While the State of Washington has levied a tobacco tax to fund 
secondary treatment, new water quality issues already are straining the 
$40-45 million avalable each year. As a result. Office of Financial 
Management's recently issued report recommends financing at only a 20 % 
grant level. That is far short of the 50% of eligible costs which had 
been expected. Rather than spread resources so thin, a Puget Sound 
plan for compliance should stagger the deadlines for plant operation 
over a longer period. 
Since secondary treatment is mandated by the federal and state 
governments, it deserves solid financial assistance from those same 
governments. We must maintain the partnership which existed when clean 
water initiatives were launched. If local resources are depleted to 
achieve secondary treatment, there will be no money left to respond to 
other water quality problems 
Local Responsibility 
Puget Sound Water Quality Authority's September 1986 draft plan was 
highly proscriptive. It required non-point programs to address either 
agricultural practices or septic systems. It designated counties as 
lead agencies for non-point programs. Reaction to the draft was quick 
and clear: local governments wanted more flexibility to define local 
problems and priorities. 
Puget Sound is composed of many subbasins and watersheds. Some are 
highly urbanized, while others are rural or timbered. Some watersheds 
fall entirely within a single political jurisdiction. Others encompass 
several cities and even more than one county. While the 
Olympia-Tacoma-Seattle-Everett corridor is rapidly urbanizing, 
communities north of Puget Sound proper show much slower growth. 
In light of these factors, the Authority altered the plan. Local 
governments now must inventory their own watersheds, identify priority 
issues and develop action plans. These must be approved by the 
Department of Ecology. The specific structure for completing the 
process is left up to local jurisdictions. If they fail to establish a 
process, the Department of Ecology may impose one. Deadlines are 
clear. This approach places responsibility squarely on the shoulders 
of local governments. State government cannot be blamed for imposing 
an inappropriate or duplicative structure. 
The process lends itself to public education. That is essential. Some 
of the most effective water quality measures involve changes in 
lifestyle. For example, inappropriate disposal of household toxic 
wastes, oil runoff from driveways, pesticide, fertilizer and herbicide 
misuse all contribute to pollution. Forest management and agricultural 
practices do affect stream loading of sediments and fecal coliform. 
Changes in practice may occur as quickly through education as they will 
through enforcement. 
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