Campaigning for clean water and a healthy environment for humans and wildlife
The ordinance passed unanimously Tuesday, giving the city time to complete a study on PFAS in the area.
By Jenna Peterson
February 11, 2026
Link to Everett Herald article
EVERETT — The Edmonds City Council unanimously approved a moratorium on development near Deer Creek on Tuesday following code changes that have raised difficulties for processing permits.
Continue reading “Edmonds issues moratorium on development in Deer Creek aquifer”By Sarah DeWeerdt
Published February 10, 2026
Increasing concerns surround PFAS in products from wastewater treatment plants. How great a risk do they pose, and are there feasible approaches to removing them? We continue our occasional series on water quality and wastewater management in Puget Sound. Funding for the series is provided in part by King County.
By MICHAEL PHILLIS and HELEN WIEFFERING
February 2, 2026
STELLA, Wis. (AP) — Kristen Hanneman made a small decision in 2022 that would upend life for her entire town.
Continue reading “A crisis emerges across the US as ‘forever chemicals’ quietly contaminate drinking water wells”Ecology’s current work to address 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone (6PPDQ) is highlighted below. This update includes current agency actions. Contact us at 6PPD@ecy.wa.gov.
Momentum Builds for Solutions to Tire Wear Pollution: Last month, Ecology hosted a virtual 6PPD State of the Science Forum, connecting researchers, policy practitioners, and partners from across the globe to share knowledge and accelerate progress.
Continue reading “6PPD Update – January 2026”January 27, 2026
Puget Soundkeeper
Link to My Edmonds News article
Since 2015, Puget Soundkeeper has monitored coho salmon health in Seattle’s Longfellow Creek, producing data on the impacts of urban pollution on salmon survival. For years, Longfellow Creek has been the epicenter of research studying the effects of 6PPD-quinone — a toxic tire chemical lethal to coho salmon.
According to a Puget Soundkeeper news release, exposure to 6PPD-quinone causes a condition called Urban Runoff Mortality Syndrome (URMS), a disease characterized by symptoms such as disorientation and gasping for air, often killing coho within 24 hours. Furthermore, this chemical has been strongly linked to Pre-Spawn Mortality (PSM), where adult salmon die before successfully reproducing, the news release said.
Puget Soundkeeper’s annual Pre-Spawn Mortality Survey analyzes the spawning success of coho salmon in Longfellow Creek to better understand the impacts of 6PPD-quinone. From October through December, trained volunteers count and dissect returning coho salmon, particularly assessing the presence of eggs and milt to determine whether spawning was successful.
Results from the 2025 study show that 55.5% of coho salmon died before spawning. This aligns with data collected since 2015, which shows that 49-90% of returning salmon die before reproducing each year.
“This level of pre-spawn mortality is devastating,” said Ewan Henderson, clean water program specialist at Puget Soundkeeper. “The dramatic reduction in successful spawning opportunities is a huge blow to our ecosystems, particularly for our resident orcas who already face major challenges as their food sources dwindle.”
According to the press release, Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) projects, such as rain gardens or bioswales, can effectively remove toxins from runoff and prevent harmful chemicals from entering local waters. In addition to GSI projects, a bill (HB 2421) aimed at removing 6PPD from tires was introduced to the Washington State House and Senate Environment Committees last week.
Puget Soundkeeper will be recruiting the next cohort of salmon surveyors in August. More information will be made available on their website.
To learn more about the 2025 Salmon Survey report results, visit pugetsoundkeeper.org/volunteer/salmon-surveys.
By Jeff Rice
Puget Sound Institute
Published January 9, 2026
Link to Puget Sound Institute, UW Tacoma article
Untold numbers of hatchery fish may be dying from exposure to tire-contaminated runoff, according to a new study.
Continue reading “Study finds juvenile coho salmon at risk from deadly tire chemical”By Teresa Wippel
January 7, 2026
Link to My Edmonds News article
Key takeaways:
December 30, 2025
Continue reading “Critical Areas Ordinance Update – EEC Press Release”By Joe Scordino
Edmonds Environmental Council
Posted Thursday, December 25, 2025
Link to Edmonds Beacon article
We have a serious human health issue brewing in Edmonds at the Deer Creek CARA (Critical Aquifer Recharge Area), which provides drinking water to south Edmonds, Woodway, and Esperance. The issue is accommodating potential development instead of avoiding contaminating our drinking water with PFAS – a pervasive, forever chemical known to have serious human health effects.
Believe it or not, the City actually wants to allow new development to inject potentially toxic stormwater (containing forever chemicals, PFAS, carcinogenic pollutants, etc.) into the Deer Creek drinking water Aquifer.
And why?
Continue reading “Is development in Edmonds more important than safe drinking water?”By Greg Ferguson and Jane O’Dell
December 6, 2025
Link to My Edmonds News article
On Oct. 16, a group of Edmonds-Woodway High School students with the Students Saving Salmon Club were performing routine water quality testing in Shellabarger Creek when they saw something disturbing: a young coho smolt swimming weakly on its side. On the shore nearby was another dead coho smolt.
Continue reading “Reader view: Dead coho in Shellabarger Creek — was stormwater runoff to blame?”The permit is the latest controversy in the years-long saga over Edmonds’ management of the stream.
November 17, 2025
Link to Everett Herald article
EDMONDS — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife issued a new permit to the city of Edmonds on Friday, allowing flood-prevention work to commence at a controversial flow diversion structure on Perrinville Creek.
Continue reading “State approves Edmonds permit to do flood mitigation work on Perrinville Creek”By Larry Vogel
November 19, 2025
Link to My Edmonds News article
There’s a new development in the decades-long tug-of-war between the City of Edmonds, the State Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW), environmental groups and adjacent property owners to balance flood control and fish passage on lower Perrinville Creek. The DFW has issued a limited temporary permit to allow the City of Edmonds to clear accumulated debris from the city’s existing sediment trap/overflow structures, with the aim of mitigating potential flooding during the upcoming rainy season. The permit expires on Jan. 13, 2026, and work must be completed by that time.
Continue reading “State issues temporary permit for limited flood control work on Perrinville Creek”NOAA Fisheries
September 17, 2025
NOAA scientists develop method to track toxic chemical in finfish, shellfish, and marine mammals.
August 31, 2025
My Edmonds News
Link to My Edmonds News Article
The Edmonds Waterfront Center welcomes Edward P. Kolodziej, internationally recognized environmental chemist and the Allan and Inger Osberg Professor at the University of Washington (Tacoma/Seattle) as the featured speaker in Annie Crawley’s Environmental Speaker Series. The event takes place at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 11, the latest installment in a community-based science and conservation initiative focused on Puget Sound.
Continue reading “Edmonds Waterfront Center Environmental Series Sept. 11: ‘Caring About Our Roads, Car Tires and Coho Salmon’”August 31, 2025
It is time to renew your EEC membership and pay annual dues. Our membership cycle runs from July 1 to June 30 each year. Please follow the prompts on this form. Use the PayPal Giving Fund link to send your donation. If you have questions, please email us. Thanks! This seemed like an opportunity to update you on Project status.
Continue reading “Edmonds Environmental Council Update”