Washington State Targets Metals in Industrial Stormwater Permit

Introduced on Wednesday, the Industrial Stormwater General Permit permit targets copper, zinc, other metals and silt. Copper and zinc are harmful even at relatively low concentrations to Washington's threatened and endangered salmon, and aquatic life.

Copper can cause salmon to lose their ability to sense their spawning grounds, while zinc and silt can bind to fish gills and cause suffocation, says the state agency.

Fish that are dependent on clean water in Washington have an annual economic value of more than $1 billion.

"This permit will make Washington's waters cleaner and healthier for people, communities and salmon," said Dave Peeler, manager of the Department of Ecology’s water quality program.

"We have good evidence that the protections built into this permit are doable. In fact, industries have already demonstrated that they can achieve levels the permit sets for copper and zinc," he said. "This permit is both realistic and rigorous."

Copper and zinc are pervasive metals in industrial settings. Copper is found in paints, brake linings and machinery. Zinc can be found everywhere from cyclone fences to metal roofs.

The permit is one of the state's key tools to protect water quality in Puget Sound and in Washington's rivers and major lakes by regulating industrial facilities that discharge stormwater into surface waters and into storm sewers. Polluted stormwater is the state's largest source of urban water pollution.

The permit targets runoff from industrial activities, materials and loading docks, but it does not cover parking lots or landscaping.

The permit covers approximately 1,150 industrial facilities across the state. Approximately 70 percent of permit holders discharge stormwater in the 12 counties that border Puget Sound.

The permit covers a wide array of industry sectors such as lumber, paper, printing, chemicals, petroleum, leather, stone, metals, ships, landfills, transportation, mills and food.

Polluted stormwater runoff from industrial sites can send oil, grease, and toxic substances into waters. The runoff is bad for people, too, who risk exposure to the pollution when swimming, and from eating contaminated fish and shellfish.

Ecology will collect public comments on the permit through four public workshops and hearings across the state in January. Sessions will lead off with the workshops, in which Ecology will explain the permit, discuss changes from the previous permit and answer questions. The hearings provide an opportunity for people to give formal oral testimony and comments on the proposed permit. Public hearings will begin immediately after each workshop.

The public workshop/hearing schedule is: Centralia – 2 pm, January 4, at Centralia Timberland Regional Library, 110 S. Silver, 360-736-0183. Mount Vernon – 9 am, January 7, at Skagit County PUD, 1415 Freeway Drive, 360-424-7104. Spokane – 1 pm, January 8, at Spokane Shadle Library, W. 2111 Wellesley Ave., 509-444-5390. Yakima – 9 am, January 9, at Yakima County Courthouse, 128 N. 2nd St., 509-574-1502. Ecology prefers comments be submitted by email to industrialstormwatercomments@ecy.wa.gov.

Written comments may also be mailed and must be postmarked or received via email no later than 5 pm, January 10. 2008. Submit written, hardcopy comments to Lionel Klikoff, Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600.

Ecology expects to issue the final permit in the spring of 2008. Afterwards, it will schedule workshops across the state for operators of facilities covered by the permit. This will allow time for permit holders to understand and respond to the permit prior to the onset of the following wet season.

For more information: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/stormwater/industrial/index.html

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