DERT Board Member Receives AWRA Award

Dave Peeler, current DERT board member and past president of the board, was recently honored by the Washington Section of the American Water Resources Association at a luncheon during the national Association’s annual conference held in Renton, WA. Dave, who has worked on water resources issues since he graduated from the University of Washington and obtained his first professional job with the WA Dept. of Ecology in 1975, was named an “Outstanding Water Resources Professional for his work to protect and restore the water and fisheries resources of Washington”. The award carries with it a donation to a nonprofit organization of Dave’s choice, which he designated as DERT.

Some brief highlights of Dave’s career during the past 47 years include:

• Creation and management of the cross-border Puget Sound-Georgia Basin International
  Task Force
• Creation and management of the inter-state Lower Columbia River Estuary Program
• Management of the monitoring well network for the Odessa Subarea in Eastern WA
• Creation of the Ground Water Management Area Program for the Dept. of Ecology
• Appointment as the Puget Sound Recovery coordinator for the WA Dept. of Ecology
• Appointment as co-chair of the Puget Sound Management and Technical committees of the
  federally designated Puget Sound Estuary Program
• Appointment as the Water Quality Program Manager at WA Dept. of Ecology
• Appointment as a Special Assistant to the Director to complete planning for the successful
  Spokane River Nutrients TMDL and associated waste discharge permits
• Drafting the state water rights permit for the Third Powerhouse at Grand Coulee Dam
• Negotiating and implementing a settlement of the federal wsuit resulting in a new
  watershed approach for the Dept. of Ecology to monitor watersheds, determine impaired
  waters and develop watershed cleanup plans known as TMDLs
• Developing and achieving policy and funding support from the Washington State Legislature
  for state water resources and water quality programs
• Founding member and past president of the Deschutes Estuary Restoration Team
• Perhaps most critical – not getting fired for doing his job to protect our state’s water
  resources after the Mt. St. Helens eruption in 1980 blanketed large areas of our state with
  ash and rocks

Now officially retired, some of his current volunteer work includes membership on:

• Puget Sound Environmental Caucus
• Steering Committee of the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program (PSEMP)
• Alliance for a Healthy South Sound (AHSS) — Puget Sound Local Implementing
  Organization
• WA Dept. of Ecology’s Water Quality Partnership committee
• Thurston Environmental Voters political action committee
• President of the board of South Sound Maritime Heritage Association
• League of Women Voters—Thurston County — Water and Tribal issues committees
• Dept. of Ecology’s Puget Sound Nutrients Forum

Thanks for all your hard work, Dave!