove toxic PFAS, known as “forever chemicals,” from the public drinking water well. (Kelly Moyer/The Columbian)

Camas well tainted by PFAS to return to service

To meet increased water demand during the summer months, the city of Camas plans to bring Well 13 back online this week, even though it has the city’s highest levels of toxic “forever chemicals.”

May 8, 2025
The Columbia River snakes through the Columbia River Gorge, seen from the Cape Horn lookout in May. The Columbia River Gorge Commission oversees the national scenic area. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian files)

Gorge agency funding restored

When the Washington House and Senate stripped all funding for the Columbia River Gorge Commission from their proposed budgets during heated negotiations at the end of March, the future looked bleak for the bistate agency. But on Monday, the agency learned that its funding had been restored — or at least some of it.

April 24, 2025
Driver Natalya McAleer looks over the inside of a Tesla Plaid, which is an electric vehicle, in Vancouver on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. McAleer is part of the roughly 20 percent of new car buyers switching to electric or plug-in hybrid electric cars. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)

Washington has a long way to go to reach EV goal

As enthusiastic as electric car owners are about their vehicles, Washington still has a long way to go to meet its requirement that 35 percent of new passenger vehicle sales be electric by 2026.

April 17, 2025
Fort Vancouver High School junior Carlos Lopez plants a yellow monkey flower plant April 9, 2025, at Baz River Front Park in Camas. Students from Hudson’s Bay and Fort Vancouver high schools spent the morning removing invasive species and planting trees and other plants to help restore salmon habitat through Lower Columbia Fish Enhancement Group’s Seeds to Salmon program. At top, a yellow monkey plant sits in a freshly dug hole at Baz River Front Park in Camas on April 9, 2025. (Photos by Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

High-schoolers dig restoration project

About 35 students from Hudson’s Bay and Fort Vancouver high schools spent Wednesday digging in the dirt. They weren’t looking for buried treasure but helping to restore wetlands habitat at Baz River Front Park.