Background
In March 2021, the Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB) made an unfavorable ruling about the 2020 Industrial Stormwater General Permit (ISGP), a vital element of the clean water permit system in Washington. The PCHB, a state review board for things like environmental permits, had concluded that this stormwater permit only applied to certain portions of industrial transportation sites, not the entire footprints of those facilities. The ruling, if allowed to stand, threatened to upend over a decade of stormwater permit protections for waterways around Washington State.
In mid-2023, Soundkeeper appealed the PCHB’s decision to the Washington Court of Appeals, arguing that the ISGP applies to the entire footprint of a facility, not just the areas where industrial activities occur.
The Washington State Department of Ecology—the same agency in charge of writing and administering the permit—agreed with Soundkeeper, noting that the agency has remained steadfast on this point since 2009. Since then, industry has fought this interpretation during each iteration of the permit. Soundkeeper meets these challenges in court, during permit comment periods, and in meetings with working groups, helping to keep our clean water permit systems protective of water quality.
This week’s victory should lock in what has been clear all along: industrial activities on these sites, in their entirety, are a significant contributor of pollutants leaving the site at concentrations that may reasonably be expected to cause a violation of water quality standards.
Stormwater runoff is one of the most significant sources of water pollution in the nation.
Env’t Def. Ctr., Inc. v. U.S. Env’t Prot. Agency, 344 F.3d 832, 840-41 (9th Cir. 2003).
What’s next?
Ecology is about to release its draft ISGP for the 2025 permit cycle, in which a new round of commenting, permit review, and potential litigation begins. Soundkeeper, as we have for the past 40 years, will submit comments on this new permit draft and continue advocating for clean water permit systems that protect water quality.
Read Part I and Part II of our ISGP blog series to learn more about the permit and reissuing process.
Support future legal efforts like this by donating to Soundkeeper today.
Finally, a huge thank you to the attorneys at Smith & Lowney PLLC, including Claire Tonry who led this vital legal victory.