173-201A-500 << 173-201A-510 >> 173-201A-520

(1) Permitting. The primary means to be used for controlling municipal, commercial, and industrial wa ste discharges shall be throug h the issuance of waste discharge permits, as provided for in RCW 90.48.160 , 90.48.162, and 90.48.260. Waste discharge permits, whethe r issued pursuant to the National Pollut ant Discharge Elimination System or other wise, must be conditioned so the discharges authorized
will meet the water quality standards. No waste disc harge permit can be issued that
causes or contributes to a vi olation of water qual ity criteria, except as provided for in this chapter. (a) Persons discharging wastes in compli ance with the terms and conditions of permits are not subject to civil and criminal penalties on the basi s that the discharge violates water quality standards. (b) Permits must be modified by the depart ment when it is determined that the discharge causes or contributes to a vi olation of water qual ity standards. Major modification of permits is su bject to review in the same manner as the originally issued permits. (2) Miscellaneous waste discharge or water quality effect sources. The director shall, through the issuance of regul atory permits, directiv es, and orders, as are appropriate, cont rol miscellaneous wast e discharges and wa ter quality effect sources not covered by subs ection (1) of this section. (3) Nonpoint source and st orm water pollution. (a) Activities which generat e nonpoint source pollution sh all be conducted so as to comply with the water quality standards. The primary means to be used for requiring compliance with the standards shall be through best m anagement practi ces required in waste discharge permits, rules, orders, and directives issued bythe department for activities which generate nonpoint source pollution. (b) Best management practi ces shall be applied so t hat when all appropriate
combinations of individual best management practices are ut ilized, violation of water quality criteria shall be prev ented. If a discharger is applying all bes t management practices appropriate or requ ired by the department and a vi olation of water quality criteria occurs, the discharge r shall modify existing prac tices or apply further water pollution control measures, selected or approved by the department, to achieve compliance with water quality criteria. Be st management practi ces established in permits, orders, rules, or di rectives of the d epartment shall be reviewed and modified, as appropriate, so as to achieve comp liance with wate r quality criteria. (c) Activities which contribute to n onpoint source polluti on shall be conducted utilizing best managementpractices to prevent violation of water quality criteria. When applicable best management practices are not be ing implemented, the department may conclude individual ac tivities are causing pollu tion in violation of RCW 90.48.080

. Agency filings affecting this section 

### WAC 173-201A-510

Means of implementation. Page 1 of 4 WAC 17 3 -201 A -510: Means of implementation.

8 /26 /201 5 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WA C/default.aspx?cite=17 3 -201 A -510In these situations, the department may pursue orders, di rectives, permits, or civil or
criminal sanctions to gain compliance with the standards. (d) Activities which cause pollution of storm water shall be c onducted so as to comply with the water quality standards. The primary means to be used for requiring compliance with the standards shall be through best m anagement practi ces required in waste discharge permits, rules, orders, and directives issued bythe department for activities which generate st orm water polluti on. The consideration and control procedures in (b) and (c) of th is subsection apply to the cont rol of pollutants in storm
water. (4) General allowance for compliance schedules. (a) Permits, orders, and dire ctives of the department for existing discharges may
include a schedule for achiev ing compliance with water quality crit eria contained in this chapter. Such schedules of complianc e shall be developed to ensure final compliance with all water quality-based effluent limi ts in the shortestpracticable time. Decisions regarding whether to issue schedules of co mpliance will be made on a case-by-case basis by the department. Sch edules of compliance may not be issued for new discharges. Sc hedules of compliance may be issued to allow for: (i)
Construction of necessa ry treatment capability ; (ii) implementation of necessary best management practices; (iii) implementation of additional st orm water best management practices for disch arges determined not to meet water quality criteria following implementation of an initial set of best m anagement practices; (iv) completion of necessary wate r quality studies; or (v) reso lution of a pending water quality standards' issue th rough rule-making action. (b) For the period of time during which compliance with water quality criteria is deferred, interim effluent limitations shal l be formally establis hed, based on the best professional judgment of th e department. Interim effluent limitations may be numeric or nonnumeric (e.g., constr uction of necessary facilities by a specified date as contained in an ecolog y order or permit). (c) Prior to establishing a schedule of co mpliance, the department shall require the discharger to evaluate the possibility of achieving water qu ality criteria via nonconstruction changes (e.g., facility operation, polluti on prevention). Schedules of compliance may in no case e xceed ten years, a nd shall generally no t exceed the term of any permit. (5) Compliance schedules for dams: (a) All dams in the state of Washington must comply with the provisions of this chapter. (b) For dams that cause or contribute to a violation of the water quality standards, the dam owner must develop a water quality attain ment plan that provides a detailed strategy for achieving compli ance. The plan must include: (i) A compliance schedule that does not exceed ten years; (ii) Identification of all reasonable and feas ible improvements thatcould be used to meet standards, or if meeti ng the standards is not attainable, then to achieve the highest attainable le vel of improvement; Page 2 of 4 WAC 17 3 -201 A -510: Means of implementation.

8 /26 /201 5 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WA C/default.aspx?cite=17 3 -201 A -510(iii) Any department-approved gas abatement plan as described in WAC 173-
201A-200 (1)(f)(ii); (iv) Analytical methods th at will be used to evaluate all reasonable and feasible improvements; (v) Water quality monitoring, which will be used by the department to track the progress in achieving compliance with the state water q uality standards; and (vi) Benchmarks and reporting sufficient for the department to track the applicant's progress toward implemen ting the plan within the designated time period. (c) The plan must ensure compliance with all applicable water quality criteria, as well as any other re quirements established by the department (such as through a total maximum daily load, or TMDL, analysis). (d) If the department is acti ng on an application for a wate r quality certification, the approved water quality atta inment plan may be used bythe department in its
determination that there is reasonable assurance that t he dam will not cause or
contribute to a violation of the water quality standards. (e) When evaluating compliance with the plan, the department will allow the use of models and engineering estimates to approximate desig n success in meeting the
standards. (f) If reasonable progress to ward implementing the pl an is not occurring in accordance with the designated time frame, the dep artment may declare the project in violation of the water qualitystandards and any associated water quality certification. (g) If an applicable wate r quality standard is not met by the end of the time provided in the attainment pl an, or after completion of all reasonable and feasible improvements, the owner musttake the following steps: (i) Evaluate any new reasonable and feas ible technologies that have been developed (such as new operati onal or structural modifica tions) to achieve compliance
with the stand ards, and develop a new compli ance schedule to evaluate and incorporate the new technology; (ii) After this evaluation, if no new reasonable and feasible improvements have been identified, then propose an alternative to achieve complianc e with the standards, such as site specific criteria (WAC 173-201A-430 ), a use attainabili ty analysis (WAC
173-201A-440 ), or a water qual ity offset (WAC 173-201A-450 ). (h) New dams, and any modifica tions to existing facilities that do not co mply with a gas abatement or other polluti on control plan established to m eet criteria for the water body, must comply with the wa ter quality standards at the time of project completion. (i) Structural changes made as a part of a departmentapproved gas abatement plan to aid fish pass age, described in WAC 173-201A-200 (1)(f)(ii), ma y result in system performance limitations in meeting water qu ality criteria for that parameter at other times of the year.

[Statutory Authority: Chapters 90.48 and 90.54 RCW. WSR 03-14-129 (Order 02-14), amended and recodified as § 173-201A-510, filed 7/1/03, effective 8/1/03. Statutory Authority: Chapter 90.48 RCW and 40 C.F.R. 131. WSR 97-23-064 (Order 94-19), § 173-201A-160, filed Page 3 of 4 WAC 17 3 -201 A -510: Means of implementation.

8 /26 /201 5 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WA C/default.aspx?cite=17 3 -201 A -51011/18/97, effective 12/19/97. Statutory Authority: Chapter 90.48 RCW. WSR 92-24-037 (Order 92-29), § 173-201A-160, filed 11/25/92, effective 12/26/92.] Page 4 of 4 WAC 17 3 -201 A -510: Means of implementation.

8 /26 /201 5 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WA C/default.aspx?cite=17 3 -201 A -510