Mason County, part of the Olympic Peninsula, lies along Hood Canal and the Olympic Mountains. Hood Canal is a fjord that flows from the Straits of Juan de Fuca, along Highway 101 to Belfair. Norm has cherished the waters of Hood Canal his entire life. He grew up swimming and waterskiing in Hood Canal and now calls that area home.
 Aerial shot of Hood Canal, looking northwest towards the Olympic Mountains.
Hood Canal
Norm has been a strong advocate for protecting and restoring the health of Hood Canal. As a native of Bremerton and someone who now lives on the Canal, Norm understands the importance of cleaning up Hood Canal and the entire Puget Sound estuary. While from the surface Hood Canal looks healthy, low concentrations of dissolved oxygen are stressing marine life and have caused major fish kills in recent years.
As the Chairman of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, Norm has been able to secure $1.1 million in federal funding since Fiscal Year 2004 for a U.S. Geological Survey study on the historically low levels of dissolved oxygen in Hood Canal. In addition, he obtained $700,000 to study the oxygen problem through the Environmental Protection Agency in Fiscal Years 2004 and 2005. Part of the problem is wastewater run-off, which often includes high levels of nitrogen. To prevent much of the wastewater from reaching Hood Canal, Norm obtained $2 million in the Interior Appropriations bill to construct a sewer system in Mason County and replace failing septic systems there. This follows a $5 million federal grant which was secured previously for the Hoodsport-Skokomish Reservation stretch along Hood Canal.
Salmon Restoration
Since the listing of several species of Pacific salmon and steelhead as threatened and endangered under the Endangered Species Act in the late 1990s, Norm has worked to secure federal money to reverse the decline in salmon populations. It was through Norm’s efforts, working with then-Vice-President Al Gore, that the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund was established in 2000. In the past several years, the fund has assisted restoration efforts of Pacific salmon and steelhead populations and their habitats in the States of Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Alaska, and it also provides funding to the Pacific Coastal and Columbia River tribes to build upon existing local salmon conservation programs.
Norm has also helped direct federal funds for the overall protection and clean-up of Puget Sound, an essential task for the health of future salmon runs. Last year Norm requested – and Congress approved – $20 million for the Environmental Protection Agency’s work in Puget Sound. Part of that money will help fund the work of the newly created Puget Sound Partnership – an independent state agency charged with overseeing various conservation and clean-up efforts in the 13 counties bordering the Sound or with rivers running into it. The partnership will set priorities, establish financial plans and coordinate clean-up and policy actions, and Norm will continue to support its efforts in Congress.
City of Shelton Regional Water and Wastewater Projects
In the summer of 2007, Norm attended the groundbreaking of the Satellite Water Reclamation Plant which involves the construction of sewer and reclaimed water pipelines that will connect the Washington Correction Center to the plant and which is the first step in upgrading the area’s ability to appropriately deal with wastewater coming from the region’s growing population. The federal government has been an active partner in this project, along with the City, the County, the Port, Mason Transit Authority and the Squaxin Island Tribe. Norm was able to secure federal funding through the State and Tribal Assistance Grant Program which is funded through the Interior Appropriations subcommittee. These are important infrastructure investments that are crucial to the ability of this community to continue to enjoy the benefits of a clean and safe environment and at the same time accommodate the growth that has occurred and is occurring in Mason County.
Shellfish Settlement
Norm has been a leader in bringing stakeholders together to resolve contentious natural resource issues. In Mason County, the shellfish industry is the second largest private employer. A 1994 Federal court ruling had guaranteed half of Washington’s shellfish harvest to Native American Tribes. Previous expansion of privately owned shellfish beds jeopardized resolution of the earlier court ruling without further legal action. In 2007, with the partnership of Norm, the State of Washington, private shellfish harvesters and tribal leaders, Puget Sound commercial shellfish growers and 17 treaty Indian tribes in western Washington reached a landmark agreement that addressed treaty shellfish harvest rights, preserved the health of the shellfish industry and provided greater shellfish harvest opportunities for Washington residents. Norm worked with the Bush Administration to secure $22 million in federal funding for the settlement. Governor Chris Gregoire and the state legislature, provided $9 million from the state’s general fund. Commissioner of Public Lands Doug Sutherland secured $2 million for the settlement. These funds complimented important concessions made by tribal leaders and commercial shellfish operators to secure the landmark agreement.
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