Funding for the Puget Sound Partnership

Our operating budget comes from state and federal sources. Our state budget consists of funds from the following accounts: General Fund, Aquatic Lands Enhancement Account, and the Model Toxics Control Operating Account. The agency primarily uses these funds as match to federal grants provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). State appropriations have not been made directly to two dedicated accounts established by the State Legislature to support Puget Sound recovery (RCW 90.71.110 and RCW 90.71.400). However, the 2023-25 biennial budget included $17.4 million from the State General Fund for the us to fund research projects designed to advance scientific understanding of Puget Sound recovery. This appropriation is closely linked to the intent of Puget Sound Scientific Research Account (RCW 90.71.110) and is ongoing.

Other new funding that was specifically itemized in the 2023-25 biennial budget includes:

  • $14,000 for climate change response strategy.
  • $700,000 for the us to implement shipping noise-reduction initiatives and monitoring programs in Puget Sound, in coordination with Canadian and United States authorities, to establish and administer the Quiet Sound Program to better understand and reduce the cumulative effects of acoustic and physical disturbance from large commercial vessels on Southern Resident orcas.

As shown in the image below, in the 2023-25 biennium, our operating budget totaled $21.3 million in state funds and $26.7 million in federal U.S. EPA funds. We also received $1.4 million from the NOAA Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) to continue to serve as the regional salmon recovery organization for Puget Sound. We also received $300,000 from the Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration (PSAR) fund through an interagency agreement with the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) to co-manage PSAR project prioritization, monitoring, and investments.

For the 2025-27 biennium the State Legislature has so far appropriated $19.5 million in state funds to our operating budget, including $700,000 in continued funding for the Quiet Sound Program, and we have budgeted $40.1 million in federal U.S. EPA funds. We also received $1.4 million NOAA PCSRF funds and $250,000 PSAR program funds. We were able to carry forward unspent PSAR program funds into the 2025-27 biennium, which explains the increased size of the PSAR budget when compared to the 2023-25 biennium.

It is notable that the our state funding represents an overall decrease of $1.8 million compared to the 2023-25 biennium. Federal funding has increased sharply by 1.5 times due to increases in funding allocations for U.S. EPA’s National Estuary and Puget Sound Geographic programs and receiving a new 4-year EPA’s National Estuary and Puget Sound Geographic grant in the amount of $32 million. Two charts, one showing the Puget Sound Partnership operating budget for the 2023-25 biennium and the other showing the 2025-27 budget. The 2023-25 budget shows $21.3 million in state funding at 43%, $1.4 million in NOAA funding at 3%, $26.7 million in EPA funding at 54% and $300,000 PSAR funding at 0%. The 2025-27 budget shows $19.5 million in state funding at 32%, $1.4 million in NOAA funding at 2%, $40.1 million in EPA funding at 66% and $250,000 PSAR funding at 0%.

Last updated: 02/12/26