Industry leads the way - stormwater clean up

You are probably wondering… what does “stormwater” have to do with growing boating? And more to the point, what the heck is stormwater anyway?

The second question is easy: Stormwater is a fancy name for rainwater.

With that out of the way, I thought I would do my best to explain why all of us who want to grow boating in the Pacific Northwest should understand the basics of the stormwater issue for our industry. In the closing paragraph I will try to answer the critical question: why all of us need to care.

We have been working on this issue for the last seven years and in the past three months, I feel like we are starting to get some traction. Here is the “Cliff Notes” version:

• Copper and other heavy metals are bad for fish and contribute to pollution of our lakes and marine waters
  
• Boatyards end up with copper, zinc and lead particles on their property as a result of their normal work
  
• Efforts to sweep-up, clean-up and or vacuum-up the particles have not been effective
  
• The Washington State Department of Ecology, under authority given to them by the Federal Clean Water Act, wants all boatyards to reduce the heavy metals running off their property when it rains
  
• Turns out, up till now, no one knows for sure how to do that cost-effectively
  
• Over the last two years, we have spent tens of thousands of dollars on legal fees and consultants to resolve this issue. Three months ago, we reached an agreement with the DOE and the environmental group called Puget Soundkeeper Alliance to develop a study that will give us the technical answers we are looking for.

By the time you read this, we will be installing three different technical solutions at three different boatyards. The Port of Edmonds boatyard will install a system using passive filtration. CSR West in Ballard will utilize technology called electrocoagulation – a process by which electromagnetic energy separates metals from water. Canal Boatyard in Ballard will process contaminants using ionic exchange.

Water quality will be measured before and after it goes through each of the treatment systems so we will be able to determine which is the most effective at cleaning the rainwater and then evaluate each on a cost effective basis.

All the equipment will be in place by October 5 and the testing will run through the end of the year. We will publish the results early in 2008 and it should provide a road map for all 86 permitted boatyards in the State to install the appropriate technology for their yard so they can meet the water quality standards set by DOE.

Now the clincher: Why is this important to all of us? The answer comes down to clean water and money.

I am going to make an assumption that all of us want to boat in clean water, that we all would like to do our part in getting salmon off the endangered species list, and that all of us would like to see the Orca Whales and other marine mammals survive and prosper in Puget Sound.

The other assumption: it is in all of our interest to hold down the costs of boating if we are going to grow our industry and our sport. If we are not careful, the costs of cleaning up stormwater from boatyards could put many yards out of business. For those that can figure out a way to survive, they are going to have to pass on their increased cost of doing business to the boating public. This could undo all our hard work trying to grow boating.

Please join me in thanking all of the NMTA boatyards who showed an active interest in this project. That includes yards who may have wanted to participate, but were not chosen or those who decided it was not a good fit for them. Without their participation, we would be spending time and money in front of a judge arguing the fine points of law that make up the NPDES Stormwater Permit. From my perspective, I think we are on the right track trying to find a solution in partnership with the DOE and the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance.

With warm regards,

Michael Campbell
President
michael@nmta.net

Boatyards participating in the Stormwater Pilot Project