Funding Puget Sound Restoration

The Puget Sound has been at the forefront of restoration. A recent report, "Action Agenda: Financing Strategy -- Estimates of Spending Related to Puget Sound," released by the Puget Sound Partnership, shows the complicated funding situation that projects such as this face. According to the report:

Current annual spending on Puget Sound protection and restoration is estimated  to be on the order of $564 million per year from the public sector.  The public sector also spends an estimated $799 million on wastewater treatment and $646 million on mitigation in Puget Sound. (page 4)

While this is encouraging, with so much money going towards a healthier Puget Sound, some interesting statistics do emerge:

The majority of public and private spending are in the form of permit-required mitigation and wastewater treatment.  Approximately 28% of public spending is on protection and restoration; overall less than one sixth of estimated public and private spending goes to this category. (page 4)

It would be nice if more money went to restoration activities. Of course, the money between these categories is not easily transferable, especially because decreased amounts of mitigation and wastewater treatment would not be beneficial to a clean Puget Sound. Nonetheless, the ecological benefits of restored ecosystems are established, and more money should go into it. Given the current economic situation, however, this most likely will not happen until significant economic growth resumes.

Also interesting in the study is a breakdown of to which areas of restoration the spending goes. While many of the categories are vague (for example, would road decommissioning be in "Stormwater," "Restore Habitat," or "Sediments"?), the chart still provides valuable information.

Overall, the Puget Sound Partnership's "Action Agenda: Financing Strategy -- Estimates of Spending Related to Puget Sound" is a valuable report for the depth of information that it gives. Please check out the report yourself, either directly through the Puget Sound Partnership, or through Wildlands CPR's Resource section.