01/15/2007: "Report Lists Troubles In Puget Sound"

ig_Gov-1 (12k image) (Christine Gregoire)
The Governor has some simple goals for Puget Sound, and a report released by the Puget Sound Action Team details continuing declines in the health of Puget Sound that underscores the Governor's call for action, and the budgeting of $424.7 million money to support action into the year 2020.

The State of the Sound 2007 documents problems with fresh and marine water quality, toxic contaminants in fish and wildlife, increasing impervious surfaces and ongoing loss of habitats. The report goes on to state the identified "problems are reflected in the precarious health of orcas, salmon and marine birds, and resulted in last year's first-ever consumption advisory for Puget Sound Chinook".

"The goals for Puget Sound cleanup are pretty simple. I want families to be able to swim in it, fish in it, and dig shellfish from its beaches," said Governor Gregoire. "This report reinforces that we still have work to do. That's why I have proposed aggressive action on the Sound before it's too late. It will take all of us recognizing we are part of the problem, and working together, we are all part of the solution."

"While the past two years have seen some good news and some positive trends, the future of Puget Sound is still at risk," said Brad Ack, chair of the Action Team. "The main driver of this silent crisis is the pace and style of growth in the region, with ever-more pavement, a stew of harmful pollutants and less and less of the native forests, prairies and natural shorelines. Climate change is rapidly emerging as another important trigger of unwanted change. While Puget Sound appears as beautiful as always, its web of life is in danger."

State of the Sound 2007 provides data on the overall health of the Sound, as well as progress that state agencies are making to protect and improve it. The Action Team and its predecessor agency have reported on the health of the Sound since 1986.
Highlights of the report's key indicators of health include:

Marine and fresh water health

In 2004, there were approximately 1,474 listings of "impaired waters" in Puget Sound's fresh and marine waters. Fifty-nine percent of the waters tested were found to be impaired, less than one-third of these impaired waters have cleanup plans in place.

Toxics in sediments
In a study of 584,000 acres of submerged lands, about one percent (5,700 acres, primarily in urban bays) were contaminated with high levels of toxic substances, and another 31 percent (179,000 acres) were moderately contaminated.

Toxics in chinook and coho salmon
Chinook salmon from Puget Sound have two-to-six times the PCBs and five-to-17 times the PBDEs in compared to other West Coast chinook populations.

Toxics in harbor seals
Harbor seal pups in south Puget Sound are seven times more contaminated with PCBs than seal pups from the Georgia Basin. PBDE levels in seals have increased dramatically over the past 20 years, from less than 50 parts per billion in fatty tissue to more than 1,000 ppb.

Safe swimming beaches
During the summer of 2005, 24 of 65 Puget Sound beaches violated water quality standards for bacteria. Seven beaches had multiple violations.

Impervious surface changes
Between 1991 and 2001, the amount of impervious surface increased 10.4 percent regionwide (43 square miles), covering 7.3 percent of the Puget Sound region below 1,000 feet elevation. Research shows significant decline in biological function when watersheds near or exceed 10 percent in impervious surface.

Forest loss in Puget Sound lowlands
Between 1991 and 2001, approximately 190 square miles of forest (about 2.3 percent of the total forested area of the Puget Sound basin) was converted to other uses. In areas below 1,000 feet elevation the change was more dramatic: 3.9 percent of total forest area was lost between 1991 and 2001.

Aquatic nuisance species
Two species of significant concern are tunicates, commonly called sea squirts, and spartina, a type of salt marsh grass. Significant progress has been made in the eradication of spartina. However, the recent establishment and spread of three species of non-native tunicates are a negative trend.

Orca (killer whales)
In 2005, Puget Sound's southern resident killer whales were added to the federal Endangered Species list, recognition of the precarious state of the species.

Salmon
In 2002, out of a total 207 stocks, 81 stocks were listed as healthy, 52 were depressed, 12 were critical and for 62 stocks the status was unknown. Since 1992, seven stocks have become extinct and the number of healthy stocks declined from 93 to 81.

Groundfish
While the majority of groundfish stocks are in good condition, many of the harvestable species are in sharp decline. Thirteen species of rockfish are designated by the state as candidates for future listing as threatened or endangered.

Marine birds
Nineteen of the 30 most common marine bird species in northern Puget Sound decreased by 20 percent or more between 1978 and 2004. Some species declined precipitously.

Stream flow
The timing and magnitude of fresh-water flows into Puget Sound influences water temperature, salinity, circulation patterns, habitat characteristics and marine life. Less precipitation falling as snow and earlier spring snowmelt have increased winter stream flows and decreased summer flows. This trend is expected to continue and will have significant consequences for human and ecosystem water needs.

Snow pack
The Puget Sound ecosystem and its cities depend on snow pack. Slow-melting mountain snow sustains flows in rivers and streams over long periods and replenishes water reservoirs in the spring. Snow pack measurements show a marked decline since 1950 almost everywhere in the Cascades, exceeding 25 percent at most locations. Declines tended to be greatest at the lower elevations.

Highlights of state successes on Puget Sound over the last two years:

o 1,200 acres of commercial shellfish harvest areas upgraded due to new pollution controls.
o 81 communities under stronger stormwater management requirements as of January 2007.
o Number of municipalities carrying out elements of a comprehensive stormwater program increased significantly.
o 19 cities and counties worked to change regulations to facilitate low impact development.
o Toxic cleanups finished at 323 land-based sites and 23 water-based sites.
o Hundreds of pounds of highly toxic mercury kept out of the waste stream through targeted efforts, and development of new control plans for flame retardants.
o $21 million invested in on-the-ground actions to reduce nutrient pollution and fish kills in Hood Canal through a multi-agency coordinated response.
o All 12 Puget Sound counties put in place more rigorous management programs for septic systems.
o $7 million in new funding allocated to counties to find and fix failing septic systems.
o 200 acres of high-quality habitat permanently protected; 400 acres and 17 miles of riparian habitat restored to high quality.
o 600 tons of creosote logs removed from state aquatic lands.
o $21 million allocated to improve sewage treatment at 24 state parks around Puget Sound.
o Recovery plans completed for threatened or endangered Puget Sound chinook; Hood Canal summer chum; bull trout and southern resident killer whales (orca).
o New safeguards, planning and inspection procedures adopted to prevent oil spills.
o New efforts initiated to control tunicates, a recently discovered invasive species.

"While these indicators and the health trends they show are disturbing, our successes over the last two years show that we can win on these issues if we put our minds and pocketbooks to it," said Ack, "A healthy Puget Sound can still be achieved, but only if we are willing to change the way we develop our environment, use our natural resources and dispose of our wastes. Saving Puget Sound is ultimately about changing our behavior."

Funding for Puget Sound
Last week, the Action Team submitted the 2007-2009 Puget Sound Conservation and Recovery Plan to the Legislature. Work outlined in the 2007-2009 plan is focused on eight core priorities that address the most significant causes of decline in the Sound. The 2007-2009 plan provides detailed information on key results to be achieved under each priority, with the budgets proposed and the responsible parties named. The Governor's proposed budget in that plan totals $424.7 million and combines continuing levels of funding with significant new investments to drive actions toward a healthy Puget Sound by 2020. Find it on the Action Team's Web site at www.psat.wa.gov/2007-2009plan.