Puget Sound Nutrient General Permit

Discharges of excess nutrients — particularly nitrogen — to Puget Sound from domestic wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are contributing to existing low oxygen levels in Puget Sound. The Clean Water Act and federal rules require WWTPs that contribute to water quality impairments by discharging excess nutrients to take action to prevent this pollution. The Nutrient General Permit applies to 58 domestic WWTPs discharging to marine and estuarine waters of Washington waters of the Salish Sea.

The Nutrient General Permit focuses only on controlling nutrients and works in conjunction with the WWTPs' existing individual permits.

Ecology issued the first Puget Sound Nutrient General Permit on Dec. 1, 2021. The permit is effective on Jan. 1, 2022, and expires on Dec. 31, 2026.

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We ask that WWTP staff who have questions about your facility, individual permit, and the general permit to please contact your individual permit writer.

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map of puget sound with all WWTP marked as small or dominant loader. Contact Ecology for more info — The permit applies to 58 facilities that discharge to Puget Sound. Seven of those facilities are dominant loaders contributing over 80% of the nutrients. View our web map for more information.

Process for how we created a new general permit

In January 2020, we announced our decision to move forward with developing a draft Nutrient General Permit in Puget Sound. In 2020, we worked with the General Permit Advisory Committee to develop recommendations for permit conditions. We held the first public comment period on the preliminary draft of the permit from Jan. 27 to March 15. We reviewed all feedback we received on this informal draft and developed a formal draft and related documents for review.

Next, we invited comments on the formal draft Puget Sound Nutrient General permit documents from June 16, 2021 to Aug. 16, 2021. We held public workshops and hearings in mid-July, where we explained the proposed changes to the permit and answered questions. View the workshop PowerPoint presentation. View the public comments that were made in the electronic comment form: eComments.

Permit issuance

We issued the first Puget Sound Nutrient General Permit on Dec. 1, 2021, effective on Jan. 1, 2022. Below you can find all of the permit documents. The Fact Sheet and Appendices provide the technical basis for the permit. The Response to Comments is an appendix to the fact sheet that addresses comments submitted during the public comment period.

Current permit documents

Puget Sound Nutrient General Permit (effective Jan. 1, 2022)
Fact Sheet and Appendices
- Appendix C: Response to Comments
SEPA Determination of Non-Significance (DNS)
Coverage Modification Form

Advisory Committee

In March 2020, we convened a General Permit Advisory Committee to advise us in drafting general permit requirements for domestic wastewater treatment plants discharging to Puget Sound. This Advisory Committee was comprised of regional treatment plant representatives, state agencies (including Ecology), the EPA, and the environmental community. Committee members met throughout 2020 to develop recommendations for permit conditions, and they brought a diverse array of ideas and concerns to the table. View the list of members and previous meeting materials.

Several parties have filed appeals of the final general permit. These appeals relate to the legal and technical basis for the general permit and its conditions (requirements) necessary to control nutrient discharges to waters of the state. All parties agreed to a stipulated stay, which means that certain permit conditions (requirements) are put on hold until the Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB) resolves the issues. The majority of the permit remains in effect.

The PCHB has stated that it will not issue a decision or summary judgement until there is a resolution of a Thurston County Superior Court case that is currently before the Court of Appeals (Case # 56859-4-II). This means the PCHB hearing will likely be postponed until later in 2023 or 2024.

We will post more information and any decisions made by the PCHB on this page. Or you can visit the Pollution Control Hearings Board webpage and use the Quick Search for the case number "P21-082c".

We have an informal guide to your right of appeal that has some information about the process.

Help applying for coverage, finding or completing forms, or drafting public notices

Northwest Region
Southwest Region

Tricia Miller
tricia.miller@ecy.wa.gov
206-594-0167

Mail forms to:

Washington State Department of Ecology
Attn: WQ Puget Sound Nutrient Permit Coordinator
Northwest Regional Office
15700 Dayton Ave. N
Shoreline, WA 98133

Carey Cholski
carey.cholski@ecy.wa.gov
360-407-6279

Mail forms to:

Washington State Department of Ecology
Attn: WQ Puget Sound Nutrient Permit Coordinator
Southwest Regional Office
P.O. Box 47775
Olympia WA 98504-7775

Contact information

Adrien Carroll-Perkins
Nutrient General Permit Lead
Adrien.carroll-perkins @ecy.wa.gov
360-870-7424

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Puget Sound Nutrient General Permit

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Process for how we created a new general permit

Permit issuance

Current permit documents

Advisory Committee

Help applying for coverage, finding or completing forms, or drafting public notices

Mail forms to:

Mail forms to:

Related links

Contact information