Friday, October 23, 2026
A sweeping environmental project received the backing of the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners, as regional partners continue to seek state and federal funding needed to initiate construction and implementation.
The board approved a resolution that spells out support for the Deschutes Estuary Restoration Project, which aims to restore 260 acres of estuarine and salt marsh habitat in South Puget Sound.
The board unanimously backed the resolution, which was on the consent agenda of a business meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 20. A consent agenda packages items for one combined vote.
The resolution refers to the project as “a transformative, once-in-generations opportunity to restore the Deschutes Estuary, improve the health of Budd Inlet and the Deschutes River watershed, and address long-standing water quality, habitat, sediment, and public access challenges” that are associated with Capital Lake Basin.
The resolution also acknowledges management of the project under Washington State Department of Ecology, which took over the role from Washington State Department of Enterprise Services in 2025. Total project costs have been estimated to exceed $400 million.
Funding and governance of the project are detailed in an interlocal agreement between the City of Olympia, City of Tumwater, LOTT Clean Water Alliance, Port of Olympia, Squaxin Island Tribe and Thurston County.
The Tumwater Public Works Committee recently backed a similar resolution for the restoration project, which would also result in the removal and replacement of the 5th Avenue Bridge, as well as removal of the dam. The project is in the design and permitting process.
A Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the restoration project is available for review or download here. The public can weigh in on the project until 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 9. An online comment form is available here.
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Bobwubbena
There is a key unanswered question about the Estuary Project. Who is providing the independent (of the emotional hype that exists around this project) by the local governmental elected body that is assuming full responsibility for the final project, including financing. The Legislature in 2025 issued a Budget Message that the design in 2025 was not feasible and essentially fired the DES and gave the lead role to Ecology. Ecology is now both the designer and the "State/Federal" permitting agency---a conflict of interest position. The current Ecology promoted project cost in 2026 dollars is over $400 million for the "in lake portion" and with the marine water cleanup by the Port and the City for the legacy pollutants in West Bay that are "prerequisites per the ILA" add another $250 million. Add ten years to the construction schedule and our community has a $1.0 billion project to be funded by someone. Do you really think that President Trump will support this project with a $1.0 billion grant? It is good to see elected officials support Ecology and the State Legislature in this funding of a $1.0 billion local project. This is for a design that is removing and replacing a duplicate "Seawater Rise berm of 4 to 5 feet dike around the "existing Capitol Lake Basin and much more". Who is really confirming the cost-benefits of the new design and who is paying the bill??
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crviews
It's very hard to believe that this project is going to really get funded by either the state or federal government. We are expecting this kind of spending on an essentially local project when there are so many demands (education, housing, the grid, de-carbonizing, etc.) in the state and DC is drowning in debt. In the meantime, the lake will silt up and become a swamp...suspect that going back to lake dredging may be where we end up.
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