Industrial Waste Program's pollution source control work in the Lower Duwamish Waterway area BackgroundThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency listed the Lower Duwamish Waterway (LDW) as a Superfund site in 2001 because of the presence of contaminated sediments. Before these sediments can be cleaned up, ongoing sources of contaminants must be controlled. Read an overview of King County's Duwamish Waterway Programs. Industrial Waste Program's pollution source control activities in the Lower Duwamish Waterway areaTo improve the Lower Duwamish Waterway's health, King County is working with the community to identify and control the sources of pollution that may pose health or environmental problems if they accumulate in Duwamish Waterway sediments. The program is participating in pollution source control efforts that have helped hundreds of businesses and property owners meet regulatory obligations and correct issues including hazardous waste storage, spill containment and removal of potential contaminant sources. The Urban Waters Initiative Starting in 2007, the Industrial Waste Program has been working with other agencies to conduct pollution source control inspections at LDW businesses as a part of the Urban Waters Initiative (external link) an interagency coordination effort of the Washington State Department of Ecology. The Source Control Work Group The Washington State Department of Ecology leads the Source Control Work Group that includes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), City of Seattle Public Utilities, the King County Industrial Waste Program, Port of Seattle, Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, and City of Tukwila. This group meets monthly to coordinate source control efforts. Its first priority is to address the early action areas (external link) identified for sediment cleanup. The group is working on controlling sources of contaminants that may pose health or environmental problems if they accumulate in waterway sediments. Joint business inspectionsBetween 2003 and 2006 King County and City of Seattle, as operators of the local sanitary sewer and stormwater drainage systems, have worked together to inspect more than 1000 LDW businesses to reduce the amount of pollutants discharged to the Lower Duwamish Waterway. Staff from the following agencies participated in these inspections: the King County Industrial Waste Program, the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County, City of Seattle Public Utilities, and Public Health - Seattle & King County and Ecology. To learn about the results read Ecology's latest Source Control Status Report posted on its Source Control Web page (external link). BMP poster: As a follow-up to the joint business inspections, a poster (PDF File, 388KB) was produced with the top recommended Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Duwamish companies.
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