A new agreement between boatyard owners, the state of Washington and environmentalists may lead towards a cleaner Puget Sound.  All parties to this agreement, groups who have often been at odds, praised the compact as an important step in improving the health of our local waters. 

At issue is storm-water runoff tainted with copper and other heavy metals that sloughs off boats when they are in the boatyard.  Copper is a key component in bottom paint.  It safeguards boats from barnacles and other marine life, but the same ingredients that make it effective make it toxic.

To protect water quality, the state Department of Ecology issues a storm-water permit affecting more than 70 boatyards around the state. But new standards set in 2005 have been challenged in court by boatyard operators who said the standards were unattainable. Meanwhile, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, an environmental group, also has sued, saying the standards are not stringent enough.

To break nearly a year-and-a-half impasse in litigation, the Northwest Marine Trade Association, representing the boatyards, and the Soundkeeper Alliance with the state Ecology Department recently announced they have reached a settlement acceptable to all parties. 

Under the agreement, a pilot program will be set up to test the effectiveness of new technology to reduce toxic runoff from boatyards. The program could help develop a standard that actually works in the real world.
Sampling undertaken by boatyard operators indicates runoff often is higher than standards now in place allow. But the question is what is realistic and affordable, said Michael Campbell, president of the Northwest Marine Trade Association.

“The answer is not to shut down boatyards,” Campbell told Seattle Times reporter Lynda V. Mapes. “We want clean water as much or more than anyone.”

Sue Joerger, executive director of the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, called the settlement historic. Money that otherwise would be spent on lawyers now will be spent on controlling pollution, she said.

Finding a workable answer for boatyards may also work for other industries, she added. “We are looking for solutions,” she said.