Important Reminders for Public Comments and Why Involvement is Important

Get involved in the public process. Corporate shellfish lobbyists have been shaping public regulations for years (see below).

 

Comments Due August 2 - Taylor Shellfish Wastewater Discharge Permit (~150,000 gallons per day of wastewater from Taylor Shellfish's processing plant near Shelton onto the ground where ground water seeps into Little Skookum Inlet. Nitrates, nitrites, chloride, sodium are all contained in the discharged water. See July 16 post for details)
Comments are due by August 2, 2012
email to - carey.cholski@ecy.wa.gov , referencing Permit ST 6157
Click here for Fact Sheet
Click here for Draft Permit

Taylor Wastewater Discharge Area

Comments Due August 21 - Pierce County Shoreline Master Plan (Important update to the land use document which will control where and how much tideland development by corporate shellfish companies will be permitted.)
Email comments due by August 21, 2012
email comments to Toni Faribanks at tfairba@co.pierce.wa.us
Copy to Pat Mcarthy at pmccart@co.pierce.wa.us
Click here for SMP information: http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/pc/abtus/ourorg/pals/whatwedo/shoreline.htm

Burley Lagoon, Pierce County

Get involved. Shellfish Politics are real and the shellfish industry is involved far more than you know. Some examples from corporate and lobbyist's documents follow: 

Regulations: Review current laws -local, state, federal and be involved in updating processes with the goal of simplifying.

NOAA: PCSGA requests that Congress urge NOAA and Commerce to include a National Shellfish Initiative with the release of their aquaculture policies and to support funding for implementation of the initiative.

Department of Ecology Guidelines: Due to significant participation by PCSGA and individual members in the stakeholder process, the new regulations retain Ecology's policies of protecting and providing preferred treatment of shellfish aquaculture, and contain use regulations that are significantly less stringent than those Ecology originally proposed.

Puget Sound Partnership: As a business representative on the Ecosystem Coordination Board, Bill Dewey [Taylor Shellfish Government Relations] continues to be engaged with them regarding the shellfish related actions including raising awareness that shellfish are critical to a healthy economy...

Shoreline Master Programs: PCSGA members are currently engaged in several SMP updates including efforts in Mason, Skagit and Jefferson Counties [and Pierce County].
Taxes:  ...the two bills that were introduced this week to extend the B&O tax exemption for seafood processing, (HB 2611 and SB 6342), while still important to the shellfish industry's processing sector, will not mean a B&O tax increase for shellfish producers who sell shellfish at the wholesale level.
Influence: Develop and maintain relationship with all levels of regulators.