The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to reestablish water pollution standards to help protect the health of individuals in Washington and Tribal members who consume locally caught fish and shellfish.
According to an EPA news release, the Clean Water Act places limits on 72 pollutants in state waters that present risks to human health through the consumption of its inhabitants.
“Under the Clean Water Act, EPA has taken significant action to ensure our precious waters are safe for all to enjoy,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in the release. “This final rule utilizes the latest scientific knowledge and brings us one step closer to delivering safe swimmable, fishable bodies of water that the people of Washington deserve.”
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee expressed his support of restoring the quality water standards that were first established by EPA in 2016, the release reported.
“For many of us in Washington, and for the Tribal communities with whom we share geography, eating fish from Puget Sound and our streams and rivers is part of our daily lives,” Inslee said in the release. “These fish must be safe for our families to eat. By reinstating the rule repealed by the prior administration, EPA honors our shared commitment to protect and preserve clean water now and for generations to come.”
The Makah Tribal Council is one of many Tribes appreciative of EPA’s actions, according to the release.
“This is an important step toward protecting water quality, ensuring health of our treaty resources and supporting the exercise of our Treaty rights to harvest fish and marine mammals,” Makah Tribal Council Vice Chair Patrick DePoe said in the release. “We have relied on marine and freshwater resources for thousands of years, and we need those resources to be clean and safe in order to survive and thrive as a people.”
