Clallam county is apparently trying to get out of Phase II stormwater runoff processes in new urban growth areas to the east of Port Angeles. If I’m not mistaken, these are the areas out where the new Walmart is located. Stormwater is essentially raw runoff that ends up untreated in the Strait. Given the findings over the last number of years of how much pollutants get dumped into the Strait and Sound via stormwater runoff, it would seem that making sure that new areas get properly developed in the first place makes more sense. Many of these can be designed as Port Townsend did recently, as “rain gardens” or other holding systems that can deal with the overflow via evaporation. Retrofitting infrastructure is vastly more costly than doing it right in the first place. It seems it should be a cost of doing business. Otherwise it’s a cost to the taxpayers to fix, including taxpayers who don’t use the businesses service. Since PA is looking to expand to the east, it would seem they need to get this right the first time.
Again, we find that Representative Tharinger is taking a stand against stronger environmental rules, which is odd given that he’s on the Puget Sound Partnership’s Strait Ecosystem Recovery Network, and has chaired meetings on these issues. He has been in support of biomass burning, about as dubious a ‘clean energy’ as imaginable and now this.
I’ll be glad to offer both Representative Tharinger and C.D.D. Ms. Roarke-Miller a forum if they want to clarify why this is going to help restore the Strait and our salmon runs. Like the old blues song says, “everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die.” If we want our salmon runs back, we need to make changes in future development to avoid doing the wrong things. And the new regs are the right things to do.
Also wondering where the Puget Sound Partnership is standing on all this. It would be great to see them take a position on this contentious issue.
But I’m willing to hear a reasonable argument as to why that doesn’t make sense, and will be willing to post whatever logical and civil argument people want to make.
—————————————————————————————-
7/7 Peninsula Daily News
Clallam says no thanks to phase II stormwater permit
By Rob Ollikainen
Peninsula Daily News
PORT ANGELES — Clallam County told the state Department of Ecology in a letter signed by the commissioners Tuesday that unincorporated Port Angeles urban growth area shouldn’t be covered by the 2012 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System phase II municipal stormwater general permit.
Ecology is evaluating the east Port Angeles urban growth area — or UGA — for possible inclusion in the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
Such a designation would require “more restrictive and more stringent” stormwater regulations, Clallam County Community Development Director Sheila Roark Miller said.
More at
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20110707/news/307079991/clallam-says-no-thanks-to-phase-ii-stormwater-permit