Chapter 173-224 WAC-Water Quality Permit Fees

On June 29, 2023, Ecology adopted amendments to Chapter 173-224 WAC – Water Quality Permit Fees. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a permit fee system for state waste discharge and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued by Ecology pursuant to RCW 90.48.160, 90.48.162, or 90.48.260

Chapter 173-224 WAC implements RCW 90.48.465 that requires Ecology to establish, by rule, annual fees to recover the cost of administering the wastewater and stormwater permit programs. The rule amendment considers the economic impact on small discharges and public entities, and provides appropriate adjustments where applicable.

Rulemaking timeline

Timeline

Announcement phase (CR-101)

Filing date:
June 7, 2022


Announcement documents

Rule development phase

June 7, 2022 - Spring 2023

Public input & involvement

Municipal Wastewater Permit Fee Advisory Committee

Visit the committee webpage for information.

Rule proposal phase (CR-102)

Filing date:
March 21, 2023

Rule proposal documents:

Focus sheets:

Comment period

We held a comment period from March 22 to May 12, 2023. You can review comments we received online.

Public Hearings

We held a public hearing webinar on May 2 and May 4, 2023. 

During the public hearings, we presented our proposed changes, answered any questions, then held the formal hearing to receive oral comments. See above for documents related to the Proposal Phase of the rulemaking.

Rule adoption phase (CR-103)

Adoption date:
June 29, 2023


Rule effective date:
July 30, 2023


Rule adoption documents:

Additional languages

Español (Spanish) 中文 (Chinese) Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese) 한국어 (Korean)

Accessibility

To request ADA accommodation for disabilities, or printed materials in a format for the visually impaired, contact Ecology's ADA Coordinator by email at ecyadacoordinator@ecy.wa.gov, or call 360-407-6831. People with impaired hearing may call Washington Relay Service at 711. People with speech disability may call TTY at 877-833-6341.