Steps that could save the Sound

Kudos to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and reporters Robert McClure, Lisa Stiffler and Lise Olsen for their eye-opening series on the health of Puget Sound. Their conclusions that the "Sound's ecosystem is spinning out of control" and that the "area's defining waterway is a cesspool of pollution" are backed by six months of thorough research and probing interviews with elected officials, scientists, bureaucrats and citizens.

Wait! How can this be? In 1985 the Legislature created the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority and called for a comprehensive plan to protect and restore the Puget Sound ecosystem. The plan, which laid out in detail the funding, enforcement and timeline of actions needed to save the Sound, was adopted in December 1986. The job ahead was big and the plan was ambitious, but given strong public support and the resilience of Mother Nature, the state's commitment to a healthy Sound seemed to have come in time to avoid an ecological catastrophe.

Wrong.

The plan was in time but when it came to carrying it out, there wasn't the political will. Talking about saving the Sound was easy. But doing it required getting tough with polluters, holding government agencies accountable for real results and spending enough money to get the job done.

That didn't happen.

Enforcement of environmental laws took a back seat to a soft -- and ineffective -- strategy of "technical assistance" to polluters. The Puget Sound Water Quality Authority was reorganized when it became too eager to hold agencies accountable. And even though there have been more good than bad economic times, sufficient money to do the job was never appropriated.

We've paid a steep price for this lack of political will. Now orcas, native salmon and nearly every other species that calls the Sound home have dramatically declined from 1985 levels. Some are on the verge of extinction.

That's not to say that nothing good has happened in Puget Sound. Today we have a rescue tug stationed at the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, ready to prevent an Exxon Valdez-type oil spill disaster.

We've begun to restore damaged habitats so that fish and wildlife can regain a foothold in the Sound. Sewage treatment plants have been upgraded from primary to secondary levels of treatment. The Northwest Straits Commission has organized an effort to pull out derelict fishing gear so it can no longer trap and kill the creatures of the Sound. Public awareness and volunteer involvement in protecting the Sound have burgeoned.

But progress has been a prolonged struggle and many other battles are still going on.

Improvements in shoreline protections still languish in regulatory and funding purgatory. Contaminated sediments under the Sound -- laden with toxic chemicals that poison creatures all the way up the food chain -- have not been cleaned up. Toxic pollutants from urban runoff, factories and sewage plants still enter the Sound with the blessing of the state.

What will it take to save the Sound?

People power: There's a lot each of us can do to save the Sound, starting by demanding that elected officials do their jobs. We can join such organizations as People For Puget Sound, volunteering time and money to restore habitat, to take care of shorelines and to get actively engaged in projects and policies for clean water and healthy habitats.

We can also make sure that we each strive to live in harmony with the environment -- driving less, not using toxic chemicals and patronizing businesses that are helping to sustain a healthy planet.

Political guts: Congress, the governor, the Legislature and local elected officials must become leaders in this fight to bring the Sound back to health. Maybe even the president could think better of his attacks on the environment. Here's a start on the to-do list:

Beef up the Puget Sound Action Team (the weak successor to the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority). Require it to name names and mince no words about what needs to be done and who needs to do it.
Get the toxics out of the Sound. The state should keep moving to rid the Sound of mercury pollution, both historic and ongoing, and then tackle PCBs and dioxins. The Sound's Superfund sites need to become cleanup sites rather than political football fields. And pollution permits should stop allowing the discharge of toxic chemicals into Sound waters.
Prevent oil spills. Permanently fund a year-round rescue tugboat at Neah Bay. Called out eight times last winter, the tug has more than proved its worth. Responding to a single spill would cost more than years and years of tug coverage. Worse, a big spill could spell death for whales.
Control pollution from urban runoff, known as storm water. Runoff -- from streets, highways, parking lots, industrial yards and even back yards -- is the biggest source of ongoing pollution to the Sound. Local governments are hoping to slip the deadlines for action yet again, as if the 30 years since the Clean Water Act's passage hasn't been long enough.
Protect and restore shorelines. Without healthy shorelines, the Sound's food chain collapses. Almost 30 years have elapsed since the state's shoreline management rules have been updated. In that time, population growth and development have overwhelmed the early attempts to protect beaches and wetlands. After years of false starts and political battles, it's time to do the job right.
Establish marine protected areas. Eelgrass beds, rocky reefs, spawning beaches and other critical habitats are the building blocks for restoring the Sound. Safe havens from harvest pressures are essential to bringing depleted species back from the brink of extinction.
Provide funding for restoration. We're past the point of being able to save the Sound by mitigating the effects of development or by protecting the few pristine areas that remain. Federal, state and local dollars are needed to step up the pace of restoring damaged habitats in the Sound's estuaries (where freshwater meets the salt) and on its beaches.
Accountability. Let's not wait for the P-I's next in-depth series before we hold our leaders and ourselves to account for the health of the Sound. At the ballot box, at the cash register, with our feet and with our voices, we can make sure that inaction and excuses are no longer tolerated.

People have been living on Puget Sound's shores for thousands of years, nurtured and enriched by its beauty and bounty. The ecosystem is as diverse as a tropical rainforest, a treasure trove for untold generations.

Those of us alive today will decide whether we will pass on this amazing legacy or whether it will be gone.

Kathy Fletcher founded People For Puget Sound, a membership organization, in 1991 to protect and restore the Sound and Straits; 206-382-7007 or www.pugetsound.org

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