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The
mission of Puget Soundkeeper Alliance is to protect
and preserve Puget Sound by tracking down and stopping
the discharge of toxic pollutants into its waters. The
Alliance is the only organization that actively
monitors and patrols the waters of Puget Sound to detect
and document sources of illegal pollution. While it
is not our only approach to conservation efforts in
the Sound, it is one of our greatest strengths. The
Alliance is part of the Waterkeeper
Alliance founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the fastest
growing environmental movement in the world. These keepers
act as stewards for their rivers, lakes, bays, sound,
or coast. The goal of our organization is simple, to
prevent pollution.
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The
Problem
Water
quality in Puget Sound is getting worse and many species
that call Puget Sound home are in trouble. This is
according to the Puget Sound Water Quality Action
Team, which released, in March 2000, their report
on the health of Puget Sound (2000 Puget Sound Update).
Orca whales, Pacific herring, rockfish, coho salmon,
scoters, Western grebes, and great blue herons are
in trouble. Harbor seals are threatened with toxic
contamination from PCBs. Many shellfish growing areas
no longer can be safely harvested because of deteriorating
water quality. Incidences of liver lesions in English
sole in Elliott Bay, resulting from contact with polluted
sediments, are increasing at an alarming rate and
the amount of contaminated sediments in urban bays
may also be on the increase. And finally, more than
half of Puget Sound's rivers violate state water quality
standards for fecal coliform bacteria.
The
overall trend concludes that the health of Puget Sound
is getting worse, not better. Increased development
to accommodate increased population growth, habitat
loss, and the continued discharge of pollutants are
the suspected culprits.
One
hundred years of urban stormwater and the industrial
discharge of pollutants into Puget Sound has left
a legacy of toxic sediment contamination in urban
and industrialized regions around Puget Sound. For
example, the lower six miles of the Duwamish River
are being considered for listing as a national superfund
clean up site and there are over 100 toxic hotspots
on the neighboring shores of the river. Harbor Island
at the mouth of the river is already a superfund site.
The Clean Water Act goal of eliminating the discharge
of pollutants into the nation's waters by 1985 has
yet to be achieved. The Department of Ecology (DOE)
is failing to reduce effluent discharges from National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits,
companies are continuing to violate their NPDES permits,
and DOE is failing to enforce NPDES permits.
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Our
Approach to protecting Puget Sound
PSA's
strategy to address water quality in Puget Sound includes
enforcement
and prevention.
Our long-term goal is to stop the discharge of
pollutants into the waters of Puget Sound in accordance
with the Clean Water Act. Pollution prevention
is ultimately cheaper and better for the environment
than superfund clean ups. Our short-term goal is
to turn off pollution one pipe at a time by taking
legal action
against permit violators, reviewing
pollutant discharge permits, monitoring
on the water, expanding our coverage of Puget Sound,
reporting and responding to incidents of pollution,
and educating
and empowering businesses and citizens to get involved
in protecting Puget Sound.
PSA believes in preventing pollution before it
happens. PSA is a member of the EnviroStars
Cooperative, which has certified hundreds of small
hazardous waste generating business for reducing their
generation of waste and improving the handling of
their waste streams. PSA is also the regional representative
of the National
Clean Boating Campaign which has educated thousands
of recreational boaters over the years about clean
boating practices.
On-the-water monitoring
is essential to an effective Keeper program. No other
environmental organization or government agency actively
monitors and patrols the waters of Puget Sound to
detect and document sources of illegal pollution.
Both unpermitted discharges and violations by permitted
companies are discovered by the Soundkeeper's monitoring
efforts. The Soundkeeper then works directly with
the source responsible for the discharge, collaborates
with government agencies to resolve the problem, or
in ongoing and egregious cases, or where our government
agencies fail to act, takes citizen enforcement action
to stop the pollution at its source. The visible presence
of the Soundkeeper boat out on the water also serves
as a deterrent to potential polluters. The Soundkeeper
and staff patrolled Puget Sound 44 times in 1997,
18 times in 1998, and 47 times in 1999 and 62 times
in 2000. Trained Citizen
Soundkeepers are also patrolling frequently throughout
the year.
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