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Department of Ecology News Release - January 15, 2008
08-009
OLYMPIA – As part of a greater “Puget Sound Initiative” to clean up the Sound, small businesses from across the region will get onsite technical assistance to control and prevent toxic pollution sources.
The Puget Sound Initiative is a collaborative effort – by local, tribal, state and federal governments, business, agricultural and environmental interests, and the public – to restore and protect the Sound.
Together, the Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the Puget Sound Partnership (Partnership) have announced the funding selection of 12 Puget Sound local governments to hire business assistance specialists who will help small businesses prevent pollution and improve business practices.
Most local governments already help small businesses safely manage hazardous and solid wastes. The state money for interagency contracts from Gov. Chris Gregoire and the 2007 Legislature boosts these local programs as part of a comprehensive effort to restore Puget Sound being overseen by the Partnership.
“Small businesses play a critical role in the overall economic vitality of our state and local communities,” said Gov. Gregoire. “A clean environment is crucial to our quality of life and Washington’s competitive position in a global economy. Thousands of small businesses will benefit from the guidance that these local, on-the-ground specialists provide.”
The specialists will work directly with small businesses to:
“It is better to prevent pollution than to clean up wastes after they are formed. Technical assistance will save businesses money by helping them control the amount of waste they generate, hopefully preventing the need for expensive cleanups later on,” said Ecology Director Jay Manning.
“As we work to protect the Sound, business will be one of our key partners,” said Partnership Executive Director David Dicks. “These kinds of affiliations between business and governments will be crucial to our long-term success.”
Nearly 70 percent of the businesses that generate hazardous waste in Washington are in the Puget Sound region. A recent Ecology report found that “surface-water runoff” from land is generally the largest contributor of toxic chemicals to the Sound. Surface-water runoff, according to the report, includes stormwater, groundwater that discharges into rivers and streams, and many different hard-to-trace sources of pollution from the land with no obvious points of discharge.
All of the 12 Puget Sound governments will use the money to hire at least one business specialist. Kitsap County Public Works, for instance, will be able to use the money to hire two specialists.
Individual contracts range from about $125,000 up to $270,000. The 2007-09 operating budget contains $2.1 million for the Puget Sound source control program. It is supported by Ecology and the Partnership.
The following Puget Sound governments have been selected to receive funding through the program:
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Media Contacts: Patricia
“Chipper” Hervieux, acting local source control coordinator, 360-407-6756
(pher461@ecy.wa.gov)
Curt Hart, Department of Ecology media relations, 360-407-6990; cell,
360-480-7908 (char461@ecy.wa.gov)
Katy Johansson, Puget Sound Partnership media
relations, 360-725-5442; cell, 360-701-3568 (katy.johansson@psp.wa.gov)
For more information: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/hwtr/lsp/index.html
Puget Sound Partnership Web site: http://www.psp.wa.gov/
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
