Changes are in the wind for the powerful Clean Water Act, as officials with the Environmental Protection Agency prepare to step up enforcement to protect the nation’s water supplies.
Regulatory and even legislative changes are in the works, and the law could become a tool in dealing with greenhouse gases related to climate change.
Coming Together
The latest signal that something is afoot is the launch of a new blog this week by the EPA. It is called “Coming Together for Clean Water.”
The EPA is “seeking public input on how the agency can better protect and improve the health of our waters…” according to a news release. “The feedback received on the online forum will help shape the discussion at EPA’s upcoming conference in April, ‘Coming Together for Clean Water,’ where we will engage approximately 100 executive and local level water leads on the agency’s clean water agenda.”
Three topics are mentioned: “The Watershed Approach,” “Managing Pollutants from Nutrients,” and “Stormwater Pollution.”
It is interesting to see how people in various parts of the country are responding to these topics and how local issues play into the national overview. Some folks seem fairly alarmed and are demanding that the EPA take firm actions. Others have responded by spelling out technical solutions or offering case studies about how the EPA has failed in the past.
Enforcement plan
In October, the EPA released what is now called the Clean Water Act Action Plan. It calls for greater and more consistent enforcement nationwide of the clean water law under three strategies: (more…)
Washington state has done it again, being the first state in the country to take a legal stand against a toxic chemical.
The Legislature this week voted to phase out cooper in brake pads, provided there are reasonable alternatives and that research continues to suggest that brake pads are contributing significant amounts of toxic copper. The bill is Senate Bill 6557.
This last point about research — about the need to know more about the alternate states of copper in the environment — was raised by Silverdale resident Bob Benze. I covered his questions and success in adding an amendment to the bill in the March 1 edition of the Kitsap Sun.
Even at low levels, an ionic form of copper has been shown to affect the sense of smell in salmon, which can lead to confusion and reproductive failure. It has become a major concern, especially in urban areas. Here’s a fact sheet from the Washington Department of Ecology.
Ivy Sager-Rosenthal of the Washington Toxics Coalition supports the Puget Sound Partnership’s call for a full assessment of toxic chemicals flowing into Puget Sound and an increased focus on eliminating sources of such pollution.
Last week, Ted Sturdevant, director of Ecology, testified before Congress about actions taken by state governments, generally because the federal government has been slow to act. He and 12 other state environmental officials are calling for reform of the federal Toxic Substances Control Act.
Washington was the first state to draft a formal policy phasing out persistent bioaccumulative toxics, or PBTs. This led to state laws phasing out mercury and toxic flame retardants. The latest legislation, finalized this week, will ban bisphenol-A in baby bottles and sports bottles.
Sturdevant spelled out three guiding principles for addressing persistent toxic chemicals: (more…)
Art Castle, executive director of the Home Builders Association of Kitsap County, has completed and released the “Kitsap Low Impact Development Standards Final Report,” which describes a three-to-four-year project to make LID practical for developers. Download the report’s narrative (PDF 2.5 mb) and check out other resource information offered by the Home Builders.
In an e-mail to participants and supporters of the project, Castle again declared that Kitsap County is the “low-impact development capital of Washington,” as he did last April. See my Kitsap Sun story from April 7, 2009.
The following is a final assessment of the project, as listed in the summary, along with a map of low-impact development projects throughout Kitsap County. (Click on the pins for descriptions.)
“This project has met and/or exceeded all its goals. Every jurisdiction in Kitsap County has adopted the same LID Standards, The Kitsap County Low Impact Development Guidance Manual is well thought of for both how comprehensive it is and how current the information on low impact development — it’s modeling and use — is.
“The challenges that remain are transitional. While much progress has been made in Kitsap County with the engineering community, there are still some in both the public and private sector who have yet to acquire the technical knowledge to become comfortable in designing and/or reviewing projects that include low impact development.
“The PSP/WSU Technical Training Workshops are the most comprehensive and contain the most current technical information in the country. However, the quantity and quality of technical training opportunities needs to be expanded and supported for some time.
“The Kitsap Spreadsheet Modeling Tool (LID Calculator) will provide an “ease of use” element to meeting the sizing and use of LID features in new and retrofit projects… In our ‘Kitsap County Low Impact Development Guidance Manual’ workshops and Webinar, it should be noted that all the presenters are from Kitsap County…. These private and public sector individuals were selected to recognize the low impact development knowledge that Kitsap pubic officials and industry professionals have achieved and to show that Kitsap County has the knowledge, leadership, and technical expertise to successfully implement low impact development.
“As more and more new development, and commercial and homeowner retrofit projects are completed the increased aquifer recharge and the water quality benefit of natural treatment will result in significantly less pollutants in runoff reaching streams and water bodies. In addition, low impact development practices will result in less peak runoff caused erosion in stream channels.”
It seems like only yesterday that the Kitsap County Health District started a major Pollution Identification and Correction (PIC) project all around Dyes Inlet.
Now, after five years, the health district has released a report showing major improvements in water quality in all the major streams. See my story in today’s Kitsap Sun or check out the report (PDF 1.7 mb).
During the project, area residents were assisted in finding and repairing their aging septic systems in various parts of the watershed. Businesses were shown how to maintain nearby storm sewers and were encouraged to flush washwater down the sanitary sewers, not the storm drain. Even old sewer lines were inspected and repaired in some cases.
Here are some specific water-quality data on Dyes Inlet streams: (more…)
Yesterday, I talked about living through a period of confusing budget-shifting. I mentioned how federal economic stimulus money is being used for public works projects — such as building a new sewer system in Gorst and a new water-treatment plant for Bremerton.
Today, I’d like to reflect on a couple of small hazardous waste cleanup projects and some juggling involving hundreds of millions of dollars in state cleanup funds.
In years past, the Washington Department of Ecology signed agreements with property owners dealing with hazardous chemicals that had leaked from underground tanks on their property. The owners were required to pay what they could, although some were not able to pay anything. Ecology might then lead the cleanup, using funds from the state’s Model Toxics Control Account. That account derives its funds from a tax on petroleum products, pesticides and other specific chemicals.
The federal economic stimulus program has provided $3.4 million for such leaking underground storage tanks in Washington state. As I reported in the Kitsap Sun this week, work is beginning on a renewed cleanup at Country Junction Store in South Kitsap while a proposed plan would clean up soil near Hansville Store in North Kitsap. These are both small, community stores whose owners signed consent agreements with Ecology years ago.
It just so happens that the Washington Legislature has been taking money out of the state’s toxics account to help balance the state’s general fund budget. (more…)
We’re living through a confusing time of budget-shifting and political games — and sometimes I wonder if people can even agree that 2 plus 2 equals 4.
Last week, I wrote in the Kitsap Sun about two Bremerton public works projects — sewers in Gorst and a new Bremerton water-treatment plant. Together, they are using $13.5 million in federal stimulus funds.
It has been said that the $7.5 million in stimulus money for the Gorst sewer project is a lifesaver for that community, because local residents never could have afforded sewers without it. Public officials have been trying for years to finance that project. Every time someone added up the costs, it looked like low-income residents would be hit with sewer assessments in excess of $20,000 each. Now the hookups will cost them nothing. (more…)
For older state highways, the method of managing stormwater typically is to dump it directly into ditches and streams. This is the historical approach: get rid of the water as quickly as possible. But, as the result of a legal settlement announced this week, we are likely to see more retrofits in the future.
Washington Department of Transportation has been improving its stormwater systems for new highways and a few older systems, but the latest federal stormwater permit issued by the Washington Department of Ecology did not go far enough, according to the group Puget Soundkeeper Alliance.
Represented by Earthjustice, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance appealed the permit to the Pollution Control Hearings Board. The settlement was not everything the environmentalists wanted, but it is a solid step in dealing with aging highways.
Bob Beckman, executive director of Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, explained the group’s position in a news release:
“Government agencies, businesses, and citizens are all working together to protect and restore Puget Sound, but the state’s department of transportation wasn’t carrying its share of the weight. There is a lot more work to be done, but we feel that this is a step in the right direction. The state highway system should not be held to a weaker standard than industries, local governments and the public.”
UPDATE, Jan. 29, 2010
Big Beef Creek continues to threaten several houses built close to the stream. The house most at risk at the moment is one belonging to Jon and Kimberly DeYoung. Read about their story and see pictures in a piece I wrote for today’s Kitsap Sun.
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It is the best of streams. It is the worst of streams.
There’s been talk lately about Big Beef Creek in Central Kitsap, where a much-traveled bridge has been closed to heavy traffic because of a washed-out bridge abutment. It appears the bridge will be closed for a couple of weeks, beginning next week. See my story in today’s Kitsap Sun.
There’s reason to believe we’ll be hearing a lot more about this stream in the future.
In my mind, Big Beef Creek is a beautiful salmon stream that has been much abused through the years. Despite a large population of people in the watershed, the creek has managed to hold onto its populations of salmon. Somehow, pollution has been mostly avoided. (more…)
Extreme high tides from now until Wednesday and again in February could give an indication of how this state will contend with rising sea levels over the coming years, according to Spencer Reeder of the Washington Department of Ecology.
Photo courtesy of Washington State Ferries
It’s worth mentioning here because Ecology is asking average people to photograph conditions related to the high tide and provide the exact time and location of the picture.
“The agency is interested in using these images to help document the coastal impacts our state is likely to face with increasing frequency as sea levels continue to rise,” Reeder says in a blog entry on EcoConnect.
Precise times for high and low tides vary by location, but one can get a pretty good estimate by going to the tide prediction Web site operated by the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration and drilling down to the closest community listed.
Pictures can be sent by e-mail to Ecology, placing “sea level rise” in the subject line. Folks are encouraged to include contact information, so Ecology can send a release form to allow publication of the photos.
Weather conditions, such as wind and rain, can affect localized flooding and related problems, which is one reason to get as many varied locations as possible.
Reeder’s blog states:
“Increases in global sea levels have been recorded by NOAA tide gauges for many years, and more recent observations have been collected by NASA satellites. The steady rise has been attributed to both a warming of the oceans and contributions from melting glaciers and land-based ice sheets. Climate modeling combined with these direct observations suggest sea level rise will continue well into the future with significant implications for Washington’s more than 3000 miles of marine coastline.
“Analysis conducted by the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group and the Washington State Department of Ecology show that increases in sea level in Puget Sound could be as high as 22 inches by mid-century, with upper estimates of more than four feet of rise by 2100.”
Craig Ueland seems to be following through on a commitment he made five years ago, when he first talked about managing his 1,700 acres of forestland for its natural resource values.
His latest step is to set aside 100 acres of forestland in a conservation easement, promising to keep the land in a natural condition forever. One goal is to protect the water quality of Chico Creek, the most productive chum salmon stream on the Kitsap Peninsula. See my story in yesterday’s Kitsap Sun.
In a story I wrote three years ago, Ueland talked about protecting the Chico Creek watershed and putting 150 acres into conservation easements on part of the property and managing other parts for timber, forest products and mineral resources. See Kitsap Sun, Dec. 4, 2006.
I believe he still plans to set aside other areas in the future.
Residents who live along Northlake Way say the trouble with Craig Ueland is not his lack of concern for natural resources but that he does not care enough about people who would be affected by truck traffic going to and from a proposed gravel mine and series of rock quarries he wants to build on his property.
As one reader wrote in a comment on yesterday’s story, “I hope the trees, streams and salmon enjoy the neighborhood, because when Mr. Ueland gets finished with the neighborhood, no PEOPLE will want to live there anymore.” (more…)
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