Tribes reject Inslee’s water quality plan, will ask EPA to act – Herald.net

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Al Bergstein

Looks like the Tribes are not happy with the waffling that the State has been doing on deterring water quality standards.

An alliance of tribes is rejecting Gov. Jay Inslee’s approach to revising the state’s water quality standards and will ask the Environmental Protection Agency to enact new rules for Washington. The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission sent Inslee a letter on Thursday in which members express their “dissatisfaction” with a proposal they say won’t change the status quo. “The tribes’ principal objective for revised water quality standards is to protect the health of future generations, and we have determined that your proposal does not meet this goal,” reads the letter. Jerry Cornfield reports. (Everett Herald)

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20140905/BLOG13/140909487/Tribes-reject-Inslees-water-quality-plan-will-ask-EPA-to-act

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Environment Washington Pushing To Close Loopholes In Clean Water Act – KPLU

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Al Bergstein

As it relates to the fact that we have pulp mills here.

Industrial polluters dumped more than two million pounds of toxic chemicals into Washington’s waterways in 2012, according to a new report from Environment Washington. The group says tightening federal law could help curb the problem.  The group used data reported to the Environmental Protection Agency by the polluters themselves. Among the findings: the Lower Chehalis River watershed southwest of Olympia received the second highest volume in the nation of toxins that affect reproductive health. That’s due primarily to chemicals dumped by paper mills, says Anusha Narayanan, a field associate with Environment Washington. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KPLU)

http://kplu.org/post/environment-washington-pushing-close-loopholes-clean-water-act

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Salish Sea Health Report shows mixed trends for key environmental indicators in Puget Sound and Northwest Straits

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Al Bergstein

A report featuring key environmental indicators for the Salish Sea shows mixed trends, with some indicators showing improvements, others declining, and others remaining steady. The Health of the Salish Sea Ecosystem Report, issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Environment Canada, features indicators in four key areas: Air, water, animal species, and human well-being. The contents of the report are featured in a comprehensive website: http://www2.epa.gov/salish-sea …. As a whole, the 2013 report showed positive trends in reducing pollution in the aquatic food web, but showed continuing declines across aquatic habitat and species based indicators. More specifically, the report shows improved air quality, improved freshwater water quality and reductions in persistent toxic chemicals in the aquatic food web. The indicators representing populations of wild species, including marine species at risk and Chinook salmon abundance, need more attention. Two habitat indicators sensitive to climate change, summer stream flow and marine water quality, are also showing declining trends. News release:  http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/47dab506b735ad3285257bac00646ec9?OpenDocument

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