How much fish do you eat? Let me give you a brief rundown of why I'm asking: Washington is still struggling to find an official fish-consumption rate to replace outdated numbers. Due to contaminated waters, fish can harbor toxics, like mercury, PCBs and dioxins. The real question should be how much of these chemicals are ingested by humans? Enter the fish consumption rate. If the number is high, those responsible will be on the hook for cleaning the waterways since people might be eating more fish than is safe.

Image courtesy of Waterplanet. 

The Spokane Riverkeeper has joined forces with the Waterkeepers Washington, a coalition of statewide clean water advocates, to put the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on notice it could be sued under the federal Clean Water Act.

From the Riverkeeper: Studies across Washington State show high levels of toxic pollution in certain types of locally caught fish and shellfish. According to Waterkeepers Washington, EPA is violating its duty under federal law by failing to take action and protect public health.

The 60-day notice letter of intent to sue under the Clean Water Act targets the so-called “fish consumption” rate. Earlier this year, the fish consumption issue was at the heart of the near shutdown of state government when Boeing and other industries lobbied the state to add years of delay to new toxic pollution laws

According to the Waterkeeper groups, EPA is violating the law by allowing Washington’s Department of Ecology (Ecology) to grossly underestimate the state’s fish consumption rate, which is used to set water quality standards. The state of Washington incorrectly estimates its citizens have one of the lowest fish consumption rates in the nation. Consequently, water pollution limits are too high and fail to protect people who eat locally caught fish. 

“EPA has long known that Washington Ecology never properly adopted a realistic fish consumption rate,” said Janette Brimmer, an Earthjustice attorney representing members of Waterkeepers Washington. “EPA’s lack of action is allowing polluters to discharge mercury, PCBs, lead and other toxins at levels that threaten public health. The EPA can no longer turn a blind eye to this.”

An accurate fish consumption rate is important to public health because it is used to set water pollution standards. Central to the process is estimating how much fish people eat. Washington relies on an outdated system for setting fish consumption rates for water quality instead of establishing rates based on the best available data, particularly local surveys that reflect the amount of fish people actually eat.

Problems associated with underestimating fish consumption, including big business interests lobbying against reforms, are documented in a series of reports by investigative journalist Robert McClure of Investigate West–http://www.invw.org/article/business-interests-trump-1344 .

“If there’s a false assumption that people eat less fish, regulators believe they can dump more pollution into our waterways. This is flat-out wrong,”said Chris Wilke, executive director of Puget Soundkeeper Alliance. “The feds and state need to start setting realistic fish consumption rates fix the rules and protect people.”

In Washington State, fish consumption is estimated at a scant 6.5 grams (less than a quarter ounce) of fish or shellfish a day–a morsel that fits on a snack cracker. The monthly estimate is slightly less than 8 ounces–a modest serving of fillet. Under that estimate, less stringent water pollution limits are set.

Read the rest HERE. 

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