Our mission is to protect the habitat of Puget Sound tidelands from the underregulated expansion of new and intensive shellfish aquaculture methods. These methods were never anticipated when the Shoreline Management Act was passed. They are transforming the natural tideland ecosystems in Puget Sound and are resulting in a fractured shoreline habitat. In South Puget Sound much of this has been done with few if any meaningful shoreline permits and with limited public input. It is exactly what the Shoreline Management Act was intended to prevent.

Get involved and contact your elected officials to let them you do not support aquaculture's industrial transformation of Puget Sound's tidelands.

Governor Inslee:

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Mason County and Pierce County Shoreline Master Program Comment Periods

Two county Shoreline Master Program updates, in different stages, have agencies involved asking for public comments. Mason County is asking for comments on the SEPA determination, and the Department of Ecology is asking for comments in Pierce County's update they are reviewing.

 Mason County: Comments accepted through March 31
email: rebeccah@co.mason.wa.us or
Mason County Community Services Department ATTN: Rebecca Hersha
615 W Alder St.
Shelton, WA 98584

The Planning Commission has completed their draft which will be submitted to the Commissioners in the near future. The county is asking for comments through March 31 has issued a SEPA Determination on "Non-Significance" (DNS) for the update which includes the SEPA environmental checklist. Supporting documents, including the final draft (with changes noted) and cumulative impacts analysis, are found on the county's SMP update page. After comments have been received and changes made the SMP update will move to the Commissioners for further comments and possible changes, then to the Department of Ecology for their review. Examples of comments may be found in the "comment matrix", with those focused on aquaculture beginning on page 55.

Pierce County: Department of Ecology Review
Comments accepted March 15, 2016 to April 29, 2016
email: Kim.VanZwalenburg@ecy.wa.gov (reference Pierce County SMP update)
or,
Washington Department of Ecology
Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program
Southwest Regional Office
PO Box 47775
Olympia, Washington 98504-7775
Attn: Kim Van Zwalenburg
or,
Public meeting at 5:00 p.m. on March 30, 2016 at Pacific Lutheran University
Chris Knutzen Hall
12180 Park Avenue South
Tacoma, Washington 98447
Pierce County's SMP update has moved past the commissioners and is now in the Department of Ecology's hands. DOE's responsibility is to ensure the update submitted meets with the intended goals of the Shoreline Management Act, administered by DOE. All related documents are available on DOE's Pierce County SMP update site. Included is the proposed update which includes the proposed regulations and appendices, including requirement for aquaculture permitting (Appendix C on page 92) and how tideland boundaries are determined (Appendix I, page 108).
Posted by Protect Our Shoreline at 11:51 AM
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