skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

A Legislative Storm about Stormwater Runoff

play audio
Play

Friday, March 2, 2012   

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Just when it looked as though the state of Washington was getting tougher on the problem of polluted stormwater runoff, some lawmakers are trying to make it easier for the state to back off.

Multiple bills and amendments would allow builders to delay or avoid using newer, low-impact development techniques to filter or prevent runoff before it gets to waterways and Puget Sound.

Bruce Wishart, who has been following the debate as an environmental lobbyist for People for Puget Sound, says developers and local governments are behind the effort to weaken the state's municipal stormwater permits.

"They acknowledge that these techniques are often much more cost-effective for the developer than traditional stormwater management techniques, but they don't want to be regulated. They don't believe in new regulations that might constrain how they develop."

This year's battle comes just as the Ecology Department is finalizing new rules for stormwater permits. The public comment period just ended, and everyone from fishing guides and business owners to scuba divers and shellfish growers weighed in.

Mo McBroom, policy director for the Washington Environmental Council, says what's happening now in the Statehouse could be a last-ditch effort to affect the outcome.

"It's interesting, because some say that this legislative debate that we're having right now isn't really about passing environmental rollbacks - it's about influencing Ecology's decision-making, as the draft permit is finalized."

In last year's legislative session, opponents of stronger stormwater permits succeeded in delaying the Ecology Department's new rules for a year, and have also said they would prefer that the use of green building techniques to reduce stormwater pollution be voluntary. The final rules are expected in July.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021