What
is Puget Soundkeeper Alliance enforcing? Answer: The Clean
Water Act.
The Federal Clean Water Act of 1972 was designed to protect
our nation's waters. The Act's objectives are to elminate
the discharge of pollutants into the nation's waters and
to achieve water quality levels that are fishable and swimmable.
"It is the national goal that the discharge of pollutants
into the navigable waters be eliminated by 1985." Thereby
empowering citizens to petition for stronger standards but
more importantly, allowing them to use legal
action to enforce pollution laws.
Who
is the Puget Soundkeeper and what does she do? The Soundkeeper
is a citizen advocate for a particular body of water. Through
monitoring & patrolling,
she enforces environmental laws, petitions for stronger
pollution standards, and acts as a voice for the people.
What
is Puget Soundkeeper Alliance focusing on right now? Answer:
Stormwater. Stormwater
enters Puget Sound directly through storm drains after precipitation
comes in contact with urban areas (cars, streets and lawns),
industrial facilities (raw materials, industrial processes
or products), and construction sites (disturbed soil and
debris). Untreated stormwater is unsafe because it includes
toxic organics, heavy metals, bacteria, viruses, nutrients,
oil and grease, pesticides and herbicides, and suspended
solids all of which are harmful to salmon, orcas, blue herons
and other threatened species. Click
here to learn more about our Stormwater Program
