Sand and Gravel General Permit

Current permit documents

• Sand and Gravel General Permit — expires March 31, 2026
• Fact Sheet for the draft 2021 permit
  • Appendix A: Response to Comments
• Full comments received during comment period
• Small Business Economic Impact Assessment (SBEIA)

Permit reissuance

The draft permit is now available for review. We invite comments on the draft general permit beginning at 9 a.m. on Aug. 6, 2025, through 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 25. After the public comment period closes, we will publish a Response to Comments as an appendix to the fact sheet to address the public comments submitted. A formal announcement was published in the Washington State Register on Aug. 6, 2025. We also published a blog with some highlights of the proposed changes to the permit. 

• Draft general permit
• Redline version of the draft permit
• Fact sheet for the draft 2026 general permit
• Economic Impact Analysis

Forms – revised and new

• Proposed Application for Coverage: Notice of Intent (NOI) for Non-Portable Operations
• Proposed Application for Coverage: Notice of Intent (NOI) for Portable Operations
• Annual Reporting Form
• Chemical Use Plan Form
• Monitoring Point Update Form

Public involvement

We will accept comments on the draft permit from 9 a.m. Aug. 6, 2025, through 11:59 p.m. Sept. 25, 2025. Written comments by mail must be postmarked by Sept. 25, 2025. Comments should reference specific permit text when possible.

You can submit comments in the following ways:

• Submit comments online (preferred)
• By U.S. mail (postmarked by Sept. 25, 2025)
  Eric Daiber
  Washington Department of Ecology
  PO Box 47696
  Olympia, WA 98504-7696
• At our online public hearings, listed below

Public meetings and hearings

During the comment period we will host two online public meetings where we will explain the proposed changes to the permit and answer questions prior to the formal hearings. The online public hearings provide opportunity for people to give formal spoken testimony on the proposed draft permit. The public hearings begin immediately following the informational presentation and will conclude when public testimony is complete. Spoken testimony will receive the same consideration as written comments.

• Afternoon Public Meeting and Hearing
  Sept. 9, 2025 – 1:30 p.m.
  Register in advance on Zoom 
• Evening Public Meeting and Hearing
  Sept. 10, 2025 – 5:30 p.m.
  Register in advance on Zoom 

Next steps 

After the comment period closes, we will review and consider all comments recieved. Then we will publish a Response to Comments as an appendix to the fact sheet and make a final decision on permit issuance. We expect to make a decision on the final general permit in spring 2026.

Anticipated timeline

Do I need a permit?

You may need a Sand and Gravel General Permit if your facility:

• Discharges process water, stormwater, or mine dewatering water into waters of the state.
• Is associated with sand and gravel operations, concrete batch plants, or asphalt batch plants.

You may need a portable operation permit if you move from site to site to:

• Crush rock
• Make concrete
• Make asphalt

Concrete characterization study

Concrete is widely used in construction because it is resilient, affordable, and easily available. At the end of their use, concrete structures and products are demolished into rubble (broken up pieces). This rubble can get stored, recycled and reused as building material. Once concrete has hardened into the durable material we commonly see, such as sidewalks or building foundations, it becomes an impervious surface, meaning rainwater runs off of it. However, when concrete is broken up into rubble and stored in piles waiting to be recycled, rainwater can flow through the piles.

Recently, we reviewed over 200 articles, reports, and papers published in the U.S. and internationally to help us understand what happens when rainwater interacts with concrete rubble and what potential pollutants might leach out into the water. The literature review found a list of potential pollutants associated with storing concrete rubble. However, none of the studies we reviewed had information on environmental impacts specific to concrete mixtures made in Washington. For more details, read our report: Recycled Concrete Aggregate Leachate: A Literature Review.

As a follow up to the literature review, we are studying 80 facilities to determine if Washington rainwater is picking up contaminants, and if so, to what degree. We are measuring pH, metals, and other properties of the water that could effect waterbodies and we will determine if permit updates are needed to better protect the environment.

For more information about this study, see our blog about this project, and the Quality Assurance Project Plan containing a detailed explanation of the study's methods and procedures.

Permit application, forms, and resources

• Historical permit information