State Rep. Bill “Ike” Eickmeyer is determined that the members of his select committee on Hood Canal — and the rest of the Legislature — will become familiar with the best sciences available for treating and overcoming threats to the Canal.
On Jan. 29, the select committee toured two wastewater-treatment plants that use cutting-edge membrane technology.
“I want my colleagues to understand the problems facing our Hood Canal — as well as the strategies we need to be looking at in order to deal with those problems,” said Eickmeyer, D-Belfair, who chairs the committee.
On Feb. 3, Eickmeyer’s select committee toured the Taylor Shellfish processing facility in Shelton.
Recently, Eickmeyer’s committee approved legislation he prime-sponsored to establish an aquatic rehabilitation zone around the Canal. The counties bordering Hood Canal from Tala Point in Jefferson County to Foulweather Bluff in Kitsap County are included in the rehabilitation zone.
Eickmeyer said the objective in the bill is to concentrate “specific and lasting attention on strategies for eradicating the threats to the Canal.”
Citizens and organizations from around the state who are interested in the health and future of Hood Canal have been testifying in Eickmeyer’s select committee. He said the committee will continue hearing from experts who have been involved in widespread investigations of aquatic problems, including areas such as Chesapeake Bay on the East Coast. “We want to collect information about the interaction of bivalves in the environment,” Eickmeyer explained. “And we’re researching new technologies for the successful planting of geoducks.”
