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SEATTLE – Today at an event in Tacoma with U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer, Regional Administrator Casey Sixkiller and other officials, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Acting Assistant Administrator for Water Bruno Pigott announced $12 million in new Puget Sound stormwater funding to address pollution entering Puget Sound through the Stormwater Strategic Initiative.
The initiative, which is a partnership of Washington departments of Ecology and Commerce and the Washington Stormwater Center, will invest in efforts to reduce untreated stormwater runoff entering Puget Sound and impacting aquatic life including salmon, freshwater streams, and exacerbating nutrient pollution that can cause harmful algal blooms.
“The Biden-Harris Administration recognizes the unique significance of the Puget Sound and is committed to protecting treasured waters and vital species as part of our unprecedented investing in America agenda,” said Pigott. “Today’s $12 million announcement is a perfect example of how federal dollars, interdisciplinary partnerships, and innovation can ensure clean and fishable waters for generations to come.”
With today’s announcement, EPA has invested a total of $35 million to address toxics through the Stormwater Strategic Initiative. Previously, EPA funded the Puget Sound Regional Council’s stormwater parks planning project, which is laying the groundwork for new stormwater parks across the Puget Sound region. Kitsap County, King County, City of Bellevue and Futurewise GreenLink Port Angeles are also each receiving a $100,000 EPA stormwater park planning grant.
“This new funding will build upon EPA’s partnerships to address polluted road runoff that is impacting our salmon populations,” said Sixkiller. “With our partners at the Stormwater Strategic Initiative, we aim to reduce toxics entering Puget Sound through road retrofit planning, stormwater parks, and finding and fixing toxic hotpots. These actions will benefit water quality, salmon populations, tribal treaty rights, and the health of Puget Sound.”
EPA also announced funding for a new Puget Sound Climate Resilient Riparian Systems Lead. This collaborative riparian conservation program provides financial incentives for landowners to protect and restore riparian areas that support salmon recovery, climate resiliency, and other benefits. EPA anticipates awarding up to $30 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for this new program.
Washington coho salmon populations, including treaty-protect tribal salmon, are being depleted by the fatal impacts of polluted road runoff including a chemical from tires called 6PPD-q. To address the problem, Puget Sound partners are using the EPA funding, as well as state resources, to develop and implement stormwater treatment practices, including bioswales, rain gardens and stormwater parks to protect salmon populations. As an example, Tacoma’s Point Defiance Regional Stormwater Treatment Facility (funded by the Department of Ecology) ensures that water running off of 754 acres is treated for stormwater pollutants like 6PPD-q.
“We thank EPA for hearing the call from Washington communities for more funding to combat toxics in stormwater and support Puget Sound recovery,” said Washington State Department of Ecology Deputy Director Heather Bartlett. “By investing in stormwater infrastructure across the region, we are building more resilient communities, with cleaner water that will benefit all who live here for decades to come.”
“Our partnerships with the EPA, tribes, local governments and natural resource agencies are vital in our effort to be a good steward of the environment while managing our transportation system,” said Washington State Department of Transportation Secretary Roger Millar. “Our riparian restoration program in Pierce County is a prime example of an innovative partnership approach for treating highway runoff, improving water quality and restoring aquatic and wildlife habitat. With the Legislature and EPA investments we will have more opportunities like the riparian restoration program to develop and refine stormwater treatments that serve these critical goals.”
“This announcement marks a pivotal moment in our ongoing commitment to protect and restore Puget Sound and to ensure the vitality of our salmon populations,” said Kilmer. “New federal funding from the EPA will help our community to address the urgent challenge of reducing stormwater pollution. For years I’ve been working toward getting the federal government to be a better partner in Puget Sound recovery. Now, the Biden Administration is partnering with folks in our community to reduce stormwater pollution, understanding that reducing the pollutants entering our water is critical to restoring salmon and orca populations, upholding Tribal treaty rights, and more.”
“The Puget Sound is a national treasure that is vital to our economy, wildlife, Tribal treaty rights, and biodiversity,” said Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland. “Keeping a healthy, vibrant Puget Sound continues to be a priority of my work in Congress. This funding will help protect our local ecosystem and support treaty-protected tribal salmon resources by reducing toxic chemical run-off.”
Background
Puget Sound is ground zero for innovation in stormwater infrastructure and 6PPD-q research. EPA-funded Puget Sound science partners discovered that 6PPD-q was killing coho salmon before they spawn. EPA has developed a draft laboratory method for detecting 6PPD-quinone in surface water and stormwater, providing a tool for partners across the country to start monitoring.
In December 2022, President Biden signed Kilmer’s PUGET SOS Act into law to amend the Clean Water Act to establish the Puget Sound Recovery National Program Office, coordinate Puget Sound restoration and protection activities across EPA, and manage the Puget Sound Federal Leadership Task Force.
Washington also took action to reduce stormwater pollution from transportation infrastructure. In 2022, the Washington State Legislature authorized $500 million over 16 years for WSDOT to treat stormwater from existing roads with an emphasis on green infrastructure retrofits. The legislature directed WSDOT to prioritize projects that focus on benefits for salmon recovery and ecosystem health, reducing toxic pollution, addressing health disparities and cost effectiveness.
The Stormwater Strategic Initiative recently announced a new competitive funding opportunity with this EPA Puget Sound funding to support innovative best management practices for the removal of 6PPD-q, PCBs, and other contaminants from Puget Sound watersheds. The funding opportunity will award up to $1.5 million in total and will fund up to $500,000 per proposal.