Shell Oil and federal regulators have been tight-lipped about a failed test of the energy giant's Arctic oil-spill equipment, currently under construction in Washington state. But a freedom-of-information request by KUOW reveals what went wrong beneath the surface of Puget Sound.

"HAPPY CAMP, Calif. -- Weather officials are issuing flood warnings for much of Northern California as the second in a series of wet storms hits the state."

"A series of drenching, powerful storms is lining up from the Pacific Ocean and will roll onshore in the West Coast through the weekend."

"BOISE — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is scaling back the acreage it wants in northern Idaho and eastern Washington as critical habitat for rare woodland caribou."

"Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) ordered state agencies on Tuesday to take steps to address the ocean’s increasing acidity, making it the first state to adopt a policy to take on what scientists describe as a growing environmental concern."

"The Obama administration [Wednesday] released a final rule setting aside 9.6 million acres of critical habitat for the federally threatened northern spotted owl, a species whose population continues to slide despite decades of conservation efforts."

"It's been a long time coming, but work is finally under way to contain pollution from one of Portland harbor's dirtiest sites, the former home of a DDT and rocket-fuel maker that's loaded with the full suite of harbor toxics."

Even with a non-regulatory approach, getting farmers to participate in water pollution control campaigns in Oregon is proving difficult.

"BEND, Ore. -- Yesterday, a fish biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed the first observed spawning sockeye in the Metolius River in over 45 years."

"OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The state Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that the state's hazardous substances tax is constitutional."

"Getting a suction tag onto a 5-ton orca can be tricky, but the scientific rewards are big. Scientists are using the devices to gather underwater data about orca behavior to find out how vessel traffic might be affecting the endangered whales."

"If all had gone according to plan, the Millennium Bulk Logistics Terminal near Longview, Wash., would have begun shipping coal to Asia in the late fall. The Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point, just north of Bellingham, Wash., would begin construction in 2013."

"The Portland City Council voted 5-0 during a raucous public meeting Wednesday morning to add fluoride to Portland's drinking water, ending the city's status as the only major U.S. city that hasn't approved fluoridation."

"PORTLAND, Ore. -- Who bears responsibility for an impoverished child with a mouth full of rotting teeth? Parents? Soda companies? The ingrained inequities of capitalism? Pick your villain, or champion. They are all on display here as the largest city in the nation with no commitment to fluoridating its water supply -- and one of the most politically liberal cultures anywhere -- has waded into a new debate about whether to change its ways and its water."

"Beside Seattle’s notoriously polluted Duwamish River, an excavator scoops up small pieces of waste metal and slings them onto a rusty mountain at Seattle Iron & Metals Corp. A pile of flattened cars and trucks squats nearby amid vast sheets of scrap metal. For at least the last four years, this auto-shredder and metal recycler has dumped more pollutants into the river than allowed under the federal Clean Water Act, government records show. The levels have ranged higher than 250 times above what’s known to harm salmon that migrate through the river."