The state Department of Ecology issued new stormwater permits Aug. 1 to guide the next phase of efforts to reduce and eliminate polluted runoff from new development and redevelopment projects across the state. The department also posted a bit a aerial reconnaissance.

Protecting Puget Sound and Washington's waterways takes all kinds of tools. Here is a link to some dramatic scenes over Puget Sound last week that reveal what the struggle is all about. As Ecology explains, the update and video "combines high-resolution photo
observations with satellite images, en route ferry data between Seattle and Victoria BC, and measurements from our moored instruments."

Check out the rest of the website to get a sense of the work underway.

The new rules propagated by Ecology come with how-to instructions for updating municipal and county ordinances, and training both code enforcers and developers in the latest methods of inhibiting stormwater runoff, and keeping more rainfall where in lands.

The state Legislature knew Ecology's efforts were important enough to invest a million dollars a year over the next five years to get the new permits and codes launched.