Coastal communities are concerned about an increasing influx of marine debris along their shores, and rightly so. Creativity and collaboration have been and will be the key to addressing this problem. Here are a few thoughts about that from WEMD’s Dr. Terry Egan, co-lead of the state’s Marine Debris Response Task Force.
Jim Mullen
Director, Washington State Emergency Management
President, National Emergency Management Association

With a potentially unprecedented volume of marine debris poised to drift in off the Pacific Ocean over the next few years, Washington State has been preparing a response in partnership with an array of citizens and agencies stretching inland from the beach to Olympia and Washington D.C.
Since the beginning of this year, the state has been working with local and tribal governments; coastal communities; community organizations; federal agencies; and neighboring states to address concerns about increases in marine debris. With input from all these collaborators, the state’s Marine Debris Response Task Force is developing a series of guidelines which, taken together, are called the Marine Debris Response Plan.
Help from coastal communities in advancing this draft plan is essential, and will remain so, as the plan is a “living document” that will continue to evolve. A precedent for this process occurred as recently as 2009-2011, when a consortium of government agencies addressed the Howard Hanson Dam’s potential flooding threat with a living plan that progressively incorporated new information and changing conditions. 

Having a living document to address marine debris is extremely important for numerous reasons, including the unprecedented nature of this issue. Other factors include:

·         No state, federal or local entity has the funding, authority or a mandate to remove nonhazardous debris from Washington State’s coastal beaches. The patchwork of coastal land ownership includes local jurisdictions, tribal nations, state agencies and the U.S. National Park Service. 
·         Available resources, geography and accessibility vary along the coast, and debris response often requires multiple entities to rapidly develop effective tactics specific to the situation at hand.

To begin crafting the current draft plan, 50 people representing local and tribal governments, state and federal agencies, and community organizations attended a workshop in Ocean Shores on April 25. Their purpose was to forge coordinated strategies for responding to marine debris. Workshop attendance was limited to keep the process manageable, but the state has since solicited input from coastal agencies and organizations, including the city of Long Beach, Pacific County and other key partners.

Based on information shared at the April 25 workshop, the state’s initial draft response plan was developed. It was then sent out for review to workshop invitees, who recently returned their feedback. Once this feedback is incorporated, the state will widen efforts to solicit input on the plan, reaching out to other coastal stakeholders.

The draft plan is not the end of our preparations, but rather, a solid beginning. We see the plan as subject to continuous review and refinement by the parties involved—an ongoing process that can only make it stronger. The state will continue to weave in new information, new strategies, new ideas and new perspectives as the marine debris response plan evolves.

We look forward to continued work with our planning and communication partners, old and new, as we advance the state’s Marine Debris Response Plan.

Dr. Terry Egan

Plans, Exercise and Training Unit Manager, Washington State Emergency Management.

Courtesy:  Washington State Emergency Management