| State of Washington | 58th Legislature | 2003 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 03/05/03.
AN ACT Relating to implementing the federal permit requirements for municipal separate storm sewer system permits; adding new sections to chapter 90.48 RCW; creating new sections; providing an expiration date; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1
(2) The legislature acknowledges and encourages the appropriate use
of flexibility in storm water management. The legislature finds that
storm water management must satisfy state and federal water quality
requirements while also providing state and local agencies, development
interests, and others with a flexible set of tools and alternatives
that can help ensure cost-effective storm water management.
(3) The legislature finds that significant fragmentation in
authority exists among local, state, and federal agencies in managing
storm water and that these agencies can better coordinate standards,
practices, and approaches for managing storm water. The legislature
believes state agencies and local governments and, where appropriate,
federal and tribal governments should identify streamlining
opportunities to address and improve coordination of storm water
management authority exercised by local, state, and federal
jurisdictions.
(4) The legislature further finds that the federal permit programs
and the state water pollution control laws provide numerous
environmental and public health benefits to the citizens of Washington
and to the state. The legislature also finds that storm water runoff
can cause or increase pollution in our state's waters. The legislature
further finds that failure to prevent and control pollution discharges,
including those associated with storm water runoff, can damage public
health and industries, such as shellfish production, for which water
quality is a critical component of their existence.
(5) The legislature also finds that implementing these programs
involves great effort and significant costs for municipalities. The
legislature recognizes that under federal law, municipalities required
to obtain permits under phase two of the national pollutant discharge
elimination system have up to five years after permit issuance to
develop and implement the permit requirements. The legislature finds
that as these permits are being developed, the department needs to
identify mechanisms by which the state can best achieve environmental
benefits from storm water management and satisfy the federal clean
water act permit requirements in the most cost-effective manner to
address the impacts on municipalities in implementing these permit
programs.
(6) The legislature finds that coordinated permit programs and
cooperative storm water management programs between and among local
governments may reduce costs and enhance program effectiveness.
(7) The legislature finds that a municipal separate storm sewer
system faces different challenges than other types of storm sewer
systems. The legislature recognizes the difficulty of predicting and
sampling storm water pollutants in these systems. The legislature also
recognizes the problems inherent in identifying the sources of and
controlling the introduction of pollutants that may contribute to the
contamination of storm water discharged through municipal separate
storm sewer systems. Further, the legislature finds that municipal
separate storm sewer systems have distinct characteristics that must be
considered when the department develops permit programs to control
storm water runoff, including that these systems may:
(a) Consist of complex, widely dispersed conveyance networks that
drain public roads and other key elements of infrastructure;
(b) Include numerous inlets and outfalls that can be difficult to
locate and maintain;
(c) Receive large volumes of diffuse storm water on an intermittent
and unpredictable basis; and
(d) Receive storm water that has been polluted from a variety of
sources.
(8) The legislature recognizes that in 2001 the department
developed a storm water management manual for western Washington. The
legislature also recognizes that the department has established a
stakeholder process in eastern Washington to develop a storm water
manual for that area of the state. The legislature finds that issues
associated with storm water management in eastern Washington are
significantly different from those in western Washington. The
legislature also finds that the federal phase two permits developed by
the department must recognize these differences.
(9) The legislature intends to:
(a) Provide direction to the department and to municipalities
regarding the development and implementation of phase two of the
federal clean water act's national pollutant discharge elimination
system permit program in Washington;
(b) Recognize the eastern Washington stakeholder process for
developing a storm water manual and direct the department to work
within that process when implementing the phase two program in eastern
Washington; and
(c) Establish a stakeholder process to assist the department in
identifying and addressing issues related to developing and
implementing the federal national pollutant discharge elimination
system permit programs in western Washington and to advise and assist
the department as it drafts these permits.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW
to read as follows:
(a) Public education and outreach on storm water impacts;
(b) Public involvement and participation;
(c) Illicit discharge detection and elimination;
(d) Construction site runoff control;
(e) Postconstruction storm water management in new development and
redevelopment;
(f) Pollution prevention/good housekeeping for municipal
operations, including:
(i) Compliance with any more stringent effluent limitations that
modify or are in addition to the federal minimum control measures based
on an approved total maximum daily load (TMDL) or equivalent analysis;
and
(ii) Evaluation of program compliance, the appropriateness of
identified best management practices, and progress toward achieving
identified measurable goals; and
(g) Appropriate recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
(2) For municipal separate storm sewer system permits, the
reduction of pollutants to the maximum extent practicable (MEP) shall
be equivalent to all known available and reasonable methods of
prevention control and treatment (AKART). In interpreting and
implementing these standards with respect to municipal separate storm
sewer system permits, the department shall consider:
(a) Factors such as on-site practicability analysis, innovations,
incentives for alternative storm water management strategies, and
retrofit strategies for existing impervious surfaces within project
boundaries; and
(b) Whether the probable benefits are greater than the probable
costs, in a manner similar to that required for adoption of significant
legislative rules according to RCW 34.05.328(1)(c).
(3) For the purposes of this section, narrative effluent
limitations requiring the implementation of best management practices
are generally the most appropriate form of effluent limitations when
designed to satisfy the requirements of subsection (1) of this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) Physical interconnections between and among municipal separate
storm sewer systems;
(2) Location of discharges from municipalities required to obtain
permits under phase two of the federal national pollutant discharge
elimination system permit program relative to discharges from
municipalities permitted and operating under phase one of the federal
permit system;
(3) Potential for integrating municipalities permitted and
operating under phase one of the federal national pollutant discharge
elimination system permit program and those that will obtain permits
and implement permit requirements under phase two of the federal permit
system; and
(4) Relationships between and among municipalities and the
potential to encourage and facilitate cooperative and cost-efficient
programs for storm water management.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW
to read as follows:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW
to read as follows:
(a) Review and address the issues specified in section 7 of this
act and any other issues regarding municipal separate storm sewer
systems for which the department requests advice and assistance; and
(b) Advise and assist the department in drafting a permit or
permits for municipal separate storm sewer systems in western
Washington as required by federal regulations implementing phase two of
the national pollutant discharge elimination system permit program
under the federal clean water act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.).
(2) The permit development advisory group may include up to
eighteen members selected according to this subsection and any members
electing to participate as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this
section. The permit development advisory group shall include a
representative from the department of transportation and from the Puget
Sound action team. In addition, the permit development advisory group
shall include at least one representative of each of the following
interests, selected by the associations representing those interests:
(a) Counties and cities that have obtained and are operating under
a municipal separate storm sewer system permit issued under phase one
of the federal national pollutant discharge elimination system permit
program;
(b) Counties and cities that will be required to obtain a municipal
separate storm sewer system permit issued under phase two of the
federal national pollutant discharge elimination system permit program;
(c) General contractors;
(d) Ports;
(e) Realtors;
(f) Residential contractors;
(g) Business;
(h) Shellfish growers;
(i) Agricultural and timber organizations; and
(j) Environmental organizations.
(3) The department shall invite and encourage members of the
legislature with interest in storm water management to participate in
the permit development advisory group. Legislative members who do
participate shall be reimbursed for travel expenses as provided in RCW
44.04.120.
(4) The department shall invite and encourage representatives of
appropriate federal agencies and representatives of tribes located in
western Washington to participate in the permit development advisory
group.
(5)(a) No later than ten days after the effective date of this act,
the agencies and interests identified in subsection (2) of this section
shall submit to the department the names of their representatives for
the permit development advisory group. The department shall schedule
the first meeting of the permit development advisory group to occur no
later than thirty days after the effective date of this act.
(b) At its first meeting the permit development advisory group
shall establish an executive committee with a minimum of three and a
maximum of five members. The executive committee shall include
representatives of local government, business associations, and
environmental organizations. The executive committee shall advise and
assist the department to develop a request for proposals for a
facilitator to work with and facilitate the advisory group's review of
the issues identified in section 7 of this act and to develop
recommendations and submit reports to the legislature according to
sections 7 and 8 of this act. The executive committee also shall
review the responses to the request for proposals and select the
facilitator. The department and the executive committee shall work
expeditiously to select a facilitator who can begin working with the
permit development advisory group by June 1, 2003.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW
to read as follows:
(a) Review and address the issues specified in section 7 of this
act as they pertain to eastern Washington and any other issues
regarding municipal separate storm sewer systems for which the
department requests advice and assistance; and
(b) Assist and advise the department in drafting a permit or
permits for municipal separate storm sewer systems in eastern
Washington as required by federal regulations implementing phase two of
the national pollutant discharge elimination system permit program
under the federal clean water act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.).
(2) The department shall invite and encourage representatives of
the department of transportation, department of fish and wildlife,
business associations, general and residential contractors,
environmental organizations, appropriate federal agencies, and
representatives of tribes located in eastern Washington to participate
in the permit development advisory group.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7 A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW
to read as follows:
(a) Types of discharges being regulated under these permits;
(b) Areas being regulated by these permits under phases one and two
of the federal national pollutant discharge elimination system permit
program as they relate to municipal borders;
(c) Issuance of these permits on a watershed basis;
(d) Coordination of permits and permit requirements for phase one
and phase two of the federal national pollutant discharge elimination
system permit program;
(e) Application of these permits to ground water discharges;
(f) Level of effort required of municipalities to satisfy federal
requirements regarding:
(i) Public education and outreach;
(ii) Public participation and public involvement;
(iii) Illicit discharge detection and elimination;
(iv) Construction site runoff control;
(v) Postconstruction runoff control;
(vi) Pollution prevention and good housekeeping, including
implementation of applicable total maximum daily loads and program
evaluation and reporting;
(g) Protection for shellfish areas;
(h) The use of land use planning and existing land use plans and
regulations as a best management practice for storm water management
and to protect water quality; and
(i) Potential funding sources for implementation of permit
requirements.
(2) During the development of permits according to this chapter,
the permit development advisory group for western Washington
established in section 5 of this act and the eastern Washington
advisory group identified in section 6 of this act shall advise and
assist the department to develop a menu of best management practices as
required under the federal clean water act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et
seq.). These groups also shall review and provide advice and
assistance on the draft permits as they are developed.
(3) In addition, these groups shall consider the requirements of
federal and state water pollution control laws and identify whether the
elements of these permits are required by federal law, by state law, or
by both federal and state law. These groups shall consider the costs
and benefits associated with each permit element not required under
federal law and make recommendations to the legislature regarding these
elements.
(4) These groups shall coordinate efforts with the transportation
permit efficiency and accountability committee established by RCW
47.06C.030. These groups also shall build upon the 2000 storm water
advisory committee report to the legislature. In addition, these
groups shall determine and make recommendations regarding whether the
probable benefits of the permits developed according to this chapter
are greater than the probable costs in a manner similar to that
required for adoption of significant legislative rules according to RCW
34.05.328(1)(c).
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8 A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW
to read as follows:
(2) The department shall submit a report regarding the
recommendations of the western Washington permit development advisory
group established in section 5 of this act and the eastern Washington
advisory group identified in section 6 of this act to the appropriate
committees of the legislature. In reporting on these groups' progress,
the department shall identify the recommendations made by these groups,
list the issues upon which the members of these groups were not able to
reach agreement, and reflect the comments of all members of these
groups. The department also shall identify any legislative
recommendations from these groups or from the department based on the
work of these groups.
(3) After the permits are developed according to the process
specified in sections 5 and 6 of this act, the department shall submit
a final report to the appropriate committees of the legislature
regarding these permits and the work of the advisory groups. The
department also shall identify any legislative recommendations from
these groups or from the department based on the work of these groups.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12