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Non-profit

Puget Soundkeeper Alliance

Website:

pugetsoundkeeper.org
Location:

Seattle, WA
Tax ID:

91-1285783
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2021):

Revenue: $1,231,429
Expenses: $1,216,262
Assets: $1,372,330
Type:

Environmental Advocacy Group
Formation:

1984
Executive Director:

Sean Dixon

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The Puget Soundkeeper Alliance is an environmentalist group in the Waterkeeper Alliance coalition that monitors for violations of environmental laws through patrols of the Puget Sound water ways in Washington state and sues companies, governments, and individuals accused of violations. 1 The organization also uses grants collected in settlement from its litigation to fund third-party groups on related environmental projects. 2

History

The Puget Soundkeeper Alliance was founded in 1984 as the Puget Sound Alliance. It was the sixth licensed Waterkeeper program in the country and was a founding member of the Waterkeeper Alliance. The organization was renamed in 1992 to Puget Soundkeeper Alliance. 3

Projects

Monitoring and Enforcement

The Puget Soundkeeper Alliance has conducted over 1,600 patrols of the Puget Sound waterways since 1984 to monitor for violations of the Clean Water Act. 4

Litigation

The Puget Soundkeeper Alliance sues companies and other groups it deems are in violation of the Clean Water Act of 1972. Achieving enforcement through litigation is characteristic of the Waterkeeper Alliance, of which Puget Soundkeeper Alliance is a member. The Waterkeeper Alliance was headed for many years by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and has been criticized as an attempt by trial lawyers to secure large payouts while suing companies, governments, and individuals for violating environmental laws. 5

Funding

Funding for the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance comes from its litigation efforts and the resulting settlements and from foundations such as the Russell Family Foundation, which donated $50,000 to the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance in 2022 for “The Puget Sound Leadership, Clean Water Regulation and Enforcement Project.” 6 Total revenues for the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance in 2022 were $1.25 million. 7

Created in a joint effort by the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance and the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment, Puget Sound Stewardship and Mitigation Fund provides grants for environmental projects conducted by outside groups. The Puget Sound Stewardship and Mitigation Fund began as the result of a landmark settlement between the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance and BNSF Railway, formerly the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway. Using the Clean Water Act, which allowed for citizen lawsuits against violators of the act, the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance sued in 2009 to oppose BNSF’s “discharges of polluted stormwater” into the Puget Sound. The resulting consent decree in 2011 ordered BNSF to pay $1.5 million to the new mitigation fund, providing initial funding for the organization. 8

The Puget Sound Stewardship and Mitigation Fund since 2012 has awarded grants to third-party groups for environmental projects related to the Puget Sound area. Funding comes from settlements reached by Puget Soundkeeper Alliance’s ongoing litigation against alleged violators of the Clean Water Act. 9

People

The executive director of the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance is Sean Dixon. Dixon is the former chief of staff for the New England branch office of the Environmental Protection Agency. He was also previously the senior attorney at Hudson Riverkeeper. 10 He is the co-founder of the Village Fishmonger, a “NYC-based sustainable seafood start-up.” 11

Patricia Baird is president of the board at Puget Soundkeeper Alliance. She works as a massage therapist and acupuncturist at Advanced Therapeutics Group in Seattle, Washington. 12 13

Allan Chartrand, vice president of the board at the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, has a bachelor’s degree in entomology and pesticide toxicology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s in public health and toxicology from UCLA. 14 Chartrand is the principle environmental scientist at Chartrand Environmental LLC. 15

References

  1. “About Us.” Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, May 3, 2021. https://pugetsoundkeeper.org/about-us-main/about-us/.
  2. “About Us.” Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, May 3, 2021. https://pugetsoundkeeper.org/about-us-main/about-us/.
  3. “About Us.” Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, May 3, 2021. https://pugetsoundkeeper.org/about-us-main/about-us/.
  4.  “About Us.” Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, May 3, 2021. https://pugetsoundkeeper.org/about-us-main/about-us/.
  5. “Robert F. Kennedy: Activist Facts.” Activist Facts, March 27, 2014. https://www.activistfacts.com/person/2765-robert-f-kennedy-jr/.
  6. “Puget Soundkeeper Alliance.” Cause IQ. Accessed June 3, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/puget-soundkeeper-alliance,911285783/.
  7. “Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, Form 990.” ProPublica, May 9, 2013. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/911285783/202322009349300527/full.
  8. “BNSF Derailed in Seattle.” Waterkeeper Magazine, November 13, 2019. https://waterkeeper.org/magazines/summer-2012/bnsf-derailed-in-seattle/.
  9. “2020 Projects Funded.” Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, July 13, 2020. https://pugetsoundkeeper.org/puget-sound-stewardship-mitigation-fund/2020-projects-funded/.
  10. Loeffler-Gladstone, Nicole. “Soundkeeper Welcomes New Executive Director, Sean Dixon.” Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, June 3, 2021. https://pugetsoundkeeper.org/2021/06/02/soundkeeper-welcomes-new-executive-director-sean-dixon/.
  11. “Sean Dixon.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 3, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/seantdixon.
  12. “Board Members.” Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, May 28, 2024. https://pugetsoundkeeper.org/about-us-main/board/.
  13. Intentionalist. “Advanced Therapeutics Group, LLC.” Intentionalist, February 12, 2021. https://intentionalist.com/b/advanced-therapeutics-group-llc/.
  14. “Board Members.” Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, May 28, 2024. https://pugetsoundkeeper.org/about-us-main/board/.
  15. “Allan Chartrand.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 3, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/allanchartrandenvscientist.
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: May 1, 1985

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2021 Dec Form 990 $1,231,429 $1,216,262 $1,372,330 $363,817 N $1,185,078 $66,469 $229 $123,725
    2020 Dec Form 990 $1,240,339 $1,315,619 $1,255,225 $261,879 N $1,085,918 $157,664 $599 $79,000
    2019 Dec Form 990 $1,432,873 $1,339,173 $1,176,225 $107,599 N $1,263,785 $205,249 $1,781 $83,142 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $1,503,605 $1,399,542 $1,060,967 $86,041 N $1,525,466 $11,169 $2,490 $100,691 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $1,220,248 $1,274,547 $942,758 $71,895 N $1,241,853 $18,694 $742 $96,818 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $1,165,406 $1,011,105 $1,012,643 $87,480 N $1,184,749 $26,895 $369 $99,318 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990 $1,113,951 $1,076,322 $845,829 $74,967 N $1,128,508 $24,666 $426 $96,388 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $837,744 $854,809 $781,469 $48,237 N $859,663 $2,200 $451 $88,842 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $775,607 $726,484 $782,681 $32,384 N $788,356 $875 $766 $87,414 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $540,806 $584,295 $728,458 $27,284 N $547,096 $0 $782 $82,747 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $618,107 $535,495 $758,157 $13,494 N $614,828 $0 $1,467 $78,362 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Puget Soundkeeper Alliance


    Seattle, WA