VI. D. 4. Management Recommendations |
Direct discharges from industrial or sewage outfalls can be monitored and controlled through proper discharge management programs, such as the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. Clean up of contaminated sites has become a priority reflected in federal policies. In 1980, Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as the 'Superfund' Act, which required the EPA to create new processes, policies, and procedures, and develop new technical capabilities for treating and containing hazardous substances.
Although the direct release of industrial pollutants has been reduced to low levels as a result of permit restrictions required by the Clean Water Act, the effects of historical discharges remain in marine sediment throughout the Puget Sound (Swader and Adams 1994). The CERLA process has provided funding for contaminated sediment capping and remediation projects such as the Wycoff/Eagle Harbor Superfund Site on Bainbridge Island (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2001b). Remediation of the Eagle Harbor site also involves the reconstruction of approximately two acres of intertidal beach habitat adjacent to the project.
As previously noted, managing NPS pollution is a more difficult problem. Local governments may require extensive water quality and water quantity monitoring programs as part of the development approval process to protect aquatic resources. A good example of this process on Bainbridge Island is the Hidden Cove Estates subdivision upland of Port Madison Bay. As part of its plat approval from the City of Bainbridge Island, the City and developer instituted safeguards, best management practices (BMPs), and monitoring of stormwater to protect the water quality of Port Madison Bay (P. Best, COBI, personal communication, 2002).
Pollution identification and correction projects are currently conducted by the Bremerton-Kitsap County Health District’s On-Site Sewage/Water Quality (OSSWQ) Program to determine the causes and sources of bacterial water pollution in specific geographical areas (Kitsap County Health District 2002). Common sources of bacterial pollution include failing on-site sewage systems and animal waste. The OSSWQ has developed a prioritized list of areas in Kitsap County that are in need of pollution identification and correction, although no ongoing projects currently occur on Bainbridge Island. Projects are generally funded by the Kitsap County Surface and Stormwater Management Program and grants from the State Department of Ecology.| << vi.d.3. impacts |