Port must take lead in restoring Puget Sound

Our two families have lived, worked and played in the beautiful Pacific Northwest for generations. We've come to realize that the amazing natural bounty we've taken for granted all these years may not be the legacy we are passing on to our children.

John: This summer, three generations of my family took a cruise to Alaska. Leaving from the Port of Seattle and traveling the Inside Passage to Alaska, we had front-row seats to majestic land- and seascapes filled with mountains and glaciers, orcas and humpback whales, deer and caribou, brown bears and bald eagles, salmon and halibut, among other natural wonders. It was a wonderful repeat of a trip my family took 35 years ago, but with the addition of a new generation. Since that first trip in the early '70s, we as a region have come to better understand how fragile and at risk our beautiful waterways are after a century of misuse.

Kathy: When I was a kid I played on the beach below my grandparents' house near Browns Point, just north of Tacoma. At low tide, it was a jungle of sorts -- crabs, jellyfish, piles of seaweed, impromptu fountains from the squirts of clams and worms. But my grandmother rightly cautioned us about eating anything we dug or caught there -- between the sewage discharges from houses along the beach and the toxic smoke from the Tacoma smelter's plume, even then she knew that things weren't right. Now, with the region's population four times larger, her warning flags are flashing red alarms.

This year, a new Puget Sound Partnership is taking shape to restore the health of the Sound by 2020. At the same time, the Port of Seattle has announced the goal of becoming the "greenest, cleanest and most energy efficient port" in the nation. The two of us -- a port commissioner and an environmentalist -- are energized by these efforts, recognizing that the port should not only be a partner with other regional stakeholders in restoring our waterways, but should play a leadership role.

Restoring the health of our Sound is not only the right thing to do; it will drive a vibrant regional economy. The port projects strong growth over the next decade in each of its major operational lines of cargo, cruise, fisheries, marinas and aviation, adding to the more than 200,000 jobs that port-related activities create in our region. In order to grow in a responsible manner, it is important that the port be a good neighbor and strong environmental steward. A healthy environment is critical in continuing to increase the flow of cargo, boost tourism, maintain strong fisheries and attract workers.

The port has shown and continues to show leadership in cleaning up Elliott Bay and the Duwamish Waterway. In June 2006, the Port Commission voted to direct the cleanup of Terminal 117, PCB-contaminated waterfront property that the port owns in the South Park neighborhood, and restore it to natural habitat, vital for migrating salmon. Last month, the Port Commission instructed staff to explore going above and beyond regulatory requirements in removing PCB-contaminated sediments from Elliott Bay as part of the cargo expansion project at Terminal 30. Indeed, the Terminal 30 project -- in which the port is proposing to dredge contaminated sediments in the area of a sewer outflow maintained by King County -- presents an opportunity for collaboration among regional governments in restoring our waterways, and a potential model for what the Puget Sound Partnership could be.

But the port can do more. It has many areas where it can -- and should -- take a leadership role in working collaboratively with federal and state regulators, regional governments, tenants and stakeholders to restore the health of Puget Sound:

Maritime air emissions: The port has a goal of reducing dockside emissions from ships by 70 percent by 2010, and is collaboratively working to continue to reduce cruise-ship, maritime terminal equipment and truck emissions. The port should do more to support and encourage the use of more environmentally friendly technologies and less-polluting fuels.

Habitat restoration: Along with controlling stormwater runoff, habitat restoration has been identified as a major priority of the Puget Sound Partnership. The restoration of even small pockets of natural habitat along an industrial waterfront -- by removing contaminated sediments and noxious creosote pilings from the water and restoring shorelines and natural plant life -- can significantly and positively benefit the health of our waterways. There is much more work to be done along the Duwamish and Elliott Bay.

Stormwater runoff: Stormwater runoff contains oil and grease, pesticides, copper from brake linings and a host of other pollutants that are extremely harmful to our environment. The port has made major strides to control stormwater runoff from the airport, and is looking at efforts to control stormwater runoff from its other properties, and working with King County and other regional governments to control runoff from streets and drainage pipes.

Cruise-ship discharge: The cruise-ship industry has implemented some of the most advanced onboard wastewater treatment technology available, but there still is the question of biosolids, which are currently burned or discharged in international waters. The port, in collaboration with the county, should proactively support an effort for landside off-loading and recycling of these biosolids.

Green marinas: Recreational boaters enjoy more than anyone the benefits of a healthy Puget Sound, but historically, clean water and healthy shorelines have not been a top priority in marina design and management. Boat fueling and maintenance, shoreline armoring and parking lots, shading of shallow water areas and discharges from boats are all reasons that marinas tend to be highly degraded environments. Three of the port's marinas have achieved the status of EnviroStar facilities, but the port should continue to look for other opportunities for the "greening" of its boat service and moorage spots.

Oil-spill prevention: One major oil spill could wipe out all of the painstaking progress we're making to restore the Sound. The port should be a leader in advocating oil prevention strategies such as operator training, precautions and restrictions on fueling operations and supporting regional initiatives such securing a year-round rescue tugboat at Neah Bay.

The port's 2008 budget planning process is upon us, and the Port Commission will be looking at these and other ways that the Port can take a leadership role in pursuing initiatives to help clean up our waterways. Port chief executive Tay Yoshitani has broken away from traditional thinking by challenging and empowering port staff from the bottom up to recommend ways in which the port can increase its environmental stewardship and energy conservation efforts. It will not be easy, but we must not fail at achieving a healthy Puget Sound by 2020.