The Puget Sound Partnership released a draft Action Plan last week to save Puget Sound. The Action Plan is a roadmap for protecting, restoring and cleaning up the Sound.  The report starts with an analysis of the state of the Sound now.  It's not good.  From a press release, the Partnership gives the details:

"Each year, 52 million pounds of toxic chemicals – or nearly 150,000 pounds per day – inundate Puget Sound with contaminated runoff. This amounts to a toxic spill the size of Exxon Valdez every two years. The toxic chemicals include oil and petroleum products, lead, and phthalates – and 1 million pounds of toxic metals such as zinc and copper. These metals, despite being released in lower concentrations than oil and petroleum, can cause harm to threatened salmon species."

The result so far: More than 40 species of animals have been put at risk, including the Sound's orca population, which has declined nearly 10% in the past several months, according to Executive Director David Dicks.  (There is a podcast of Mr. Dicks talking about the state of the orcas, along with biologists Robin Baird and Brad Hanson, on KUOW on Nov. 6th.) 

There are four planks of the draft Action Agenda to address the threats endangering the Sound.

1)  Protect the last remaining intact places
2)  Restore river, wetland and marine systems
3)  Reduce and prevent water pollution
4)  Coordinate a strategic effort to repair the Sound before it is too late

The draft Action Agenda "recommends starting with expenditures at a modest scale, testing solutions carefully before ramping them up". They propose an incremental enhancement of $200 million to $300 million for the 2009-11 biennium.  It needs to happen.

Washingtonians have another 9 days to provide input to the Plan.  Check out the Puget Sound Partnership site for additional information.