6PPD: How Tires, Toxic Stormwater, and Salmon Don’t Mix

Описание: This is a recording of a presentation given on June 10, 2021, to the Telos Student Organization, the Continuing Education student organization at Bellevue College.

Join Stephanie Blair, PhD Candidate at Washington State University's Puyallup Research and Extension Center, and Alyssa Barton, Policy Manager at Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, for a talk about tires, salmon, and stormwater. You will learn about Puget Soundkeeper Alliance’s legal and advocacy work to stop polluted stormwater and WSU’s research on coho prespawn mortality and toxics. You’ll learn about the research demonstrating that low impact development (LID) can stop toxic stormwater pollution and save salmon; the original 2009 legal decision requiring municipalities to control polluted stormwater runoff with LID; ongoing citizen science research on coho prespawn mortality (Urban Runoff Mortality Syndrome); how researchers recently identified the toxic chemical in stormwater – 6PPD-quinone- that is killing coho and what they've learned about 6PPD-quinone's toxic effects; the newest municipal general stormwater permit for western Washington, and what needs to change.

Speaker bios:

Stephanie Blair is a PhD candidate in the School of the Environment at Washington State University’s Puyallup Research and Extension Center. She investigates the lethal and sublethal biological effects in salmonids exposed to urban runoff pollutants with a focus on the blood-brain barrier. Stephanie’s article on the toxic mode of action in coho urban runoff mortality syndrome was recently featured as an Editor’s Choice in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. She is a member of the Sault Sainte Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan and Nome Eskimo Community in Alaska. Stephanie draws on her cultural and scientific experiences to develop Place Based and STEAM curricula for middle and high school students, with an emphasis on inspiring urban native youth to pursue careers in sustainability.

Alyssa Barton is the Policy Manager at Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to protecting and enhancing the waters of Puget Sound. Since its inception in 1984, Soundkeeper has successfully appealed and strengthened numerous Clean Water Act stormwater permits in Washington. Alyssa manages the organization’s policy program as the lead in-house policy strategist and advocate alongside the Executive Director, where she implements projects that stop stormwater, wastewater, marine debris, and other pollution sources to Puget Sound. She managed the 2019 update of Nature’s Scorecard, a municipal stormwater accountability tool, and is currently leading the development of a new Retrofits Reportcard focused on controlling stormwater from developed areas, in partnership with Washington Environmental Council.