County takes steps to form shellfish district

Published 11:00 am Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Shellfish harvest still closed indefinitely.

The Board of Island County Commissioners took a step this week toward improving the water in Holmes Harbor.

During their meeting Monday, commissioners approved a $14,642 contract with the consulting firm Porter Group LLC to oversee the formation of a Shellfish Protection District.

Recreational and commercial shellfish harvesting will remain closed indefinitely due to high levels of fecal coliform, however.

Testing by the state Department of Health last year discovered high levels of fecal coliform at Holmes Harbor. The tests led to the closure of the southernmost end of Holmes Harbor to shellfish harvesting.

State law and the state health department have mandated that Island County form a shellfish protection district by February 2007.

Island County is hoping the state will furnish funding to clean up the harbor, and has applied for a grant to form the Shellfish Protection District. The county will likely pick up a 25-percent share of the funding needed for the district.

A five-year pollution mitigation project will begin in November 2007 and wrap up in March 2012.