Puget Sound cleanup plan goes to lawmakers

The Puget Sound Partnership has completed its blueprint for fighting pollution and restoring habitat in Puget Sound.

The state agency approved its plan Monday, the deadline set by the Legislature, after an 18-month process.

It plans to ask lawmakers for $200 million in new funding to pay for initial cleanup projects.

The head of the agency's Leadership Council, Bill Ruckelshaus, says the plan will go a long way toward fixing problems that have plagued the sound for years.

Among the top priorities are to restore estuary habitat at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, address low dissolved oxygen concentrations in the Hood Canal and buy up critical lands.

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On the Net:

Puget Sound Partnership: http://www.psp.wa.gov/

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