SENATE BILL REPORT

SB 5720

BYSenators Madsen, Hansen, Gaspard, Barr, Newhouse, Warnke and Sellar

Specifying when waste discharge permits are required for fish hatcheries.

Senate Committee on Agriculture

Senate Hearing Date(s):February 16, 1989

Senate Staff:David Monthie (786-7198)

AS OF FEBRUARY 15, 1989

BACKGROUND:

Discharges into the state's waters are regulated by both federal and state law.  Federal standards for discharges are established by the Environmental Protection Agency under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, which is administered at the state level by the Department of Ecology.  Federal law exempts from permit requirements any hatcheries that have a production of less than 20,000 pounds per year, if the hatchery feeds less than 5,000 pounds of food per month and is not a significant contributor to pollution.  Discharges to groundwater are not regulated at all under federal law.  Federal law permits states to adopt stricter standards for water quality.

State law requires, as a fundamental policy, that the waters of the state be of the highest quality; that all wastes be treated with available and reasonable methods; and that wastes and other materials and substances that will reduce the existing quality of water be permitted to enter the water only when overriding considerations of public interest will be served.  Under these standards, the Department of Ecology requires that all commercial or industrial dischargers obtain a waste discharge permit and meet state standards for water quality, including fish hatcheries, which may discharge waste in the form of cleaning solutions, fish waste, and other materials that are a part of hatchery operations.

Commercial fish hatchery operators have expressed concern over the lack of clear and consistent policies at the Department of Ecology as to the standards and procedures to be applied to their applications for waste discharge permits.  They are further concerned about the delays in the processing of these applications, which in some cases have been pending for five years or more.

SUMMARY:

A state waste discharge permit will not be required for any upland fin fish hatchery that is exempt from the federal permit requirement.  State permits that are issued to non-exempt hatcheries cannot require the hatcheries to meet standards that are more stringent than federal requirements.

Appropriation:    none

Revenue:    none

Fiscal Note:      available