Wood waste has been a major driver in numerous large scale, nearshore cleanups in Washington State Its presence has contributed substantially to both the extent and volume of sediment requiring cleanup which is costly and time consuming. Success in dealing with wood waste must start with controlling sources and a reassessment of how timber-related uses of our waters are conducted. Recognizing its ecological impacts and the financial burden of cleanup prompts the change from practices that release wood waste to state waters. While it is tough to change from traditional use of waters for transport and storage of logs or chips, the minor investment in source control measures is necessary to avoid impacts. Activities that generate wood waste have received less attention than the regulation of typical industrial process discharges and solid waste streams. Also, the nature of wood waste is highly variable which makes its toxic effects difficult to predict. Unlike many traditional contaminants, there is not a simple metric like chemical concentration that accurately characterizes the effects of wood waste in the aquatic environment. The Washington State Sediment Management Standards address both of these challenges, 1) implementing practical source control measures under state and federal (Clean Water Act) laws, and 2) use of biological criteria (bioassays) for final assessment of wood waste impacted sediments. These are detailed in Ecology’s technical guidance document, Wood Waste Cleanup, Identifying, assessing, and remediating wood waste in marine and freshwater environments
