THE PLAN FOR PUGET SOUND'S FUTURE 
Kirvil Skinnarland, 
Kathy Fletcher, and 
John Dohnnann 
Puget Sound Water Quality Authority 
Seattle, Washington 
Introduction 
The story of Puget Sound is similar to that of other bays and estuaries around the 
United States. It is a unique natural resource that provides an economic and 
recreational focal point for the residents that inhabit its shores and watershed. 
The Sound supports significant international shipping activity and is noted for its 
fish and shellfish resources, its ecological, scientific, and recreational values, and 
its beauty. Increases in the number of people and their related activities have led 
to changes in its environment and increasing competition for use of its natural 
resources. Problems of pollution and loss of valuable resources have led to public 
outcry and demand for governmental action. 
Thus far, this could be the story of many estuaries in the nation. But in Puget 
Sound, the response on the part of government has been, perhaps, more timely 
than in other regions of this country. Although the symptoms were alarming, the 
estuary had not reached the same state of degradation found in other water bodies 
such as San Francisco or Chesapeake Bay. In Puget Sound, governmental 
intervention was timely and decisive. Whether the outcome will be different is the 
part of the story that remains to be written. 
Establishment of the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority 
Many agencies in the state of Washington are active in addressing water quality 
issues. TTiese governmental entities include literally hundreds of public bodies: 
federal and state agencies; county and city governments; tribal nations; port, 
water, diking, sewer, and other special purpose districts. This fragmentation of 
responsibility is a challenge to any effort to manage and protect Puget Sound. In 
1984 Region 10 of EPA and the state Department of Ecology took the lead by 
forming the Puget Sound Action Program (subsequently renamed the Puget Sound 
Estuary Program). Along with the other state and federal agencies that joined this 
endeavor, EPA and Ecology made progress in defining the problems in Puget Sound 
and increasing coordination among the various programs attempting to address 
them. 
149 
