Ecology Department to hold nonpoint pollution meeting in Edmonds May 18

Photo courtesy Washington State Department of Ecology
Photo courtesy Washington State Department of Ecology

The Washington Department of Ecology will hold four public meetings statewide  in May — including one in Edmonds — about the draft update to Washington’s Water Quality Management Plan to Control Nonpoint Sources of Pollution (otherwise known as the Nonpoint Source Plan).

The Edmonds meeting will be from 6-8 p.m. Monday, May 18 in the Edmonds Conference Center Orchid Room, 201 4th Ave. N.

During the meeting, the Ecology Department will provide background information on the Nonpoint Source Plan (NPS); describe how the it is structured and key changes made by this update; provide information on how you can provide comments on the draft plan and outline the timeline for finalizing it. There will be a question-and-answer period during the meetings.

What is nonpoint pollution? Here’s an excerpt from a post on the State Ecology Department’s ECOconnect blog:

What we call “nonpoint pollution” is really the combined environmental effects of modern life. It’s the rubber from our car tires, bacteria from our pets and failing septic tanks, copper from our brake pads, phosphorous from our cleaning products, and muddy water from cleared land – it’s a little bit of everything that we leave behind as we go about our business.

When it rains, the runoff picks up and carries this pollution downstream into our lakes, rivers and marine waters. It can send bacteria into our waters that closes our shellfish and swimming beaches. It can release PCBs and pesticides from the land.

The Ecology Department is required to update the state’s Nonpoint Source Plan so it can maintain Washington State’s eligibility for Section 319 (federal NPS Program) funding. The plan also must meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act requirements.

Washington’s NPS provides the foundation for the state to address nonpoint pollution. The NPS outlines the state’s approach to addressing water quality impacts from nonpoint sources of pollution in accordance with state and federal law.

 

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