Greetings from DRCC! 

As we reflect on this year’s progress, we are deeply grateful for your support in amplifying the voices of those impacted by environmental injustice in the Duwamish Valley and beyond. For too long, communities near the Duwamish River have suffered from pollution, but local residents, Tribal Nations, and environmental stewards have shown resilience and tireless work.

Environmental justice is now a headline in our community, and while we’re proud of the momentum, much work remains.

The current political climate threatens the progress we’ve made, with potential rollbacks of vital protections and a lack of commitment to equitable solutions. At the Duwamish River Community Coalition, we recognize the intersection of environmental and racial justice, and we know the new administration will worsen systemic racism and oppression for our immigrant and refugee neighbors. We remain committed to serving their needs, as a rising tide lifts all boats.

And we are NOT giving up.

In the face of these challenges, we have seen the power of community-driven actions. Our work continues to be grounded in the principle of place-keeping, which honors the cultural, historical, and environmental connections that sustain communities. This year, with your support and engagement, we’ve been able to:

• Amplify the voices of more than 2,500 community members in public comment letters and surveys for clean air and water. We engaged with more than 195 youth this year in our climate justice program. We continue to provide a platform to those whose stories have been ignored for far too long. 

• Advance environmental justice by advocating for stronger policies and cleaner practices in industries affecting our health and local habitat. This year, we worked ceaselessly with our partners to introduce policies like the Cumulative Risk Burden (CURB) Pollution Act and the Clean School Bus Bill (which passed!) during Washington’s Legislative session with plans to come back stronger in 2025. We helped defend Washington's Climate Commitment Act to protect our environment and critical investments in climate resilience projects through the No on I-2117 campaign. We also installed 23 air quality monitors around the community so we can best understand the air we breathe.

• Build capacity within affected communities, providing resources and training to empower local leaders to continue their advocacy for the environment.  This year we celebrated the second year of our Community Advocacy Team for Clean Air (CAT), formed by local BIPOC; convened a Community Capacity group with more than 25 local organizations; and supported a Community Advisory Group with leadership of flood-impacted neighbors. 

We have a clear vision: a future where all people, regardless of their race, income, or zip code, have access to clean air, safe water, and a thriving environment. 

We need your help to make this vision a reality.

Thank you for standing with us. Let’s make 2025 a year of JUSTICE!  Your support is essential!

Paulina López
Executive Director  

Duwamish River Updates

River Cleanup has started! 

• Starting on Monday, November 25, contractor crews will start dredging sediment in Sediment Management Areas 3 and 6 (see map below) during standard working hours (Monday through Friday, 7 am to 7 pm).  

You can reach out to our team during construction hours should you have questions or concerns. Reach out to us contact@drcc.org or at info@ldwg.org or 1-888-561-LDWG (1-888-561-5394).

What to Expect During Construction

Construction will take place in specific areas within the Duwamish Waterway’s Upper Reach, which extends from the South 102nd Street bridge downstream to the Duwamish Waterway Park.

In general, the public can expect to see:

• Construction equipment working on the River, including tugboats, excavators on barges, and barges carrying material to and from work areas.

• The Contractor will use barges to move dredged sediment from cleanup areas to the Duwamish Reload Facility (operated by Waste Management) located at 7400 8th Avenue South to transfer sediment from barge to railcars. The material will then be transported to a regulated landfill.  

• People in smaller boats observing, doing surveys, monitoring water quality, and collecting samples.  

• People working mostly weekdays between 7 am and 7 pm and, only if necessary due to tides and other factors, working after 7 pm Saturday is also allowed. Night work will be limited. The project team will provide advance notice to nearby residents, including marina residents, and businesses.  

• Lights for safe work during dark hours and noise related to construction equipment.

Public Comments on Sources of pollution 

More opportunity to make Public Comments for our Duwamish River!!

What have we learned so far with Air Quality Data? 

Do you know what PM2.5 is? PM2.5  is a measurement of very small particles that can be inhaled (PM stands for Particulate Matter). PM2.5 generally measures 2.5 micrometers and smaller and is considered air pollution. It is an invisible killer that lurks all around us. Here is what PM2.5 can look like!

Since the Duwamish Air Improvement Study for Youth (DAISY) is a community-based participatory research study, we are looking to involve members of the community with the study aims. Because of this, DAISY asked Duwamish Valley Youth Corps (DVYC) to analyze air quality data to help us contextualize the study’s outdoor air monitoring campaign and pollution.

The Youth Corps compared air pollution at the Beacon Hill, Duwamish Valley, and South Park air monitoring locations by using three colors of magnetic pins. Red pins represent days when the 24-hour PM2.5 average exceeded 15 µg/m3. 15 µg/m3 of PM2.5 is the average daily air quality standard recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2021; they recommend that air quality not exceed 15 µg/m3 on average in a day.

Yellow pins represented days between 15µg/m3 and 5 µg/m3 of PM2.5. 

Blue pins represented days below 15µg/m3 and 5 µg/m3 of PM2.5. 5 µg/m3 of PM2.5 is the 2021 WHO recommended average annual air quality guideline. 

The WHO recommends that air quality not exceed not exceed 5 µg/m3 on average in a year.

Do you know any child with asthma?

Help spread the word! If you or someone you know could benefit from this study, feel free to share this flier. Together, we can make a difference to lower asthma rates.

CLIMATE

DRCC would like to better understand community concerns about climate change and priorities for flooding solutions 

Read more about climate change in the Duwamish Valley and take the survey via the QR code or at https://forms.gle/jvbWH6Zzs4r9PPcx5

Congrats to our Fall Cohort- Duwamish Valley Youth Corps 

Thank you for supporting our Youth~ 

We are very grateful we hosted our 2024 Environmental Justice Youth Forum welcoming more than 160 community members who came to learn from youth priorities related to the River Cleanup, Climate solutions, plastic pollution, Tree planting, air monitoring and more!   

As the year comes to a close, we can’t help but feel a sense of pride for all the incredible youth that chose to participate in our programming this year. Young folks from all across the Duwamish Valley joined DVYC this year, and we can only hope that they left feeling accomplished, empowered, and proud of themselves for their commitment and dedication to our programs. We also hold a tremendous amount of gratitude and appreciation for our amazing partners whose commitment to DVYC and the youth of Seattle reminds us that we are not alone in our pursuit of strengthening and uplifting our community.

In 2024, in partnership with Dirt Corps, DVYC youth gave away over 250 free trees to the community, removed over 300 pounds of weeds, and maintained several rain gardens and parks throughout the South Seattle area. With the help of Seattle Public Utilities, the One Roof Foundation, and DRCC, our youth participated in several community cleanups and storm drain stenciling events, helping to remove over 500 pounds of garbage and stenciling over 45 storm drains. Because of our incredible network of partners, DVYC was able to provide a wide range of environmental justice and community care workshops, field trips, and activities designed to educate and empower Duwamish Valley youth. 

Thanks to our partners at Mini Mart, Just Health Action, Seattle Public Utilities, Zero Waste Washington, the South Park Public Library, the University of Washington Nursing students, The UW Edge Center, the University of North Carolina, and Puget Sound Clean Air Agency for all of your support to make the 2024 year a success!

For those of you who have been asking: our winter cohort kicks off with orientation on Thursday January 9th at the South Park Neighborhood Center at 5pm!

Climate Resilience

Neighbors impacted by the River overtopping of 2022 made it through the first two King Tides of this season with zero damages. Those neighbors who are part of the Flood Community Advisory Group (Flood CAG) continue to discuss near-, mid-, and long-term solutions to flooding, alongside work being done by Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), Seattle Public Utilities (SOU), King County Wastewater Treatment Division (KCWTD), and the City’s Resilience District Advisory Group (RDAG). We remain grateful to SPU for all its work preparing for King Tides, and for its in-depth Emergency Response Plan which will be activated in the case of a potential flood. DRCC, along with Villa Comunitaria and Just Health Action, have been advocating that the County develop a Flood Management Plan to support neighbors who live in unincorporated King County in South Park, also known as the Sliver by the River, and for support towards flood insurance. King County’s recently passed budget includes a proviso for an interdepartmental flood team report on the Flood Management Plan, as well as $36K for flood insurance.

Next up for Flood CAG members is working with the UW’s EDGE Center on focus groups which are seeking input about long-term solutions, similar to the Resilience District, but with a priority on community needs. Would you like to join a focus group to share your thoughts? $50 stipends are available! Reach out to mjeranko@uw.edu for details.

Georgetown Community Council/South Park Neighborhood Association

The Georgetown Community Council (GCC) and South Park Neighborhood Association (SPNA) are finishing up for the year. GCC is planning their annual post-holiday party in January and SPNA is planning their Unsung Heros meeting and getting ready to launch a contest for a new logo! For more info, go to GCC’s website or follow SPNA on Facebook, or come to a meeting! The GCC has also recently formed a sub-committee to work towards realization of a long-time community dream of a neighborhood gathering space. GCC holds meetings the third Monday of the month from 7-9 at the Old City Hall in Georgetown (6235 Airport Way S) and SPNA meets the second Tuesday of the month from 6-7:30 at the Duwamish River Community Hub (8600 14th Ave S).

Learn more about the Duwamish Valley Affordable Housing Coalition

The Board of the Duwamish Valley Affordable Housing Coalition (DVAHC) is working on strategic planning for 2025. We are evaluating our mission statement, vision and values, and even our name! We are reflecting on the capacity we have grown in the last few years and working hard to make a stronger and more impactful organization. We continue to seek property to develop towards the realization of our three-prong approach: preservation of existing affordable housing, development of new affordable housing, and development of a multi-purpose building for community use.

What’s New at Community Capacity Meetings

DRCC’s Community Capacity group (a monthly meeting of community-based organizations) opened its doors wider for two meetings last month. One was for general stakeholders in the Duwamish Valley to discuss capacity and ways to support growth collaboratively. We were very grateful to be in company of more than 20+ organizations serving South Park. We facilitated an “asset-mapping activity” to try to ascertain all of our strengths and weaknesses and how to move forward together. We also hosted a community-wide meeting to hear thoughts on the City’s Comprehensive Growth Plan, to determine how it may impact the Duwamish Valley, and to work towards responding to the call for public comment. Look out for our letter in the next few weeks!

Have you heard about the #NoaddedHarm Campaign? 

We are very concerned that the 420,000 SeaTac Airport flights are harming the environment, climate and risking the health of our beloved children, families, and workers. SeaTac Airport knows of these concerns. They still want to serve the increase in flights from 47 to 66 million passengers (a 40% increase), the doubling of international flights, and the tripling of air cargo. This is unjust.

Join the coalition and sign the petition letter!  

Thank you for your support

DONATE TODAY! 

To achieve our goals we need your support, your voice, your involvement, and your ideas. 

DRCC/ TAG is an independent,  501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All your donations will be tax deductible.