WASHINGTON, DC, June 30, 2008 (ENS) – The Washington state Congressional delegation has introduced legislation in the House and the Senate that would be a new source of grant funding for water quality and stormwater discharge projects in the Puget Sound area of northwest Washington.

Congressman Norm Dicks and Senator Maria Cantwell introduced the Puget Sound Recovery Act of 2008 on Wednesday, which will establish a distinct office within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to coordinate the expanded efforts to address pollution impacts on Puget Sound.

“As the nation’s second largest estuary, Puget Sound has a regional impact affecting four million area residents and sustaining a broad array of aquatic species,” said Dicks, who serves as the chairman of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee.

In that post, Dicks has spearheaded a new effort in recent years to increase the funding for research and remedial actions around Puget Sound, in coordination with the Washington state’s newly formed Puget Sound Partnership, a community effort of citizens, governments, tribes, scientists and businesses to restore and protect Puget Sound.

Puget Sound as seen from the
Seattle Space Needle (Photo
courtesy Wikipedia)

The Puget Sound Region is centered on Seattle and Tacoma and consists of nine counties, four satellite cities, and two major ports.

The Puget Sound Recovery Act, H.R. 6364, would amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide assistance for programs and activities to protect the water quality of Puget Sound.

The bill would establish a Puget Sound office within the EPA that would have oversight responsibility for the cleanup actions on the Sound, including the development of a comprehensive action plan. The bill also authorizes grants to local communities to study the causes of water quality problems.

In addition, it authorizes grants for targeted remedial actions to counter these threats, as well as grants for sewer and stormwater discharge projects.

“Puget Sound is one of the most important waterways in the United States and is critical for the health of Washington’s economy and environment,” said Senator Cantwell. “However, the declining health of the Sound is putting this at risk.”

“By taking this step to help protect Puget Sound, we are helping the four million Americans who benefit from recreational and environmental opportunities, supporting $20 billion in economic activity annually,” the senator said.

Building upon Puget Sound cleanup efforts already underway at the local and state levels, the increased federal response authorized by the Puget Sound Recovery Act will be a model of scientific integrity, coordination between federal, state, local and tribal governments, and demonstrable achievement that is transparent and open to public scrutiny.

Area congressional representatives from the Puget Sound region – Representatives Jay Inslee, Rick Larsen, Brian Baird, Jim McDermott, Dave Reichert, and Adam Smith – all have joined as original co-sponsors of the legislation in the House.

The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Senator Patty Murray of Washington has co-sponsored the Senate version of the bill.

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OLYMPIA, Washington, February 21, 2008 (ENS) – Although the key definition of whether a pesticide applied to surface waters is, or is not, a pollutant is still to be decided in court, the Washington State Department of Ecology Wednesday reissued a general permit for the application of pesticides to control aquatic weeds in irrigation water conveyance systems.

The permit covers 16 irrigation districts that use pesticides to control aquatic weeds and algae growth in irrigation systems. The permit is required by the Washington State Water Pollution Control Act.

Ecology’s updated permit tightens the limit for the discharge of copper from irrigation systems. Copper kills aquatic weeds, however it also harms fish and other forms of aquatic life. Copper can damage the function of fish gills. It also interferes with the ability of migratory salmon and steelhead to find their spawning streams.

The permit also provides specifics to irrigation districts that use pesticides about where they should monitor water quality.

Any short term toxicity to aquatic organisms is allowed under the terms of the permit and the water quality modification provisions to perform essential activities that promote effective water delivery.

This permit does not authorize a violation of the surface water quality standards, or any other applicable state or federal regulations. Ecology may require any person seeking coverage under this permit to obtain coverage under an individual permit instead.

The determination of whether or not a pesticide is a pollutant under the Clean Water Act is still before the courts.

On November 21, 2006, the U.S. EPA issued a final rule entitled “Application of Pesticides to Waters of the United States in Accordance with FIFRA [Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act].”

This rule replaces the draft interpretive statement the EPA issued in 2003 concerning the use of pesticides in or around waters of the United States.

The EPA rule states that any pesticide meant for use in or near water that is applied in accordance with the EPA-issued FIFRA label, is not a pollutant under the Clean Water Act. Therefore, such applications are not subject to NPDES permitting.

The rule has been appealed and will be heard in the coming months by a U.S. District Court.

After the EPA issued this rule, the Department of Ecology met with stakeholders to seek input on how Ecology should regulate the use of pesticides until the rule appeal concludes. Ecology also provided the public with a three week comment period.

Stakeholders affiliated with each of the seven affected permits – mosquito, noxious weed, aquatic plant and algae, irrigation, oyster growers, fish management, and invasive moth – sent comments to the Department of Ecology. The majority of comments requested that the state agency continue issuing joint NPDES/state permits to regulate aquatic pesticide applications.

The Department of Ecology warns users that any application of pesticide to surface waters of the state requiring NPDES permit coverage that is found not to be covered under either the general permit or an individual permit may be subject to potential enforcement action.

The new permit replaces and revokes the permit Ecology issued on April 10, 2002, and that expired on May 10, 2007. The official title of the revised permit is Irrigation System Aquatic Weed Control National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and State Waste Discharge General Permit.

The permit and a 54 page fact sheet are available here [www.ecy.wa.gov].

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