The Southwest Regional Office of the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) submitted a list of six projects to the Olympia office for consideration of funding a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study. Burnt Bridge Creek was the ranked second among this list of six projects, but it was not chosen as part of the statewide priority list for this funding cycle (the cycle lasts for five years). Only 9 projects were funded statewide from four regional offices.
A TMDL study is a method where pollutants are measured and evaluated within waterbodies that are listed on the EPA’s 303(d) list of impaired or endangered waterbodies. There are about 700 such listed waterbodies in the state of Washington, and Burnt Bridge Creek/Vancouver Lake have been on this list for many years, yet they have not yet been granted a TMDL study. A TMDL study provides the opportunity to develop cleanup plans for these polluted waters.
A court-order mandates that the DOE must perform a TMDL study on all of the 700 impaired or endangered waterbodies by the year 2013. Since the funding cycles are five years in duration, this means that there are only two more funding cycles left before the DOE is supposed to have this work completed. When only 9 projects are chosen statewide, it will be impossible for the DOE to satisfy the mandate to complete all 700 studies by the cutoff date of 2013. Thus, it is imperative for the DOE to fund as many TMDL studies as possible, and it should have funded more projects during the current funding cycle.
The top ranked project from the Southwest Regional Office was the East Fork of the Lewis River, and this project was funded and will begin the TMDL study in July 2004. However, Burnt Bridge Creek/Vancouver Lake are more heavily polluted than the East Fork of the Lewis River. Burnt Bridge Creek/Vancouver Lake have 19 category 5 listings (parameters that fail water quality standards and cause loss of use of the water) whereas the East Fork of the Lewis River has only 9 such listings. There is no reason, including budgetary constraints, that should prevent both top ranked projects from being funded. The Clark County Department of Health and many people in our community support the need for a TMDL study for Burnt Bridge Creek/Vancouver Lake in order devise a cleanup plan for what Governor Locke calls “some of the most polluted properties in the Vancouver area.”
Many, including the Southwest Regional Office of the DOE, were surprised that Burnt Bridge Creek/Vancouver Lake were not chosen for funding. However, there is a public comment period on the selection process for the TMDL studies. All residents are encouraged to write to the Olympia Office of the DOE to insist that Burnt Bridge Creek/Vancouver Lake be reinstated on the TMDL list for this funding cycle. Comments may be received no later than 5:00pm on Thursday, June 24th. Contact Ron McBride at the Olympia Office of the DOE, Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600; email rmcb461@ecy.wa.gov, phone 360-407-6469, fax 360-407-6426.
Please write to Ron McBride and voice your concern that the DOE is not doing enough to help clean up our polluted waterways.
