Sims applauds Governor's announcement and pledges King County's commitment to recover Puget Sound

July 19, 2005

Sims applauds Governor's announcement and pledges King County's commitment to recover Puget Sound

King County Executive Ron Sims has sent a letter to Governor Christine Gregoire pledging his support and involvement for her newly announced plans to launch a "bold and aggressive" effort to rescue Puget Sound. Sims, co-founder of Shared Strategy for Puget Sound, applauded the announcement and committed to join Governor Gregoire and Bill Ruckelshaus, Chairman of Shared Strategy for Puget Sound, in this historic effort.

"I am impressed that the Governor's efforts are not about more planning but about real actions," said Sims. I am especially pleased that the Governor tapped Bill Ruckelshaus to head the campaign.

"As I said in my State of the County address this past March, cleaning up Puget Sound is our generation's responsibility," said Sims. "A unified and implemented action plan for Hood Canal and Puget Sound cannot happen without leadership at the state level, and the Governor has made clear she intends to lead."

Since the effort to clean up Lake Washington began 40 years ago, King County has been a leader in work for clean water and a healthy environment. Last fall, Sims directed King County staff to evaluate several national models for large ecosystem recovery and to identify specific actions we can take in King County and throughout Puget Sound. This was done in recognition of the need to integrate the Shared Strategy Recovery Plan's 14 watershed chapters, the County's utility operations, and land and water management programs with a broader Puget Sound recovery effort.

In November 2004, County staff from the Department of Natural Resources and Parks delivered a Puget Sound Strategy Memorandum to the Executive for his review. The County's Puget Sound analysis found a fundamental issue is connecting the numerous independent and partially aligned efforts to clean up Puget Sound. If connected, the various efforts could achieve the common goal of a sustainable and environmentally protected Puget Sound. The report concludes that successful recovery will require that everyone start to work together at the local, state and federal levels.

The County's evaluation identified the following immediate goals and actions needed for Puget Sound Recovery:

Conserve and restore salmon, marine fish, marine bird, and marine mammal populations.
Coordinate Water Supply and Wastewater Operations
Mitigate Past and Present Shoreline Development
Storm water Management and Combined Sewer and Storm water Discharges
On-site Septic Systems
Contaminated Sediment
Oil Spills Measures
Ship Discharges
Invasive Species
Evaluate the medium and long-term (20+ years) impacts on water resources from global warming/climate change

"Bill Ruckelshaus led an historical grassroots-based recovery planning process that met its ambitious goals in the timeline dictated by the listing of chinook as an endangered species," said Sims. "He has the proven track record and technical expertise to make sure this is about action and implementation, " said Sims.

Executive Sims committed his staff to work with the Governor and Ruckelshaus in the coming weeks to outline detailed actions and tasks. He also offered King County as a model for addressing the County's impacts on the Sound and the County's ability to contribute aggressively to its recovery.

"There are many distractions in today's complex world but the recovery of Puget Sound is one effort that we cannot be distracted from," said Sims. "I am confident that with a clear plan for recovery that over time we will engender the type of support that has been directed to the Everglades and Chesapeake Bay and the Louisiana Coastline efforts," added Sims.