The University of Washington has been awarded a $1 million grant by the Stormwater Strategic Initiative Lead for Piloting Solutions for Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Wastewater. The project will be led by Heidi Gough, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences and Andy James, University of Washington Tacoma, Center for Urban Waters and the Puget Sound Institute. Their team will develop and test a new technological approach for removing Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a flame retardant from municipal wastewater. The approach uses renewable resources for pollutant mitigation of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). The project will actively engage Puget Sound stakeholders including multiple wastewater treatment facilities, community groups, and tribal nations that are involved in the improvement of regional salmon health. The approach will also be tested for the removal of a broad suite of other priority CECs, such as pharmaceuticals and human hormones.