Conservationists dismayed by the state of Washington's new industrial stormwater permit

Environment News Service: A coalition of three nonprofit water protection groups are jointly requesting that the Washington Department of Ecology "abandon its plans to weaken industrial stormwater protections." In public comments submitted to the Department of Ecology, the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, Columbia Riverkeeper, and Spokane Riverkeeper expressed their "deep disappointment" with Ecology’s draft Industrial Stormwater General Permit.

They said Ecology’s draft permit fails to regulate critical pollutants and uses dilution factors which allow industry to discharge more pollution than under the current permit. Industrial stormwater pollution is a leading cause of water quality impairment throughout Washington, contributing heavy metals, toxic contaminants and muddy waters to the state’s rivers, lakes, and sounds.

The stormwater permit at issue regulates industrial facilities that discharge stormwater into surface waters and into storm sewers that lead to Puget Sound, other marine waters, and Washington’s wetlands, creeks, rivers and lakes. It covers about 1,200 facilities in the lumber, paper, printing, chemicals, petroleum, leather, metals, landfills, transportation, mills and food products industries….

Carkeek Park on Puget Sound, shot by Joe Mabel, Wikimedia Commons, under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2