Posted: July 9, 2024
Link to My Edmonds News article
A group of Edmonds and Woodway residents Tuesday announced the formation of the nonprofit Edmonds Environmental Council (EEC), which in its first action is challenging the City of Edmonds Critical Aquifer Recharge Area (CARA) regulation approved by the Edmonds City Council in May.
“Despite months of community comments and concerns to the city about the risks of PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) into the Olympic View Water District’s drinking water aquifer, the city still adopted a regulation that will allow stormwater polluted with PFAS to be infiltrated directly into the Deer Creek drinking water aquifer,” the EEC said in a news release announcing the group’s formation and legal action.
In its announcement, the EEC said that “because of risk of contaminated drinking water in Woodway and south Edmonds,” it has obtained legal services and filed an appeal (called a “Petition for Review”) July 9 with Washington State’s Growth Management Hearings Board (GMHB). “The GMHB legal process includes initial settlement discussions (i.e., change the regulation to fully protect drinking water aquifer), and the EEC hopes the mayor will agree to settlement to avoid a drawn-out legal process that will cost the city undetermined attorney fees and staff time, and confound the City’s current budget shortfalls,” the announcement said.
The Edmonds Environmental Council’s Board of Directors include former Edmonds City Councilmember Diane Buckshnis and current Town of Woodway Councilmember John Brock, along with Joe Scordino, Theresa Hollis, Clinton Wright, Dianna Maish and Ken Reidy.
The council’s May vote on the CARA ordinance came after several residents asked the city council to instead approve an earlier proposal — from 2023 — that they said would be a more cautious approach to the issue until more is known about how to best treat PFAS. They are also called “forever chemicals” because of how long they take to break down in the environment and people’s bodies. According to this Washington State Standard report, PFAS chemicals have been used since the 1940s to manufacture industrial and commercial products, including goods like nonstick cookware, carpets, and raincoats. They’ve also been a common ingredient in firefighting foam used at sites like military bases, airports, and refineries.
CARAs are treated as critical areas under the state’s Growth Management Act. When city code was last updated in 2016, it stated that no areas meeting criteria for CARAs existed in the city. However, in 2022, Edmonds was alerted to two CARAs in the city’s jurisdiction when the OVWSD appealed the city’s SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) Determination of Nonsignificance for a stormwater code update. OVWSD withdrew its appeal of the stormater code when presented with additional information provided by city staff, and staff committed to updating city code to reflect the presence of possible CARAs within city boundaries. The two drinking water wells are Deer Creek Springs near the Town of Woodway and at 228th Street Southwest — both supplement the drinking water that Olympic View purchases from the City of Seattle.
In its announcement, the Edmonds Environmental Council said it is committed to “public service, education and civic engagement to preserve, protect, restore and enhance the natural and human environment in Edmonds and adjacent cities and unincorporated areas.”
The news release also said:
This community 501(c)(3) organization was formed in response to the growing need for “informed” voices to help educate residents and city officials on the perils of ignoring the human and natural environment as local governments consider permitting increased housing and development. This is of special concern in waterfront communities like Edmonds and Woodway whose landscape can be permanently damaged by poorly regulated development. We already have serious stormwater damage to salmon habitat from past development in Perrinville and Shell Creek watersheds that has yet to be resolved.
One of the EEC’s priorities is addressing stormwater runoff that comes with new development as well as lingering effects from over-development in the past. Stormwater flows not only damage our landscape and creeks, but they carry pollutants that alter the quality of water in our creeks, natural springs, and aquifers. These stormwater pollutants include carcinogenic petroleum compounds and hazardous ‘forever chemicals’ that don’t breakdown naturally. New scientific information from the federal government indicates that one of these ‘forever chemicals’ (known as PFAS), if found above trace levels in drinking water, can cause severe human health problems.
Other issues that the EEC will be addressing include 1) the environmental and human impacts of the housing density initiatives and whether the best available science, including local knowledge, is used in updating the City’s Comprehensive Plan; 2) the City’s adherence to the State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) on all actions; 3) the cleanup of the old Unocal property to ensure it is indeed for salmon recovery and nearshore restoration; 4) restoration of natural areas such as the Edmonds Marsh; 5) resolving habitat problems in local creeks; and 6) other community issues identified by EEC Members.
People interested in joining the EEC and/or making donations can email Edmonds.Envir.Council@gmail.com for information and/or a membership application. Membership will include participation in community topic-specific committees.