Commission Briefs

Annas Bay Closure Response Plan amended

An amendment to the closure plan for Annas Bay Shellfish Protection District was approved at the Mason County commissioners Feb. 1 meeting.

According to the information

packet, the original plan was completed in August 2018 and was amended in November 2018 before this amendment.

The money for this plan is provided by the Hood Canal Coordinating Council. In September 2017, the state Department of Health changed the classification of approximately 1,220 acres of Annas Bay Commercial Shellfish Growing Area to conditionally approved in response to Marine Station 314 failing the National Shellfish Sanitation Program water-quality standards. An increased frequency of flooding of the Skokomish River and the predictable pollution conditions associated with the flooding contributed to the change.

Annas Bay is on the Hood Canal shoreline area between Potlatch and Union. The Skokomish Indian Reservation occupies most of the nearshore upland area.

Annas Bay growing area has 11 active shellfish companies managing and harvesting shellfish. The bay is sampled 12 times per year to provide a comprehensive evaluation of water quality.

The strategy for water-quality improvement has goals to protect public health, reduce water pollution, meet state and federal marine water quality standards for commercial shellfish harvesting and ensure that marine water quality is maintained. Tasks to reach these goals include planning and coordinating closure response plan development and implementation, monitor marine and fresh water quality, control on-site septic system pollution sources, control agricultural pollution sources and education and community capacity building.

To view the full plan, go to tinyurl.com/msv95nwh.

Board approves response plan for Jones Cove

The Mason County commissioners approved a closure plan for Jones Cove at the Feb. 1 commissioners meeting.

According to the information packet, the county received notice of a reclassification to the Pickering Passage Commercial Shellfish Growing Area near Jones Cove from the state Department of Health on June 29. The change is in response to Marine Station 67 in Jones Cove failing the National Shellfish Sanitation Program water-quality standards. A Shellfish Protection District program is required to be put in place after an area has been downgraded.

Jones Cove is a small, shallow inlet in the west central portion of Pickering Passage that includes 9.5 acres. It is used privately and commercially for the harvest of shellfish. In 1996, Jones Cove had its earliest known classification as prohibited, but 8 acres were approved in 2013. In 2016, fecal coliform levels at station 67 began to rise and station 67 failed to meet the NSSP standard in 2020.

The response plan includes steps for water-quality improvement with goals to reduce water pollution, meet state and federal marine water quality standards for commercial shellfish harvest and marine water quality standards can be maintained. The main objectives are to plan and coordinate the closure response plan development and implementation, monitor marine and freshwater quality, review and manage nonpoint pollution sources, control on-site septic system pollution sources, control agricultural pollution sources through a referral to Mason Conservation District and education and educating members of the community.

To view the full plan, check pages 145 to 161 of the Feb. 1 commissioners information packet at tinyurl.com/2p9dmpkd.