State agencies sign water quality roadmap

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Two state agencies responsible for both livestock and clean water have a new agreement they say will allow them to be more effective regulators.

The Departments of Ecology and Agriculture signed the new "memorandum of understanding" on Oct. 30 after months of working out their respective responsibilities under state laws governing the management of manure to avoid water pollution.

"We wanted to make crystal clear the obligations of each," said Jason Kelly, spokesman for Agriculture. "It's an effort to improve outcomes for water quality."

Sandy Howard, spokeswoman for Ecology, said the agreement spells out how the two state agencies must work together to protect water quality. "This is our roadmap," she said.

Both departments have been criticized for what some residents called "jurisdictional ambiguity" when it came to investigating complaints about possible water contamination from manure discharges at dairies and feedlots.

As part of an October 2008 investigative series ("Hidden Wells, Dirty Water") on contamination of shallow drinking-water wells in the Lower Valley, the Yakima Herald-Republic detailed one example in the story of a Sunnyside woman who had trouble getting either agency to investigate the source of her well's contamination from nitrates and bacteria.

The eight-page agreement signed by the state's Ecology and Agriculture departments states that Ecology may take action against livestock operations "where human health or environmental damage has or may occur due to a potential or actual discharges."

Agriculture will continue to manage the livestock nutrient management program, which inspects dairies to make sure they are following "best practices" when it comes to disposing of manure.

Both agencies will use an environmental reporting system to document all livestock-related complaints and keep track of their status.

The agreement was signed despite an ongoing effort by Gov. Chris Gregoire to evaluate all state agencies that have a hand in natural resource management. Called "natural resources reform," that effort involves 14 different agencies and could result in consolidation or rearrangement of agencies and their duties.

"We are not waiting before we improve the way we regulate livestock operations to protect water quality," Howard said.

* Leah Beth Ward can be reached at 509-577-7626 or lward@yakimaherald.com.

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