Stormwater runoff is one of the biggest sources of pollution in Puget Sound, but for years the Port of Seattle has resisted trying to measure how much its own cruise line facilities contribute to the problem. As of this week, that's about to change: A two-year legal battle between the Port of Seattle and environmental watchdog Puget Soundkeeper has resulted in a settlement that will attempt to bring the port to heel. The settlement contains a consent decree that will hold the port accountable for its stormwater runoff over the next 10 years.

"We believe, and we continue to believe, that [the port is] an unpermitted industrial stormwater discharger," Puget Soundkeeper's Chris Wilke said.

Puget Soundkeeper first brought the case against the port and Cruise Terminals of America in the fall of 2014, when Soundkeeper noticed that the port and its tenants might be conducting activities that warranted an industrial stormwater permit. The port services 203 cruise ships a year, a process that includes provisioning the ships for thousands of passengers, removing waste, vehicle maintenance, and transferring fuel and fluids back and forth. "Little spills that can occur or larger ones, and with scrutiny under a permit, they'd need to have spill control," Wilke said.

The port, however, refused to get an industrial stormwater permit, so Soundkeeper sued. Two years and thousands of taxpayer dollars later, the port and Cruise Terminals of America have finally settled. The agreement means that the port and its new Pier 66 tenant, Norwegian Cruise Lines, will have to report twice a year to Soundkeeper, as well as pay $50,000 to a pollution prevention and mitigation fund. In addition, the port and Cruise Terminals of America have settled on a five-year consent decree at Pier 91.

"This puts in writing best management practices that insure all parties working on Pier 66 are in environmental compliance moving forward," Peter McGraw, a spokesperson for the port, said.

But Soundkeeper doesn't see their work as finished just yet. The environmental nonprofit still wants the port to get an industrial stormwater permit, and Wilke wonders why the port didn't just apply for one and avoid the litigation in the first place. "One of the questions I'm left with is why didn't the port want to start monitoring its discharges?" Wilke said.

Also interesting to note: Bill Bryant, the former Port of Seattle commissioner who is currently running for governor, has made protecting Puget Sound's salmon one of the central tenets of his campaign's platform. But at the same time Bryant was helping govern the port's activities, the port got sued for allegedly violating its regulatory responsibilities toward protecting Puget Sound.

This post has been updated.