Skagit Countys Samish Bay shellfish beds deserve better protection, say federal, state and county officials (WA)
(Seattle – June 6, 2011) Skagit
County’s Samish watershed will come under closer scrutiny by
federal, state and county environmental inspectors as they pursue
cleaner water and safer shellfish in Puget Sound’s Samish
Bay. The boost in protection includes coordinated inspections in
the Samish Watershed and a $960,000 U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency grant to Skagit County to locate, identify and remedy
sources of fecal contamination.
High bacteria counts in the Bay have downgraded
over 4,000 acres of shellfish beds. Scientists suspect the bacteria
come from many sources, including livestock, wildlife, pets and
humans.
These high bacteria counts are largely due to
rainfall causing additional rural runoff into the Samish River
which flows into Samish Bay. These types of conditions led the
Washington State Department of Health to close Samish Bay shellfish
beds a total of 63 days in 2010.
“Every bacterial source, regardless of
where it is in the watershed, can hurt water quality,” said
Tom Eaton, Director of EPA’s Washington Operations Office.
“We need to focus on where we can make a difference:
livestock, pets and human-generated pollution. We are working
closely with the state, Skagit County, Skagit Conservation District
and the tribes to fix this problem in Samish
Bay.”
EPA’s contributions include compliance
inspections; aerial over flights; reviewing county monitoring
reports and field inspection notes; looking for animals with direct
access to streams as well as direct discharges of manure or manure
laden water to streams; identifying commercial or recreational
facilities with inadequate buffers or fields with no vegetation.
EPA will be relying on Skagit County to assess on-site sewage
treatment systems which could also be part of the
problem.
These actions are part of EPA’s ongoing
efforts and investments to help cleanup and restore Puget Sound by
2020. From 2008-2010, EPA has awarded more than $90 million to
state, tribal and federal organizations for the restoration and
protection of Puget Sound.
For additional information about Samish Bay
cleanup, visit: http://www.psp.wa.gov/pressreleases/051711_samish.php
or
Puget Sound Partnership’s 10-point action
plan
For additional information about other Puget
Sound projects funded by EPA, visit:
https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-10-pacific-northwest