Publication Summary

Located primarily in Whatcom County, Washington, the Nooksack River basin encompasses 825 square miles of diverse geography between the northwestern slopes of the Cascade Mountains, through foothills and lowlands to Bellingham Bay. The lowlands area is the focus of a plan by local, tribal and state officials to improve water quality.

Located primarily in Whatcom County, Washington, the Nooksack River basin encompasses 825 square miles of diverse geography between the northwestern slopes of the Cascade Mountains, through foothills and lowlands to Bellingham Bay. The lowlands area is the focus of a plan by local, tribal and state officials to improve water quality.

The goal of the cleanup plan for the lower Nooksack River is to restore water quality so that it meets all beneficial uses, including the re-opening of Lummi shellfish beds at Portage Bay. These shellfish beds were restricted in 1998 by Washington Dept. of Health due to unsafe levels of fecal coliform bacterial pollutants.

The Clean Water Act requires states to identify waters that do not meet state standards, and to develop a cleanup plan targeted at pollution sources. Water cleanup plans – also called total maximum daily load studies (TMDL) - include an analysis of water quality sampling data and a strategy to limit pollution to meet state water quality standards.

Written public comments on the proposed Nooksack River cleanup plan will be accepted through May 31, 2000. The full text of the TMDL study and water cleanup plan can be accessed at the libraries of Everson, Lynden, Ferndale and Bellingham; the Whatcom Conservation District; Ecology′s Bellingham Field Office; or at http://www.wa.gov/ECOLOGY/biblio/0003006.html Comments or questions should be directed to Steve Hood, Dept. of Ecology, Bellingham Field Office, 1204 Railroad Ave., Suite 200, Bellingham, WA 98225. His phone is 360-738-6250 or e-mail shoo461@ecy.wa.gov.