LEAGUE OF WOMAN VOTERS OF WASHINGTON · DUWAMISH TRIBE ·COLUMBIA RIVERKEEPER · PUGET SOUNDKEEPER ALLIANCE · SPOKANERIVERKEEPER · NORTH SOUND BAYKEEPER · DRAYTON HARBOR COMMUNITYOYSTER FARM · PUGET SOUND HARVESTORS ASSOCIATION · EARTH MINISTRY ·NORTHWEST ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE CENTER · THE LANDS COUNCIL · TERRAORGANICA HEALTH FOOD AND GROCERY STORE · SAVE OUR WILD SALMON·GROWING WASHINGTON · BRITTLE BARN FARMS · DESCHUTES ESTUARYRESTORATION TEAM · CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY · PEPPERSISTERS RESTAURANT · SOUND ACTION · TRANSITION WHATCOM OPERATING GROUP· COMMUNITY TO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT · WILD STEELHEAD COALITION ·WILD FISH CONSERVANCY · A SPOT TAIL SALMON GUIDE · WATER & SALMONCOMMITTEE, WASHINGTON STATE CHAPTER OF THE SIERRA CLUB · EMERALDWATER ANGLERS · FRIENDS OF THE EARTH · DUWAMISH RIVER CLEANUPCOALITION/TAGApril 11, 2014Honorable Governor Jay InsleeP.O. Box 40002Olympia, WA 98504-0002Maia BellonDirector, Washington Department of EcologyP.O. Box 47600Olympia, WA 98504-7600Via Email & U.S. MailRE:Support for Health-Protective Water Quality Standards without LoopholesDear Honorable Governor Inslee and Director Bellon,We, the undersigned organizations, businesses, and the Duwamish Tribe, write to expressour strong support for protective, accurate water quality standards to protect public health. FromPuget Sound to the Columbia River—and in countless other waterbodies across the state—catching and eating local fish and shellfish is a quintessential part of being a Washingtonian. YetWashington’s human health water quality standards are among the nation’s least protective. Asa result, the state is not doing its job to prevent cancer-causing pollutants from entering ourstate’s rivers and Puget Sound.We are asking you to change this. By setting strong and accurate standards the state canreduce the amount of pollution industry and cities discharge to waterways—a critical step towardreducing cancer-causing pollutants in fish and shellfish. Fish advisories telling people to limit ornot eat fish are not a fair or healthy solution.We are also asking the Governor’s Office and Ecology to reject industry-backedproposals to gut the effectiveness of accurate, protective water quality standards. Theoverarching purpose of adopting new water quality standards is to improve water quality and thehealth of people who regularly eat fish. We are deeply concerned that the “regulatory tools”currently on the table will, instead, result in more toxic pollution in Puget Sound and waterbodiesacross the state.Industry already benefits from various loopholes that excuse or delay compliance withwater quality standards. These include toxic mixing zones, compliance schedules, variances, useattainability analyses, site-specific criteria, and water quality offsets. For example, toxic mixingzones are areas where industry and cities are allowed to discharge high levels of toxins in thehope they will be “mixed” and “diluted” in the water downstream. The most toxic chemicalscannot be effectively diluted. As Ecology’s own reports demonstrate, many dangerous toxinslike PCBs, dioxins and mercury build up and accumulate in the fish we eat, sometimes manymiles from the source.The current rulemaking should not expand existing loopholes or introduce new loopholesinto Washington law. Specifically, the Governor’s Office and Ecology should reject proposalsaimed at:1. Increasing the number of people at risk from toxic pollution by using a risk level thatis less protective than 10-6.2. Increasing the availability of variances through multi-discharger and statewidevariances.3. Providing for “intake credits.” Many of these pollutants are toxic even in very smallamounts and many of them build up in fish and shellfish.4. Allowing the PCB water quality standard to become less protective. PCB’s arecancer-causing and so toxic they were banned in the 1970s but are still in somepolluters’ discharges.5. Giving polluters decades to decrease and end their toxic pollution even though theClean Water Act directed toxic pollution to end in the 1980s.As organizations with hundreds of thousands of members and businesses that rely onclean water, we urge you to make disease prevention and safe fish and shellfish a priority for thisstate. Stand on the side of public health: Reject industries’ math games and loopholes in favor ofaccurate, protective human health water quality standards.Honorable Governor Inslee & Director BellonApril 11, 2014Page 2Sincerely,Brett VandenHeuvelColumbia RiverkeeperChris WilkePuget Soundkeeper AllianceBart MihailovichSpokane RiverkeeperWendy SteffensenNorth Sound BaykeeperSteve SeymourDrayton Harbor Community Oyster FarmKim AbelLeague of Woman Voters of WashingtonLeeAnne BeresEarth MinistryFred MarinkovichPuget Sound Harvestors AssociationMark RiskedahlNorthwest Environmental Defense CenterMike PetersenThe Lands CouncilStephen TrinkausTerra Organica Health Food and Grocery StoreJoseph BogaardSave our Wild SalmonClayton BurrowsGrowing WashingtonZach Tyler, Owner and GeneralManager, Brittle Barn FarmsSue PatnudeDeschutes Estuary Restoration TeamSuzanne SkinnerCenter for Environmental Law & PolicySusan AlbertOwner, Pepper Sisters RestaurantAmy CareySound ActionPaul KuepferBoard Member, Transition WhatcomOperating groupRosalinda Guillen, Executive Director,Community to Community DevelopmentJanet MarinoWhatcom Peace and Justice CenterCecile HansonDuwamish TribeJonathan StumpfWild Steelhead CoalitionKurt BeardsleeWild Fish ConservancyCaptain Keith RobbinsA Spot Tail Salmon GuideElaine Packard, ChairWater & Salmon CommitteeHonorable Governor Inslee & Director BellonApril 11, 2014Page 3WA State Chapter Sierra ClubDave McCoyEmerald Water AnglersFred Felleman, Northwest ConsultantFriends of the EarthBj CummingsDuwamish River Cleanup Coalition/TAGcc:Dennis McClerran, Region 10, EPABilly Frank, Jr., Northwest Indian Fisheries CommissionPaul Lumley, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish CommissionHonorable Governor Inslee & Director BellonApril 11, 2014Page 4