OLYMPIA — The state Department of Health considers two beaches with commercial shellfish harvest areas on the North Olympic Peninsula “threatened.”
The state has released its annual water quality evaluation for commercial shellfish harvest areas.
Harvest restrictions will be put into place for a portion of Port Susan in Snohomish County because it does not meet public health standards, the state said in a press release issued Wednesday, and 18 areas will be listed as “threatened” due to bacterial pollution.
Since 2011, the state has invested more than $25 million from the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Program.
The grants support pollution identification and correction projects, onsite septic system management programs, research and shellfish protection districts.
Maintaining septic systems, picking up pet waste, using pump-out stations for boats and recreational vehicles and managing animal waste from large and small farms help keep areas clean, the state said.
The state Department of Health is responsible for the safety of commercially harvested shellfish in the state and uses national standards to classify all 110 commercial harvest areas, the press release said.
Recreational harvesters can get up-to-date information on the online Shellfish Safety Map at www.doh.wa.gov.
