Municipal stormwater general permits
Municipal stormwater general permits regulate discharges from municipal stormwater systems. These drainage systems are separated from sanitary sewer systems and are owned or operated by cities, counties, and other public entities.
Stormwater is rain and snow melt that runs off surfaces such as rooftops, paved streets, highways, and parking lots. As water runs off these surfaces, it can pick up pollutants that contaminate local water bodies.
There are four municipal stormwater general permits in Washington.
Municipal Stormwater Permits
The Phase I Municipal Stormwater Permit regulates discharges from municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) owned or operated by the state's largest cities and counties.
The Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permits regulate discharges from certain "small" MS4s in Washington.
We issue two Phase II permits:
- Eastern Washington Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit
- Western Washington Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit
- The permits also apply to public separate storm sewer systems operated by other types of public entities located in a Phase I or II city or county. Examples include ports, prison complexes, park districts, universities, or diking and drainage districts.
- See secondary permittee guidance to determine who should apply for permit coverage.
Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Municipal Stormwater Permit
The WSDOT municipal stormwater permit regulates discharges from state highways, rest areas, park-and-ride lots, ferry terminals, and maintenance facilities within the urbanized areas of the state.
Who's covered under the municipal stormwater permits?
View a map of Phase I and Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit area boundaries.
The 1990 Phase I regulation requires medium and large cities or certain counties with populations of 100,000 or more to obtain NPDES permit coverage for their stormwater discharges.
The 1999 Phase II regulation requires small MS4s in U.S. Census Bureau defined urbanized areas, as well as MS4s designated by the permitting authority, to obtain NPDES permit coverage for their stormwater discharges.
| Cities | Counties | Secondaries |
|---|---|---|
|
Seattle |
Snohomish King Pierce Clark |
UW Seattle |
| Cities | Counties | Secondaries |
|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen Algona Anacortes Arlington Auburn Bainbridge Island Battleground Bellevue Bellingham Black Diamond Bonney Lake Bothell Bremerton Brier Buckley Burien Burlington Camas Centralia Clyde Hill Covington Des Moines DuPont Duvall Edgewood Edmonds Enumclaw Everett Federal Way Ferndale Fife Fircrest Gig Harbor Granite Falls Issaquah Kelso Kenmore Kent Kirkland Lacey Lake Forest Park Lake Stevens Lakewood Longview Lynden Lynnwood Maple Valley Marysville Medina Mercer Island Mill Creek Milton Monroe Mountlake Terrace Mount Vernon Mukilteo Newcastle Normandy Park Oak Harbor Olympia Orting Pacific Port Angeles Port Orchard Poulsbo Puyallup Redmond Renton Ridgefield Sammamish SeaTac Sedro-Woolley Shelton Shoreline Snohomish Snoqualmie Steilacoom Sumner Tukwila Tumwater University Place Vancouver Washougal Woodinville Yelm |
Cowlitz Kitsap Skagit Thurston Whatcom |
Bainbridge Island School District #303
|
| Cities | Counties | Secondaries |
|---|---|---|
| Asotin Clarkston College Place East Wenatchee Ellensburg Kennewick Moses Lake Pasco Pullman Richland Selah Spokane Spokane Valley Sunnyside Union Gap Walla Walla Wenatchee West Richland Yakima |
Asotin Chelan Douglas Spokane Walla Walla Yakima |
Eastmont Metropolitan Park District Port of Benton Central Washington University Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District Yakima Valley Community College Washington State University Tri-Cities Washington State University Pullman Washington State University Spokane Selah School District #19 |
Apply for permit coverage
Apply through SecureAccess Washington and use the WQWebPortal to submit your NOI (Notice of Intent).
- Review print version of online application (pdf) - For reference only
Guidance
For guidance about applying, changing, or implementing and complying with your municipal stormwater permit see the municipal stormwater guidance page. Stormwater manuals provide stormwater permit implementation and management guidance. For more general stormwater permit guidance, see the stormwater guidance page.
Frequently asked questions
Have a question? Check out our frequently asked questions page.
Stormwater monitoring
Are our permits successful at preventing or reducing pollution from stormwater runoff? Check out the Stormwater Action Monitoring program and our other results on the stormwater monitoring page.
Keep in touch with us
Join our municipal stormwater permit email list to receive updates about our permits.
Related links
Contact information
Abbey Stockwell
Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit Writer
abbey.stockwell@ecy.wa.gov
360-280-2934
Amy Waterman
Phase I Municipal Stormwater Permit Writer
amy.waterman@ecy.wa.gov
360-338-5831
Leah Shamlian
Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties, and the cities of: Anacortes, Arlington, Bellingham, Burlington, Everett, Ferndale, Granite Falls, Lake Stevens, Lynden, Marysville, Mill Creek, Monroe, Mount Vernon, Mukilteo, Oak Harbor, Sedro-Woolley, and Snohomish
leah.shamlian@ecy.wa.gov
509-490-0687
Colleen Griffith
Cities of: Bellevue, Bothell, Brier, Clyde Hill, Duvall, Edmonds, Issaquah, Kenmore, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park, Lynnwood, Medina, Mercer Island, Mountlake Terrace, Redmond, Sammamish, Seattle, Shoreline, Snoqualmie, and Woodinville
colleen.griffith@ecy.wa.gov
425-429-4571
Roger Chang
King and Kitsap County and cities of: Algona, Auburn, Bainbridge Island, Black Diamond, Bremerton, Burien, Covington, Des Moines, Federal Way, Kent, Maple Valley, Newcastle, Normandy Park, Pacific, Port Orchard, Poulsbo, Renton, SeaTac, and Tukwila.
roger.chang@ecy.wa.gov
425-758-5096
Angela Vincent
Pierce County, and the cities of: Bonney Lake, Buckley, Dupont, Edgewood, Enumclaw, Fife, Fircrest, Gig Harbor, Lakewood, Milton, Orting, Port Angeles, Puyallup, Shelton, Steilacoom, Sumner, Tacoma, and University Place
angela.vincent@ecy.wa.gov
360-407-6276
Morgan Maupin
Clark, Cowlitz, and Thurston counties, and the cities of: Aberdeen, Battle Ground, Camas, Centralia, Kelso, Lacey, Longview, Olympia, Ridgefield, Tumwater, Vancouver, Washougal, Yelm
morgan.maupin@ecy.wa.gov
360-798-2906
Graham Simon
Chelan, Douglas, and Yakima counties, and the cities of: East Wenatchee, Ellensburg, Kennewick, Richland, Selah, Sunnyside, Union Gap, Wenatchee, West Richland, and Yakima
graham.simon@ecy.wa.gov
509-571-0275
Jefferson Davis
Asotin, Spokane, and Walla Walla counties, and the cities of: Asotin, Clarkston, Moses Lake, Pasco, Pullman, Spokane, Spokane Valley, and Walla Walla
jefferson.davis@ecy.wa.gov
509-385-9280
Foroozan Labib
WSDOT Statewide Permit Writer
foroozan.labib@ecy.wa.gov
564-669-4292