Shellfish Closure Response Plan Hood Canal 3 Growing Area
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Closure Response Plan Jefferson County Clean Water District Hood Canal 3 March 12, 2018 Shellfish Closure Response Plan Hood Canal 3 Growing Area Duckabush River Delta in Hood Canal, photo by Ecology Eyes Over Puget Sound March 12, 2018 Michael Dawson, Anna Bachmann JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH 615 Sheridan St • Port Townsend • WA 98368 • 360-385-9444 • www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.com Closure Response Plan Jefferson County Clean Water District Hood Canal 3 March 12, 2018 Distribution List Jean Snyder Shellfish Water Quality Restoration Program Lead Office of Environmental Health & Safety Washington State Department of Health PO Box 47824 Olympia WA 98504-7824 Andrew Kolosseus Grant Administrator, Central Hood Canal PIC Project Water Quality Program Washington State Department of Ecology PO Box 47775 Olympia, WA 98504-7775 Stuart Whitford Environmental Health and Water Quality Director Jefferson County Environmental Health 615 Sheridan St Port Townsend, WA 98368 615 Sheridan St • Port Townsend • WA 98368 • 360-385-9444 • www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.com Closure Response Plan Jefferson County Clean Water District Hood Canal 3 March 12, 2018 Contents List of Abbreviations Used ......................................................................................................................... i Background ................................................................................................................................................... 2 Non-point Source Pollution ...................................................................................................................... 2 Duckabush River Watershed ..................................................................................................................... 2 Shellfish Downgrade ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Shellfish Protection District........................................................................................................................... 3 Closure Response Strategies and Actions ..................................................................................................... 5 Objective 1 – Planning, Coordination & Reporting ................................................................................... 5 Objective 2 – Water Quality Monitoring .................................................................................................. 6 Objective 3 – Control Sources ................................................................................................................... 7 Objective 4 – Education and Outreach ..................................................................................................... 8 Figures Figure 1, Duckabush River Watershed .......................................................................................................... 1 Figure 2: Current Hood Canal 3 Commercial Shellfish Classification & Marine Monitoring Stations........... 3 Figure 3, Duckabush & Clean Water District ................................................................................................. 4 Tables Table 1, Strategies and Actions ..................................................................................................................... 9 List of Abbreviations Used cfs cubic feet per second DCD Department of Community Development (Jefferson County) DOH Department of Health (Washington State) EIM Environmental Information Management (database) EPA Environmental Protection Agency JCCD Jefferson County Conservation District JCPH Jefferson County Public Health MRA Marine Recovery Area NSSP National Shellfish Sanitation Program O&M Operations and Monitoring (inspections of septic systems) OSS Onsite Septic System PIC Pollution Identification and Correction RCW Revised Code of Washington [i] 615 Sheridan St • Port Townsend • WA 98368 • 360-385-9444 • www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.com Closure Response Plan Jefferson County Clean Water District Hood Canal 3 March 12, 2018 Figure 1, Duckabush River Watershed [1] 615 Sheridan St • Port Townsend • WA 98368 • 360-385-9444 • www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.com Closure Response Plan Jefferson County Clean Water District Hood Canal 3 March 12, 2018 Background This closure response plan for the Duckabush area of Hood Canal 3 Shellfish Growing Area (Figure 1, Duckabush River Watershed) was developed by Jefferson County Public Health in cooperation with the Washington State Department of Ecology, the Washington State Department of Health, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington State University Extension, Skokomish Tribe and Port Gamble S’Klallam tribe. This plan is a working document intended to focus on restoring and protecting water quality in the Duckabush River watershed and the recently downgraded area in Hood Canal 3. It is expected that all affected agencies will agree to implement the components for which they are responsible. The closure response plan is a requirement of RCW 90.72 Shellfish Protection Districts. Non-point Source Pollution Point sources of pollution (e.g. wastewater treatment plants, marinas, industrial outfalls) are not present in the Duckabush watershed. Non-point source pollution generally results from precipitation and land runoff. Unlike point-source pollution, non-point source pollution comes from many dispersed sources. As rain falls on the land and the runoff moves, it may pick up and transport pollutants, depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters and ground water. Non-point source pollution is the leading cause of water quality problems in Jefferson County and pathogens associated with fecal bacteria are the primary pollutants. The health effects of non-point source pollutants in area waters are not fully known. However, we know that water-borne pathogens pose risks to people recreating in water and can be concentrated in filter-feeding shellfish. Shellfish harvesting and water recreation are popular activities in Jefferson County and commercial shellfish operations are a major industry. Water and shellfish resources also have cultural importance to area tribes. Duckabush River Watershed The headwaters of the Duckabush River originate in Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest. These forest lands and others managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and private landowners constitute the majority of the drainage area. Residential properties exist in the lower five miles of the river corridor. There are 515 residential addresses registered with Jefferson County along the Duckabush shoreline and including the upland drainage; approximately half of them are thought to be seasonal vacation properties. The community of Brinnon is 3 miles north of the Duckabush River on US Highway 101. The 2010 Census listed the population of Brinnon at 797. Shellfish Downgrade A portion of the Hood Canal 3 Shellfish Growing Area was downgraded by DOH in September, 2017. The following is a summary from the July 2017 Addendum to the Hood Canal 3 Sanitary Survey report: Station 137 in the Hood Canal 3 Growing Area failed the National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP) water quality standard for an Approved classification in the 2016 Annual Report. In response, the Department of Health (the Department) is downgrading approximately 195 acres around Station 137 from Approved to Conditionally Approved. The Conditionally Approved area will be closed to commercial shellfish harvest from May 1 through Oct 31 each year. Growing area classifications after the downgrade are shown in Figure 2: Current Hood Canal 3 Commercial Shellfish Classification & Marine Monitoring Stations. [2] 615 Sheridan St • Port Townsend • WA 98368 • 360-385-9444 • www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.com Closure Response Plan Jefferson County Clean Water District Hood Canal 3 March 12, 2018 Figure 2: Current Hood Canal 3 Commercial Shellfish Classification & Marine Monitoring Stations WDFW implemented a corresponding closure of recreational shellfishing at the Duckabush Tidelands public shellfish beach with the same seasonal restrictions as the commercial shellfish harvest closure. Shellfish Protection District In response to a threatened downgrade of the Discovery Bay Shellfish Growing Area in 2007, and because of water quality concerns in Mats Mats Bay and Hood Canal, Jefferson County formed the Clean Water District under Jefferson County Code Chapter 8.65. The district covers all of east Jefferson County [3] 615 Sheridan St • Port Townsend • WA 98368 • 360-385-9444 • www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.com Closure Response Plan Jefferson County Clean Water District Hood Canal 3 March 12, 2018 from the Olympic Mountains eastward (Figure 3, Duckabush & Clean Water District). Therefore, the first requirement of RCW 90.72 Shellfish Protection Districts to form a shellfish protection district as a local response to a downgrade in classification has been achieved. JCPH created a Water Quality division to be the lead on all surface water issues, including coordinating the activities of the district. Funding for Figure 3, Duckabush & Clean Water District [4] 615 Sheridan St • Port Townsend • WA 98368 • 360-385-9444 • www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.com Closure Response Plan Jefferson County Clean Water District Hood Canal 3 March 12, 2018 the Clean Water District was established by a per parcel fee and projects were initiated utilizing Centennial Clean Water grant funds from Ecology with