Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman from Washington's Tenth District. In my neck of the woods, we take pride in the Puget Sound and we understand that it is in danger. That is why I join my colleague today to talk about the treasures the Sound holds: the water, the salmon, the oysters, the orcas, an entire ecosystem that is currently under attack. This is a threat that happens every time a thunderstorm or a rain strikes cities like Tacoma. When heavy rains hit, that water will wash toxic mixtures of oil and heavy metals off of our city streets and highways and into waterways like Puget Sound. The Seattle Times recently wrote about a new study that found some runoff was so toxic that it killed Coho salmon in 2\1/2\ hours. It is something we don't often think about, but this storm water mix creates a pollution that lingers. Folks in the region I represent are doing groundbreaking work putting in green storm water infrastructure to capture this runoff before it hits our waters. These are projects like rain gardens, green roofs, and natural drainage swales. Instead of letting storm water slide along and collect more dirt and grime and end up in our bodies of water, it captures it. Our amendment would encourage the growth of these projects. It would give our local governments and places like Tacoma and Puyallup and elsewhere a clear playbook on the most effective ways to implement green storm water infrastructure.…”