Contact: Matt Stout FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10/10/96
The Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in coordination with the Department of Justice and federal trustees that include the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Washington Department of Ecology, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and the Muckleshoot Indian tribe, today announced two agreements aimed at creating and enhancing habitat for fish and wildlife injured by years of pollution in Commencement Bay.
The Commencement Bay natural resource trustees include NOAA as the lead federal trustee; the U.S. Department of the Interior, including the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs; the Washington Department of Ecology; the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe. The agreements will settle claims by the Department of Justice on behalf of the trustees against the city and the Washington Department of Natural Resources (WDNR).
The trustees in cooperation with the City of Tacoma have agreed to collaborate in developing and implementing five marine and freshwater restoration projects, beginning one each year over the next five years.
Under the second agreement, WDNR will make available three separate parcels of aquatic lands (approximately 8.3 acres) in Commencement Bay for habitat restoration projects. WDNR will also provide in-kind services to assist in developing the restoration projects and will work with the trustees to identify corrective measures needed to benefit the broader Commencement Bay environment.
The proposed agreements settle claims for injuries to natural resources resulting from hazardous substance pollution. The natural resource trustees act under authorities granted by the Superfund Act and other federal, state and tribal laws.
Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor said, "This announcement exemplifies the Clinton Administration's commitment to working with local communities to rehabilitate our precious natural resources -- a partnership that will lead to beneficial growth well into the 21st century."
"These agreements are a shining example of what the trustees can accomplish on behalf of the public through the damage assessment and restoration process," said D. James Baker, NOAA administrator and Department of Commerce undersecretary for oceans and atmosphere. "It demonstrates a strong commitment to a healthy environment while avoiding expensive litigation. The public wins, the city wins and the environment wins."
"These settlements represent a true benefit to the public," said Lois Schiffer, assistant attorney general in charge of the Environment and Natural Resources Division. "Those who use and enjoy Commencement Bay will benefit from the bay's restoration while the taxpayers have been spared paying for lengthy and expensive litigation."
"This proposal furthers the cooperative atmosphere we've been working on during the past five years. It's a positive step for the environment and for the spirit of partnership," said Mary Riveland, director, Washington Department of Ecology.
Under the agreement between the trustees and the City of Tacoma, the city will provide the property, funds and services needed to construct and maintain the habitat restoration projects in cooperation with the trustees, and will provide funds and services to support further natural resource injury evaluation and restoration planning efforts. In addition, the city has agreed to operate a pollution reporting hotline for five years, to provide funds to be used by the Indian tribe trustees for enforcing environmental regulations and other natural resource-related matters and to reimburse the trustees for a portion of the costs they have incurred in studying and documenting the impact of pollutants upon the area's natural resources.
The restoration projects involve a total of 37.9 acres of submerged lands, intertidal areas, freshwater wetlands, streams, and adjacent upland areas. The goal of the projects is to restore, enhance and preserve habitat of importance to fish, other marine species, birds and wildlife affected by the release of hazardous substances to the Commencement Bay environment. Projects were selected to benefit a variety of habitats in areas identified by the trustees, responsible parties, local governments and members of the public through a bay-wide restoration planning process.
"Today's agreements are the fourth and fifth natural resource damage settlements for Commencement Bay achieved without resorting to litigation," said Baker. "They demonstrate the invaluable environmental and public benefits we can achieve under the Superfund law when parties agree to cooperate in restoring injured natural resources."
Although the settlements are the result of two separate legal negotiations, the agreements are linked as a practical matter because two of the city's five proposed restoration sites include state-owned lands managed by WDNR.