Puget Sound cleanup sees successes, but problems remain

The effort to clean up Puget Sound has notched some successes in the past two years, but much work remains to stem pollution's effects on the waterway, a new state report says.

The State of the Sound 2007 report was released today by the Puget Sound Action Team, a state agency that oversees the cleanup of this vital body of water.

Officials touted some achievements since the last installment of the report, released in early 2005:

- About 1,200 commercial shellfish harvest acres upgraded because of pollution controls.

- Toxic cleanups completed at 323 land-based sites, and at 23 water-based sites; some 600 tons of creosote-treated logs removed from state aquatic lands.

- Stronger septic system rules in all 12 counties along Puget Sound.

Despite the progress, Puget Sound is still in danger from pollution, invasive species and other ills, officials said.

Puget Sound chinook salmon have much higher levels of some chemicals in their systems compared with similar fish elsewhere. The sound's chinook had PCB levels up to six times higher than chinook elsewhere on the West Coast; their levels of the fireproofing chemicals known as PBDEs were up to 17 times higher.

Harbor seals also are affected by the two chemicals. Seal pups in southern Puget Sound are seven times more contaminated with PCBs than seal pups from the Georgia Basin in British Columbia, and PBDE levels in the seals have increased dramatically over the past 20 years.

The action team report also said three species of invasive tunicates, or sea squirts, have recently spread into the sound.

The Puget Sound Partnership, a separate group that includes government, environmental and business leaders, has estimated the total cost to clean up and restore Puget Sound at nearly $9 billion between now and 2020.

Gov. Chris Gregoire, who is pushing a $220 million Puget Sound plan in her proposed two-year state budget, said the new report ``reinforces that we still have work to do.''

``The goals for Puget Sound cleanup are pretty simple. I want families to be able to swim in it, fish in it, and dig shellfish from its beaches,'' Gregoire said in a statement.

Brad Ack, the Puget Sound Action Team's chairman, said progress in cleaning up the sound will not show up immediately in the environmental indicators tracked in the regular State of the Sound reports.

"You can do a lot of good work, a lot of hard work, and it can take years to see positive changes," he said.