Huge task faces Puget Sound's anointed savior

By Warren Cornwall
Seattle Times May 20, 2007
It's been a long, storied career in government and business for William Ruckelshaus. He has defied President Nixon and he has battled the New York Mafia. He helped start the Environmental Protection Agency and he has sued Fortune 500 companies for pollution.

Now at age 74, from a corner office on the 37th floor of a downtown Seattle high-rise, Ruckelshaus can peer down at what may be his most sprawling and elusive problem yet.

Far below, cars whiz along the Alaskan Way Viaduct, spilling oil and other chemicals that will wash into the bay. Massive freighters chug toward the Duwamish River, a huge Superfund site. In the distance, West Seattle homes cover what used to be forest, allowing contaminated rainwater to rush into the Sound.

Now it's up to Ruckelshaus to convince the public that, despite the way Elliott Bay glitters in the afternoon sun, beneath the surface it is gravely ill.

Gov. Christine Gregoire has chosen Ruckelshaus to become the kingpin in a brand-new state agency, the Puget Sound Partnership, formed by the state Legislature this year to do what state, federal and local agencies haven't been able to: protect and restore the Sound.

The governor and other fans say few people are in a better position to fill the role of elder environmental statesman and navigate the region's tricky political waters. No one disagrees that he has a rare combination of political acumen, environmental know-how and corporate leadership, topped off with a squeaky-clean reputation that has weathered the likes of Watergate.