Ecology Issues Modified Industrial Stormwater General Permit

Published May 16, 2012

The Washington State Department of Ecology has issued the final version of a modified Industrial Stormwater General Permit (ISGP), effective July 1, 2012.  Ecology modified the permit to address the April 25, 2011 order by the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB), which required significant changes to the permit’s sampling and corrective action requirements.  In addition, Ecology revised the permit’s effluent limits for fecal coliform to comply with recently-enacted legislation.  New narrative effluent limits will apply to approximately eighty industrial facilities discharging to waterbodies designated as impaired due to fecal coliform bacteria.  The modified permit will expire January 1, 2015.

Any appeal of the modified ISGP must be filed with the PCHB within 30 days, i.e., by June 15, 2012.

Industrial facilities that are covered under the existing permit will automatically be covered under the new modified permit.  New or unpermitted facilities may obtain coverage under the modified permit by submitting a complete application to Ecology and complying with public notice requirements.

For more information about the modified ISGP and its potential impacts, contact James Tupper at tupper@tmw-law.com.

  • To view the permit documents, click here.

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