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Department of Ecology News Release - August 9, 2007
07-226
OLYMPIA - The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) is offering grants, workshops and a new educational brochure to help local governments across the state tackle the state's largest source of urban water pollution - stormwater.
Polluted stormwater from runoff is a major threat to the state's urban waters. It carries a toxic blend of pollution downstream into lakes, rivers and marine waters. Uncontrolled stormwater also can carry muddy water downstream and suffocate salmon and trout and their egg nests. It can also cause flooding and slope failures that threaten people's homes and the environment.
Ecology is awarding $75,000 grants to approximately 145 local governments through its Local Governments Stormwater Grants Program. The funding will help local governments design stormwater programs so they can comply with the state's new "Phase II" municipal stormwater permits that went into effect earlier this year. This $9 million grants program provides approximately $7 million for local stormwater programs in the Puget Sound area and $2 million for local stormwater programs outside of Puget Sound.
More information can be found online at: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/funding/LocalGovernmentStormwaterGrants.htm
Additional funding for local governments is available through Ecology's upcoming $20 million Stormwater Management Implementation Grants Program. In the program, $17.2 million is earmarked for Puget Sound related stormwater projects and $2.8 million for non-Puget Sound related stormwater projects. These grants will help local governments pay for the construction of low-impact development stormwater projects, to identify and remove non-stormwater discharges that are going into municipal storm sewer systems, and to retrofit stormwater projects in urban areas where stormwater is a significant source of pollution.
The competitive grant application period will run from August 15 through October 15. Read about the grant program online at: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/funding/SWMgmtImplementationGrants.htm
Ecology will hold an all-day workshop Sept. 25 in Bellevue to assist representatives from local government responsible for implementing the Western Washington Phase II stormwater program. The free workshop is open to all. Registration closes Sept. 14, or when the workshop is full. Ecology will hold a similar outreach and education program in Eastern Washington in early 2008. Find out more at: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/stormwater/municipal/workshops.html
Ecology has published a new education guide showing and explaining why polluted stormwater is a problem for people and the environment, and how the problem can be solved. Called "Protecting Washington's waters from stormwater pollution," the online brochure gives people tips about how to reduce polluted stormwater. The brochure is part of Ecology's Environment Education Guide series and is a tool for local governments to inform citizens. Read and download the brochure at: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0710058.html.
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Media contact: Sandy Howard, 360-407-6408
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
