Letters to the editor for Sept. 10

Ecology going after polluter

I am writing to provide more information to The Olympian and your readers regarding the performance audit of state debt collection, the subject of a Aug. 22 editorial ("Debt collection must improve").

As the editorial noted, one debtor owes $14.7 million to the Department of Ecology (74 percent of the audited Ecology receivables during the audit period). The editorial, however, does not note that debt is for the cleanup of the severely contaminated former Asarco smelter site at Ruston in Pierce County.

Cleanup of the Asarco Superfund site began in the early 1990s, and the company paid Ecology for eight years. In 2003, we and the attorney general prepared for additional legal action to force payment of outstanding invoices. In 2005, the company filed for bankruptcy protection. Ecology is working through extended bankruptcy hearings to make sure Asarco meets its cleanup responsibilities.

As McClatchy Newspapers reported Aug. 24 ("State would get $200 million for Asarco cleanup"), our state is in a good position to recover the costs of cleaning up Asarco's smelter contamination. That's because Ecology, Gov. Chris Gregoire and the attorney general are aggressively pursuing full payment by Asarco.

In addition, we have undertaken several actions recommended by the state auditor regarding toxics cleanup debt collection. Like The Olympian and your readers, we are intensely focused on making polluters pay and on using their dollars to clean up the sites they have contaminated.

Jim Pendowski, program manager, toxics cleanup program, Washington Department of Ecology

Triway should pay full tax burden

I am writing in response to the article about potential tax breaks for the project Triway Enterprises has proposed for the isthmus in downtown Olympia.

Even more shocking to me than the thought of giving this project a tax break, was the statement attributed to Jeanette Hawkins that implied that, since the potential residents were most likely to be young singles, professionals, and empty-nesters, they wouldn't be using the school system, suggesting I suppose, that they shouldn't have to pay for it.

As a professional and an empty-nester, I have to say we all use the school system. Good schools benefit all of us, whether we have children in them or not. A strong public school system is an investment in our future. Providing our children with quality education is essential for a vibrant economy and community.

Ask any Realtor and they will tell you that one of the things people look for when buying a house is quality schools. When corporations consider a community in which to locate their business, they also look for good schools to ensure that they have a well-educated work force to draw from.

It has been said that a well-educated citizenry is necessary for democracy. A less-educated citizenry might miss, for example, the oxymoron of an "independent study" being paid for by the organization that would most benefit from its findings.

Triway will benefit financially because Olympia is an attractive community. I think they should fully contribute, like the rest of us, to keeping it that way.

Maureen Fitzgerald, Olympia

Momentum builds to improve downtown

Kudos to the Olympia Planning Commission and city staff for recommending the isthmus be rezoned to allow urban waterfront housing.

It finally seems that there is the momentum and will to make some needed improvements in downtown Olympia. I'm certain that the Olympia City Council will follow through on the platform on which many of them were elected - to take decisive action to improve downtown.

Mary Ellen McKain, Olympia