The Washington state department of ecology (ecology) proposes to revise and reissue the construction stormwater national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) and state waste discharge general permit (permit). The current permit was issued November 18, 2015, and will expire on December 31, 2020. The draft permit and fact sheet are available for review and public comment from July 1 through August 14, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. Ecology will host two informational public workshops followed by public hearings on the draft permit.

Purpose of the Permit: The proposed permit authorizes the discharge of stormwater and authorized nonstormwater associated with construction activity.

The construction stormwater general permit is a combined NPDES and state waste discharge permit that limits the discharge of pollutants to surface waters under the authority of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251) and limits the discharge of pollutants to surface and groundwater under the authority of the State Water Pollution Control Act (chapter 90.48 RCW).

Applying for Coverage under the Permit: Facilities covered under the existing permit that reapply for permit coverage in 2020 will be covered under the new permit. New or unpermitted construction sites may obtain coverage under the permit by submitting a complete notice of intent (NOI) to ecology. The permittee must satisfy all applicable public notice and State Environmental Policy Act requirements (WAC 173-226-200). The NOI is available online at https://secureaccess.wa.gov.

Copies of the Draft Permit: The draft permit and fact sheet are available online at https://ecology.wa.gov/constructionstormwaterpermit. You may request a hard copy from Dena Jaskar at dena.jaskar@ecy.wa.gov, or 360-407-6401.

Submitting Written Comments: Ecology will accept written comments on the draft permit and fact sheet from July 1 through August 14, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. If you would like to receive a response to comments, you must include contact information in your comment submittal. Comments should reference specific permit text when possible.

Ecology prefers comments be submitted electronically using the online comment form available at http://wq.ecology.commentinput.com/?id=p89sC. Written comments must be postmarked or received via email no later than August 14, 2020, at 11:59 p.m.

Submit written, hard copy comments to: Noel Tamboer, Water Quality Program, Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47696, Olympia, WA 98504-7696.

Workshop and Public Hearing: Ecology will host two workshops followed by public hearings to provide an opportunity for interested parties to learn about proposed changes to the permit and give formal oral comments on the draft permit. The public hearings will immediately follow the workshops. The workshops and public hearings will be held on August 4, 2020, at 9 a.m. and August 6, 2020, at 5:30 p.m., online webinar format.

Register to attend on ecology's construction stormwater website https://ecology.wa.gov/constructionstormwaterpermit. Please note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ecology will not hold in-person public gatherings.

Issuing the Permit: After ecology receives and considers all public comments, we will make a permit issuance decision and provide a response to comments. Ecology expects to issue the final permit by December 2, 2020, with an effective date of January 1, 2021.