Troublesome dissolved oxygen levels and recent problems with massive fish deaths prompted the legislature to create the new Select Committee on Hood Canal this legislative session – and with less than a month left in the legislative session the House has passed a package of bills based on the committee’s recommendations.
   One of the bills (House Bill 1896), sponsored by Rep. Sherry Appleton (D-Poulsbo) calls for the three different studies of the geoduck population in the Canal.
   “This is not a bill that will completely fix all of our problems in the Hood Canal,” said Appleton. “The problem is a complicated one; but by implementing this package of reforms we can get the ball rolling in the right direction and better understand what we are up against.”
   The bill, which had bi-partisan support, passed the House by a vote of 91 to 3.
   High concentrations of nitrogen have caused large algae blooms in the Canal. When the algae dies, it settles to the bottom and begins to decompose. The decomposition of large amounts of algae removes the dissolved oxygen from the water – dissolved oxygen that fish need to breathe.
   Geoducks serve as algae filters in the canal, consuming the algae as it falls to the ocean floor. Over-harvest of these populations can throw a delicate balance out of whack.
   Other Hood Canal bills to pass the House include:
   House Bill 2081 (prime-sponsored by state Rep. Bill Eickmeyer, D-Belfair) specifies aquatic rehabilitation zones may be established for marine waters posing serious environmental or public health concerns and establishes Aquatic Rehabilitation Zone One for watersheds draining into Hood Canal.
   House Bill 2097 (prime-sponsored by Eickmeyer) establishes the Hood Canal Coordinating Council as the lead local management entity for the regional recovery efforts for the Hood Canal area. The council will actively work with the Puget Sound Action Team on the setting of priorities for programs, studies, and projects for the Canal.
   House Bill 2086 (prime-sponsored by McCoy) directs the Puget Sound Action Team to assess the effectiveness of nitrogen treatment by currently approved and alternative on-site sewage-treatment technologies. This bill passed the House, 57-37.
   House Bill 2105 (prime-sponsored by state Rep. Maralyn Chase, D-Shoreline) adds Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason counties to the Puget Sound Action Team’s existing On-site Sewage Grant Program. This bill passed the House, 89-5.