Will Proposed Low Impact Development Standard Protect or Harm Washington State Watersheds?

Rainwater Management in Puget Sound

In August 2008, the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board issued a ruling declaring effectively that the Department of Ecology’s (ECY) storm drainage requirements did not adhere to requirements of the federal Clean Water Act. In response, ECY formed a technical advisory committee to define ‘low impact development’ (LID) and to determine criteria for feasibility of LID. The committee finished its work in summer 2010.

In a recent letter to Governor Christine Gregoire, the Carnegie Group of Olympia has expressed its concerns about the pending regulatory direction. “As a result of this overly long process, ECY now proposes to write a perplexing version of ‘low impact development’ into National Pollution Discharge Elimination (NPDES) permits for municipalities,” wrote Carole Richmond, President.

“It is clear that ECY’s proposed standard for low impact development is far too weak and permissive to prevent fatal damage to Puget Sound watersheds….it is highly likely that we will lose the rest of the watersheds in the path of development by 2020,” concluded Carole Richmond.

What is the Goal?

Washington State's Puget Sound and British Columbia's Georgia Basin together comprise the Salish Sea. In terms of how rainwater management in a watershed context has evolved in this shared bio-region, the two jurisdictions had the same understanding of the science in the late1990s, but then moved along different pathways. 

To Learn More: Click on Will Proposed Low Impact Development Standard Protect or Harm Washington State Watersheds? to read a supporting story posted on the Water Bucket website.

News Release #2011-35

August 30, 2011