While efforts to reduce water pollution focus on preventing erosion, controlling stormwater runoff from parking lots and streets and enlarging sewer treatment plants, an underwater junkyard is threatening aquatic life, commerce and clean water in Washington state. That point became abundantly clear in Tacoma earlier this month when a derelict barge drifted into Hylebos Waterway and sank, forcing the U.S. Coast Guard to ban large ocean-going ships from a key section of the Port of Tacoma.

Blocked shipping lanes are only part of the problem. Hundreds of derelict vessels contain dangerous chemicals such as cancer-causing PCBs, oil and asbestos, and sunken fishing boats often leave a tangled mess of netting that inadvertently entraps fish and crab.

Fortunately, the Puget Sound Partnership has recognized the importance of this problem by making it a high priority item in its newly released action agenda. The partnership, a state agency created to lead the cleanup of the sound, calls for the removal of significant blockages and derelict debris as part of its "near-term" list of restoration activities.

Ditched watercraft range from small wooden and fiberglass pleasure boats to huge metal ships and barges left on the shoreline or tied to a dock to rust and rot. The problem worsens in a bad economy because, unlike cars, wooden and fiberglass boats have virtually no scrap value and rather than pay the high cost of disposal, people just dump them. Then they become our problem.

Washington is a national leader in addressing the problem. Led by outgoing Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland, the 2002 Legislature passed a bill to crack down on derelict boats. Using increased boat registration fees to fund removal and disposal of abandoned boats, nearly 200 are now under the state's control and most have been removed, but there is much more that can be done.

Many large ships and barges have scrap value. The metal can be recovered, sent to steel mills and reused. However, because scrapping vessels is so expensive, disposal costs often exceed the value of the materials. Irresponsible owners abandon their vessels, while responsible owners tie their dilapidated ships to a dock, hoping to find a safe, affordable way to scrap them before they sink.

Scrapping ships will create thousands of family-wage jobs with good benefits. It will allow properly equipped and trained workers to safely remove and dispose of hazardous wastes, cleaning up our state's shorelines and waters and protecting marine life.

Washington already has a thriving scrap industry and while some may not view a scrap yard as a "green" industry, it is.

Recycling operations already are required to meet stringent environmental standards.

For example, Schnitzer Steel Industries' Tacoma operation is located along the Hylebos Waterway and has an extensive on-site water collection and treatment system. So as it processes old cars, appliances and other products that otherwise would end up in a landfill or scattered along country roads, the company captures contaminants and cleanses the water.

The bottom line is recycling derelict vessels can - and must - become a thriving business in an economy starving for an economic stimulus.

The governor and legislators should recognize the recommendations of the partnership on this issue in order to improve water quality, shorelines and marine habitat. State agencies need to coordinate and expedite scrapping permits, including allowing part of the breakdown process to occur safely with environmental and worker protections in place while ships and barges are tied to a pier.

There are millions of excuses why permits are denied or stalled, but ignoring this mounting crisis will only exacerbate the problem, not resolve it.

The question elected officials need to ask: "Is it better to continue to watch barges sink and pollute or is it better to put people to work, recycle valuable materials and avoid an impending environmental disaster?"

It makes sense to tackle this issue now rather than wait until it bubbles to the surface.

Don C. Brunell is president of the Association of Washington Business. Contact him at 360-870-2910.