Phase I Equivalent Stormwater Manuals for Western Washington

Washington State Department of Ecology

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Phase I Equivalent Stormwater Manuals for Western Washington

This webpage provides information for Western Washington Phase II Permittees and other interested parties regarding Phase I Municipal Stormwater Permittee programs for Runoff Controls for New and Redevelopment. Ecology will post additional information on this webpage as it becomes available.

Historical information, current status, and links to the Phase I programs (including codes, ordinances, Directors’ Rules, public rules and manuals) are described below.

King County

Ecology completed review of King County’s 2005 Surface Water Design Manual (SWDM) in February 2008. The initial comment letter, Ecology’s comment letter of February 19, 2008, provides information about changes that King County needed to make in order to comply with the Phase I Permit and the codes and program elements that other jurisdictions should address in order to use the King County manual to meet Western Washington Phase II Permit requirements.

Ecology subsequently reviewed King County’s Phase I submittal against the February comments. Ecology also clarified the adoption deadline in Adoption Timeline Clarification Letter. King County described its local adoption process and timeline in a letter submitted in accordance with the Phase I permit, King County G20. King County has now adopted and put their program into effect. King County’s program consists of:

King County Code Chapter 9.04 Surface Water Runoff Policy, as amended by Ordinance 16264 approved October 20, 2008
King County Code Chapter 9.12 Water Quality, as amended by Ordinance 16264 approved October 20, 2008
King County Code Chapter 16.82 Clearing and Grading
2009 King County Surface Water Design Manual (SWDM)
2009 King County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Manual (SPPM)
King County Memo Impervious Surface Percentage Exemption March 22, 2010

The final resolution of Ecology’s comments is provided in this Comment Resolution of SWDM January 2009 document.

Guidance for Phase II Permittees who have chosen to adopt King County’s program (May 18, 2009) as a means of meeting their Phase II permit requirements is available. Ecology will update this information based on frequently asked questions as time allows.

City of Tacoma

Ecology reviewed the City of Tacoma’s Phase I submittal for controlling runoff from new development, redevelopment and construction sites. The City of Tacoma has now adopted and put their approved program into effect with these components and the associated Response to Comments agreements below. Tacoma’s program consists of:

• City of Tacoma Surface Water Management Manual (2008)
• Tacoma Municipal Code Chapter 12.08 Wastewater and Surface Water Management

Ecology reviewed the City of Tacoma’s Phase I submittal and provided the following comments and adoption deadline clarification:

Tacoma’s adopted manual and supporting documents are available at the City of Tacoma webpage.

City of Seattle

Ecology reviewed the City of Seattle Phase I submittal. Seattle’s program consists of:

Seattle Municipal Code chapters 22.800 - 22.808 titled "Stormwater and Drainage Control Code" as adopted in 2009.
Seattle Municipal Code chapter 22.170 titled “Grading Code” as adopted in 2009.
Joint SPU/DPD Director's Rule titled "Source Control Technical Requirements Manual" as approved by the Director of Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) and the Director of the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) in 2009.
Joint SPU/DPD Director's Rule titled "Construction Stormwater Control Technical Requirements Manual" as approved by the Director of SPU and the Director of DPD in 2009.
Joint SPU/DPD Director's Rule titled "Stormwater Flow Control and Water Quality Treatment Technical Requirements Manual" as approved by the Director of SPU and the Director of DPD in 2009.
Joint SPU/DPD Director's Rule titled "Stormwater Code Enforcement Manual" as approved by the Director of SPU and the Director of DPD in 2009.

Ecology reviewed Seattle’s Phase I submittal and provided the following comments and adoption deadline clarification:

Seattle made changes to their Stormwater Code and associated Directors' Rules to address Ecology’s comments. The adopted code and manual information is available online on the City of Seattle’s webpage at City of Seattle Stormwater Code.

Documentation regarding the final resolution of Ecology’s initial comments is reflected in Seattle Program Comment Resolution 031709 and Second Round Ecology-Seattle Annotated Responses 031709.

Pierce County

Ecology reviewed Pierce County’s Phase I submittal for controlling runoff from new development, redevelopment, and construction sites. Pierce County has now adopted and put their approved program into effect with these components and the associated Response to Comments agreements below. Pierce County’s program consists of:

Pierce County Stormwater Management and Site Development Manual (2008), as amended in agreement with “Pierce County’s letter to DOE, date March 6, 2009” concluding the Ecology review process.
Pierce County Code Title 11”Storm Drainage and Surface Water Management” and Title 17A“Construction and Infrastructure Regulations – Site Development and Stormwater Drainage,” as amended by Ordinance No. 2008-59s.
Pierce County Code Title 18E “Development Regulations-Critical Areas”

Ecology reviewed Pierce County’s Phase I submittal and provided the following comments and adoption deadline clarification:

Pierce County’s adopted manual and supporting documents are available at the Pierce County website.

Snohomish County

Snohomish County’s program consists of:

Snohomish County Code Chapter 30.63A Drainage, effective September 30, 2010
Snohomish County Code Chapter 30.63B Land Disturbing Activities, effective September 30, 2010
Snohomish County Code Chapter 30.63C Low Impact Development, effective September 30, 2010
Snohomish County Drainage Manual, Volumes I through V, September 2010
Snohomish County Engineering Design and Development Standards 2010

Ecology reviewed Snohomish County’s February 2008 and April 2009 submittals. Ecology’s review comments and schedule information are provided in the following documents:

Snohomish County’s 2008 and 2009 draft submittals can be found on their NPDES project history page.

Clark County

Ecology has reviewed Clark County’s Phase I submittal. Clark County’s program consists of:

Clark County Stormwater Manual (2009)
Clark County Stormwater Pollution Control Manual – Best Management Practices for Businesses and Government Agencies (2009)
Clark County Stormwater Facility Maintenance Manual (2009)
Clark County Code Chapter 40.35 Stormwater and Erosion Control
Clark County Code Chapter13.26A Water Quality
Clark County Code Chapter 40.450 Wetland Permits
Clark County’s Development and Redevelopment Flow Control Mitigation Program
The Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB) issued a ruling on January 5, 2011 that the Agreed Order #7273 entered in between Ecology and Clark County is unlawful. As a consequence, this mitigation program is no longer equivalent or applicable.

Correspondence regarding Clark County’s Phase I submittal are included below:

Ecology reviewed Clark County’s Phase I submittal and on August 14, 2008 provided the following Comments on the July 2008 Ordinance and Manual Submittal.

Correspondence regarding Clark County’s second Phase I submittal on January 26, 2009:

Ecology and Clark County entered into an Agreed Order (#7273) to establish the actions necessary to bring the County into compliance with the flow control standard requirement.

The material the County submitted is available online on Clark County’s website: Clark County Ordinance Update

WSDOT Highway Runoff Manual - Approved for use for WSDOT projects and by local governments for public road projects.

On August 20, 2008, the Department of Ecology approved the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Highway Runoff Manual as functionally equivalent to the Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington. The WSDOT manual is designed for and approved for use only for WSDOT projects and by local governments for public road projects.