Ecology Priorities > Puget Sound > Accomplishments > 2006 Accomplishments

Puget Sound: What we accomplished in 2006

-2006-

Dec. 31 – "Spill Scene" The 2006 Annual Report of Ecology's Spill Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Program was released.

Dec. 21 – Ecology announced that cleanup work is underway in Port Gamble Bay on the Kitsap Peninsula, one of six bay areas targeted for Puget Sound cleanup. Contractors will dredge 17,000 cubic yard of wood debris and contaminated sediments from the water at the 2-acre site. (More)

Dec. 6 – Ecology announced it has revised a portion of the state's water quality standards that will make watersheds throughout the Puget Sound region healthier for salmon and trout. The revised water quality standards require colder water, and in some cases, more dissolved oxygen to assure healthy summertime spawning and rearing habitat for endangered fish. The changes include major Puget Sound rivers such as the Green, Nisqually, Nooksack, Puyallup, Skagit, Stilliguamish and Snohomish. (More)

Nov. 28 – Ecology announces that Director Jay Manning will kick off a half-day conference on wetland mitigation banking in Lacy on Dec. 5. A wetland bank is a pre-existing wetland restoration project, specially licensed by Ecology, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the county where the project is located. (More)

Nov. 20 – Ecology offered $700,000 for Puget Sound watershed protection and restoration grants. Local governments and organizations engaged in watershed planning can receive up to $50,000 to integrate salmon recovery, land use and water efforts into a coordinated approach to watershed protection and restoration. (More)

Nov. 16 – Ecology levied a $100,000 fine to Celebrity Cruises after the cruise ship Mercury discharged more than 500,000 gallons of untreated wastewater into Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca in September and October 2005. (More)

Nov. 15 – Ecology and Crowley Maritime Corp. entered into an agreement to station a company rescue tug at Neah Bay starting Jan. 1, 2007 - The agreement filled a gap created when another tug company opted out of its contract to provide tug coverage after Dec. 31, 2006. A rescue tug has been stationed at Neah Bay during rough winter months since 1999 and has come to the aid of 29 disabled ships to keep them from grounding and spilling oil. (More)

Nov. 2 - The Department of Ecology (Ecology) announced the agency is providing $2.5 million to 10 local governments in the Puget Sound region to help fund innovative, low impact development stormwater management projects. Low-impact development sites are designed to better manage stormwater close to where it originates. The projects are designed to help reduce pollutants entering Puget Sound through rainwater runoff. (More)

Oct. 27 - Ecology fined Puget Sound Transit Authority $66,000 for 26 violations of the light rail project's construction stormwater permit between August 2005 and June 2006. Ecology also issued an order directing the transit agency to make construction-practice changes with its contractor aimed at preventing stormwater problems from occurring again as the fall and winter rains arrive. (More)

Oct. 13 - Polar Tankers, Inc. and ConocoPhillips will pay a $540,000 fine levied by Ecology after the oil tanker Polar Texas spilled more than 1,000 gallons of crude oil into Puget Sound's Dalco Passage on Oct. 13, 2004. The $540,000 fine was the maximum possible penalty under state law and is the largest Ecology has received for a spill to marine waters. Negotiations are continuing on a state-federal-tribal damage assessment separate from the penalty that will be used to support environmental restoration projects to compensate Washington citizens for damage to the public's resources. (More)

Oct. 2 - Department of Natural Resources removes 150 tons of toxic creosote logs from Dungeness Spit National Wildlife Refuge in Clallam County.

Sept. 28 - Ecology delivers the first oil-spill-response supplies to the Port of Seattle, King County, and Seattle Fire Department. Ecology will deliver about 40 sets of response equipment in various locations around Puget Sound, Hood Canal and Strait of Juan de Fuca by June 2007. (More)

Sept. 25 - Ecology adopts new oil transfer and oil spill contingency plan rules that become effective Oct. 26. The rules are aimed at preventing oil spills in Puget Sound and reducing adverse environmental effects for any spills that may occur. (More)

Sept. 14 - State and federal agencies announce that dioxins have been found in sediment samples taken from areas slated for maintenance dredging in South Sound's Budd Inlet. The state departments of Ecology and Natural Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Port of Olympia will determine the best course of action through a full public participation process. (More)

Sept. 14 - Ecology enters into landmark agreement with Marine Spill Response Corp. to help respond to and clean up oil spills in state marine waters, including Puget Sound. (More)

Aug. 22 - Ecology announces $7.5 million grant and low-interest loan program to help Puget Sound homeowners in the 12 counties that border Puget Sound repair or replace failing, or improve existing septic systems to help Sound beaches, shellfish beds and streams stay clean in the future. (More)

Aug. 18 - Ecology begins crafting the first geographic oil-spill response plan for tackling oil spills in the Snohomish River basin. (More)

Aug. 14 - Ecology hires new vessel and facility inspectors, spill responders, and oil spill contingency planners. Most of the positions are in Puget Sound. (More)

Aug. 1 - Tribal, state and federal officials commemorate completion of a $5.2 million habitat restoration plan to offset damages to Washington's fish and wildlife populations during the 1991 Tenyo Maru oil spill. (More)

July 21 - Ecology provides $140,000 to place special software and equipment on two King County Sheriffs Office helicopters. The new equipment has the ability to spot and track oil spills at night and during storms. (More)

July 14 - Ecology announces a new $2.5 million grant program to help local governments in Puget Sound fund innovative, low impact development stormwater management projects. (More)

July 11 and 13 - Ecology holds workshops in Tacoma and Seattle seeking public help to update the department's geographic response plans for tackling oil spills in central Puget Sound. (More)

July 5 - the U.S. Attorney for Western Washington, and Ecology, announce 14 Puget Sound cleanup and restoration projects that will be funded by a $1.7 million settlement agreement regarding the Evergreen International Shipping Line criminal case. (More)

April 25 - State Parks and Recreation Commission announces that the campground at Twanoh State Park will be closed while the commission replaces the park's existing wastewater collection and treatment system to keep. The action is part of the Governor's broader initiative to help upgrade or replace wastewater systems at other state parks in Puget Sound and Hood Canal to prevent possible water quality problems. The parks include Belfair, Birch Bay, Blake Island, Camano Island, Deception Pass, Dosewallips, Fay Bainbridge, Fort Casey, Fort Ebey, Fort Flagler, Fort Worden, Illahee, Kitsap Memorial, Kopachuck, Larrabee, Penrose Point, Pleasant Harbor, Possession Point, Potlatch, Scenic Beach, Sequim Bay, Shine Tidelands/Wolfe Property and Triton Cove. (More)