Working for Clean Water

Even though the 2010 Washington State legislative session is over, you can still ask your elected officials and oil companies to protect our waterways from toxic pollution like that spilling into the Gulf of Mexico right now:

• Sign on to our Letter to Big Oil asking them to protect our waters!

Here's how this legislation fared earlier in the year:  2010 End of Session Press Release: Legislature Delivers Mixed Results for Environment

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About Working for Clean Water/Clean Water Act of 2010:

This bill is about creating jobs, rebuilding our local economy, and cleaning up polluted waterways like Puget Sound and the Spokane River. Each year millions of gallons of petroleum pollute our water through storm runoff, a serious threat to our health and environment. Working for Clean Water will fund shovel-ready, local projects all over the state to stop this contamination. Now is the time to put Washington back to work by building storm water infrastructure that we’ll be proud of for generations.

Key points about the latest version on the proposal:

• Generates $100 million a year (0.85% increase in the Hazardous Substance Tax), which would specifically be for stormwater and other essential clean water programs that are not already part of the existing tax.
• This bill is a significant job creator - building new clean water infrastructure requires construction workers and will put many Washingtonians back to work.
• The new proposal has continued, broad support from labor, cities and counties. It is also strongly supported by the commercial fishing and shellfish industry.

• The Hazardous Substance Tax was approved by voters 22 years ago and has never increased in percentage collected.
• If passed, the Clean Water Act will be one of the most significant steps forward for Puget Sound, the Spokane River, and other waterways around Washington in the last 20 years.

Stormwater is Everywhere!
Ever walk by a storm drain and wonder "where exactly does all that sludge go?"

Did you know that there are more than 7,000 places it flows into Puget Sound? Here is a stunning visual representation of exactly that: where our stormwater comes from and goes to. Prepare to be surprised...

• Stormwater runoff and pollution (20MB PDF)
• People for Puget Sound's general stormwater info page (website)
  

Campaign Contact: Brendon Cechovic, Washington Conservation Voters