water pollution

Container ships are docking at the Port of Seattle along the Duwamish River, Feb. 4, 2015, in Seattle.

Monsanto agrees to settlement with Seattle over Duwamish River pollution

The Associated Press

Ending an eight-year legal battle, chemical giant Monsanto has agreed to a $160-million settlement with Seattle for its part in polluting the Lower Duwamish River with toxins.

Environment

Cleanup process in Olympia’s Budd Inlet starts with sediment samples

Bellamy Pailthorp

The Port of Olympia started work this week on a plan to remove legacy pollution from the waters of Budd Inlet at the southernmost tip of Puget Sound.

FILE - Julann Spromberg, a research toxicologist with Ocean Associates Inc., working under contract with NOAA Fisheries, observes a salmon placed in a tank of clear water after it died from four hours of exposure to unfiltered highway runoff water on Oct. 20, 2014. The Environmental Protection Agency on Nov. 2, 2023, granted a petition submitted by Native American tribes in California and Washington state asking federal regulators to prohibit the use of the chemical 6PPD in tires due to its lethal effect on salmon, steelhead trout, and other wildlife.

Environment

Fishing groups sue 13 US tire makers over rubber preservative that's deadly to salmon

The Associated Press

The 13 largest U.S. tire manufacturers are facing a lawsuit from a pair of California commercial fishing organizations that could force the companies to stop using a chemical found in almost every tire because it kills migrating salmon. Native American tribes in California and Washington state recently petitioned the EPA to review the use of the chemical.

Coho salmon spawn on the Salmon River in northwestern Oregon.

Environment

Report lays out bleak picture of Northwest salmon 'teetering on the brink of extinction'

Bellamy Pailthorp

Washington’s salmon are “teetering on the brink of extinction,” according to a new report. It says the state must change how it’s responding to climate…

Jenifer McIntyre, left, a researcher at Washington State University's Puyallup Research Center, takes notes as a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, weighs a salmon that died after being in a tank of unfiltered highway runoff in 2014.

Environment

Settlement agreement says state must protect endangered species from polluted runoff

Bellamy Pailthorp

Endangered species in Washington will get a much-needed boost following the settlement of a major lawsuit about runoff and water quality. The case is…

Science

Ruckelshaus, who started EPA and defied Nixon in Watergate, dies at 87

Bellamy Pailthorp

This interview with the late Bill Ruckelshaus originally aired in March 2017. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Read a full obituary here.…

Environment

Salish Sea Day Of Action To Bring Cross-Border Communities Together

Bellamy Pailthorp

Communities concerned about marine health in Washington and British Columbia will take part Saturday in a Salish Sea Day of Action. The first-time event…

Environment

Wash. To Host First Public Meeting On Inslee's Fish Consumption Rate Proposal

Bellamy Pailthorp

Washington is slowly moving ahead with a long-delayed plan to update its water quality rules. Tuesday's will be the first public meeting on Gov. Jay…

Environment

Environment Washington Pushing To Close Loopholes In Clean Water Act

Bellamy Pailthorp

Industrial polluters dumped more than two million pounds of toxic chemicals into Washington’s waterways in 2012, according to a new report from…

Environment

Homeowners at Odds with Gov't Agencies over Dredging, Disposal

Bellamy Pailthorp

Some residents in the Olympia area are concerned about dredged materials being disposed of in the Puget Sound. They say the Department of Natural…