Many Voices, One Message
More than 70 concerned citizens filled the meeting hall at the Department of Ecology's public hearing on the Whatcom Waterway RI/FS.  Thirty-two speakers offered comments for the record, and their message was unanimous:  "Get the mercury out of our waterway!"

Ecology officials listened for more than two hours as citizens expressed their dissatisfaction with current cleanup proposals. Criticism focused largely on plans to cap mercury-contaminated sediments in the inner portions of the waterway, adjacent to a new downtown neighborhood that is envisioned for the former Georgia-Pacific mill site. Comments ranged from detailed critiques of data collection protocols and the lack of a proper seismic analysis to questions about the cumulative costs of long-term monitoring and the failure to provide a genuine choice among alternatives that meet proposed land-use criteria. There were also impassioned pleas to consider the legacy we will leave to future generations. 

As one speaker put it, "Standards change, but mercury is forever. Now is the opportunity to do our job and remove the mercury from our waterway."  Another observed, "If you have poison in your house, whether you put it there or not, you don't just throw a rug over it.  You don't tell your kids they can only eat so much of it.  You do the responsible thing and get it out of your house." 

We at the Bay Foundation are delighted by the participation at the hearing, and truly grateful to see so many of you who care so much about our community's future. Thanks to all of you who attended on Monday evening, and to those of you who've taken the time to submit written comments to Ecology. Together we can make a difference.