What is stormwater and why is it a concern? Stormwater is the water that runs off surfaces such as rooftops, paved streets, highways, and parking lotsas well as hard grassy surfaces like lawns, play fields, and graveled roads and parking lots. Stormwater is a concern because it can contribute to flooding during the wet winter months and to impaired water quality at all times of the year. In particular, stormwater can impact:

Human Health : Untreated stormwater contains toxic metals, organic compounds, and bacterial/viral pathogens that make the water unsafe for people to drink and or swim in.

Salmon Habitat : In western Washington urban stormwater harms/pollutes streams that provide salmon habitat.

Drinking Water : In some areas of Washington gravelly soils allow rapid infiltration of stormwater which can contaminate aquifers used for drinking water.

Degraded Water Bodies : Stormwater is the leading contributor to water quality pollution of urban waterways.

Stream Flow Regimes : Impermeable surfaces lead to rapid runoff that causes ˙˙higher peak flows that can lead to flooding, scour stream beds and cause erosion, and reduce opportunity for infiltration and ground water recharge which can reduce summer low flows.

What is the current regulatory program in Washington to address stormwater impacts?

In 1987, congress changed the federal Clean Water Act by declaring the discharge of stormwater (traditionally considered a nonpoint source) from certain industries and municipalities to be a point source of pollution requiring National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. The state of Washington has been delegated authority by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement these permits.

The EPA stormwater regulations presently establish two phases for the stormwater permit program.

Phase I stormwater NPDES permits have been issued to cover stormwater discharges from certain industries, from construction sites involving five or more acres and from municipalities with populations of more than 100,000. No municipal stormwater permits have been issued in the basin because no cities yet meet the population criterion, but xxx stormwater permits for construction sites have been issued.

Phase 2: In October 1999 the final Phase 2 stormwater regulations were signed into rule by EPA. They expand the requirement for stormwater permits to include an evaluation of cities that have a population greater than 10,000 and a population density greater than 1,000 people per square mile to determine if a stormwater permit is necessary. Aberdeen and Centralia could be affected by Phase 2 requirements. Phase 2 also reduced the size of construction sites that must be covered from five acres to one. This expansion of the construction site permit is likely to affect thousands of sites.

It is possible that further regulation beyond Phase 2 may apply to municipalities with fewer than 10,000 citizens, though there are no plans for doing this at this time.

When will Ecology begin to issue permits under Phase 2?

According to EPA rules, Ecology was to develop permit guidelines for all of Phase 2 by December 2002, and permits were to be issued by March 2003. Ecology did not meet the 2002 deadline and permits have not been issued. Ecology is waiting until after the legislature adjourns in 2003 to begin drafting the Phase 2 general permits. A draft will be ready for the legislative session in 2004 so the legislature can review the draft permit. The current schedule calls for the permit to be adopted after the legislature adjourns in 2004. Ecology will probably use two draft laws prepared by the 2003 legislature that deal with Phase 2 (ESHB 1689) as a template when it drafts and adopts the Phase 2 permit.

Ecology plans to prepare one general permit for Western Washington and another for Eastern Washington rather than issuing permits for individual jurisdictions.

What will Phase 2 Stormwater programs address?

Phase 2 Stormwater programs will address six elements:

Public education and outreach on stormwater impacts

Public participation and involvement in stormwater management programs

Detection and elimination of illicit discharges

Construction site stormwater runoff control for sites 1 acre or larger

Post-construction storm water runoff control for sites 1 acre or larger

Pollution prevention and good housekeeping for municipal operations

Ecology has yet to decide whether to include a requirement to adopt the Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington or a technically equivalent manual and whether to include all or part of a jurisdiction.1

How is stormwater runoff from roads to be addressed?

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is responsible for hundreds of miles of roads in the Chehalis Basin that contribute to stormwater runoff. WSDOT has agreed to a statewide permit to avoid having a piecemeal stormwater program and to promote better management of stormwater runoff from all state highways. Ecology is starting the process of issuing a statewide stormwater permit to WSDOT. The permit will cover runoff from state highways, rest areas, weigh stations, scenic view points, park and ride lots, ferry terminals, and maintenance facilities.

How can impacts of changes in land use be addressed?

As noted above, stormwater can result in water quality degradation. Studies indicates that negative effects can happen at very low levels - as little as 5% impervious surface in a watershed can start to show effects. One approach being evaluated is to encourage cluster development so that no more than 10% of a basin would become impervious surface and approximately 65% of the basin would remain forested. Studies have shown that this balance results in no net loss to aquatic resources. Although this balance might be difficult to achieve in sub-basins that have already been developed, there could be opportunities in other Chehalis River sub-basins for such an approach. Another approach is a low impact development ordinance.

What are some possible solutions?

Possible Solutions	What You Get with this Solution	Comments
Status Quo	Maintain existing regulation sImplement Phase 2 Stormwater program under federal and state regulations Make no effort to address existing development outside of Phase 2 communities	Short-term implementation and long-term program development would be driven by federal and state regulations.
Focus on Public Education and Outreach Passive program - use existing stormwater education programs Active program - adopt existing material to the specific conditions in the Chehalis Basin	Explain impacts of impervious surface and stormwater on water resources in the Chehalis Basin, including methods for improving timing and quality of runoff Identify ways that municipalities, industries and individual home/landowners can reduce stormwater impacts. Focus on voluntary efforts.	Difficult to document results. Education alone may not result in adequate protection.
Study specific problems and develop recommendations	Analyze the extent of stormwater problems and causes in areas of urbanization and expected growth. Review current land use management practices for how they affect stormwater runoff. Identify tools that jurisdictions can apply to reduce the effects of stormwater runoff. Identify tools that jurisdictions can apply to meet growth objectives without increasing stormwater runoff.	-
Voluntary implementation of stormwater programs (the enlightened self-interest approach)	Design implementation for local conditions in the Chehalis Basin. Adopt some or all Phase 2 elements. Provide more flexibility than responding to regulations require that action be taken. Build appropriate stormwater control into current planning efforts and development costs rather than deferring costs into the future.	-
Funding	Retrofit program to encourage existing developments to take steps to improve stormwater quality to preserve existing water resources.	Funding and assistance program would need to be set up
Regulations for new development and redevelopment	Link to planning / building code	-
Encourage formation of county, city, and special district stormwater utilities	Provide a dedicated funding source for addressing stormwater Address stormwater regulatory requirements proactively	Costs are paid directly by basin residents.

Recommendations

Adopt Options #2 through #7.

Implementation

Except for those areas that fall under Phase 2 stormwater regulations, implementation would be carried out by individual jurisdictions, businesses and home/land owners.

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1 In the Chehalis Basin, the cities of Ocean Shores and Aberdeen and Jefferson County have adopted the Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington.