Reissuing the Irrigation System Aquatic Weed Control NPDES General Permit

Reissuing the Permit - Timeline

Note: unless otherwise specified, the files below are available in Adobe Acrobat (.PDF file) format. To view and/or print PDF files, you first will need to download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Draft Permit Review

Once Ecology and the Committee completed the revision process Ecology held a public comment period from November 7, 2007 to January 11, 2008. During this time Ecology also hosted two informational workshops and public hearings on its proposed permit: one in Kennewick on December 10th, and one in Ellensburg on December 11th. A public hearing followed each workshop.

Permit (draft)
Fact Sheet
Appendix D (~14 mb)
Focus Sheet: Focus on Aquatic Pesticide Irrigation District Permit (Ecology publication)
WA State Register Notice (WA State Legislature website)

Permit Revision Process

During the revision process the Permit Advisory Committee (Committee) gathered input from the stakeholders. The Committee held four meetings and reviewed a series of drafts of the proposed new permit.

The fourth meeting of the Permit Advisory Committee was held on Wednesday, August 29, 2007. We discussed the newest draft of the permit and the public comment period.
- Ecology's response to comments from the permit advisory committee.
- Department of Ecology presentation.
- Third draft (old) of the permit (clean copy - without annotations)
- Third draft (old) of the permit (with annotations – significant new language is in blue, the newest point of compliance language is in purple, new ditch bank application language is in orange, and the new copper language is in green)
The third meeting of the Permit Advisory Committee was held on August 16, 2006 in Sunnyside. The meeting focused on (1) determining the "point of compliance" and (2) the difficulties in setting limits for copper.
The second meeting of the Permit Advisory Committee was held on February 22, 2006 in Sunnyside. The committee reviewed a first preliminary draft of the irrigation system permit. Another, more formal, public review draft was made available for review later that year. The due date for commenting on the draft was March 10, 2006.
- Draft permit (This draft version is now out of date).
- Comments from the Permit Advisory Committee on the draft permit received by the Department of Ecology.
The first meeting of the Permit Advisory Committee occurred on January 10, 2006 in Ellensburg. The following information was presented:
Handouts on the timeline for reissuing the permit, 2005 reporting requirements, and clarification around the "no-spill situation".
Presentation on the role of the permit advisory committee and major permit topics needing review.
Washington State Register notice announcing the official start of the permit process.

Expired Permit

The Department of Ecology (Ecology) began the permit revision process. We worked with a permit advisory committee to revise the permit.

The previous version of the permit expired in May 2007:

Permit (expired version)

Fact Sheet

Response to Public Comments

Pesticide Information:

Fluridone Treatment Letter

GreenClean Algaecide Modification Letter (Final)

Special Local Needs Registration for Magnacide H Herbicide (active ingredient acrolein)

Registration Documents

For more information please contact:

Andrew Kolosseus
Washington State Dept. of Ecology
Water Quality Program
PO Box 47600
Olympia, WA 98504-7600
(360) 407-7543
Email: akol461@ecy.wa.gov

Last updated February 2008