Public Hearing on the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and Water Quality Agreed Order

We have scheduled a tentative virtual meeting and hearing via Zoom to accept oral comments on the draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit renewal, Fact Sheet, and Water Quality Agreed Order for HF Sinclair Puget Sound Refinery, Anacortes (Skagit County).

Registration is required. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the hearing. To express interest in this public hearing or to request registration help, contact Tara Roberts at tara.roberts@ecy.wa.gov. Ecology will notify interested parties on Oct. 5 if the public hearing will not be held due to a lack of significant interest. When the comment period ends, we'll review the comments received and make a final decision on issuing the permit and Agreed Order.

HF Sinclair Puget Sound Refinery is located at 8505 South Texas Road in Anacortes. The refinery began operating in 1957. It processes crude oil into a variety of petroleum products and about 470 employees and 400 contractors work on the site. At full production, the refinery can process between 135,000 and 160,000 barrels of crude oil each day. Wastewater from the petroleum making process is treated and discharged to Fidalgo Bay. Stormwater is also discharged to Padilla Bay.

Major proposed changes to the permit include:

• Nutrient monitoring and study
• Sediment monitoring study
• Wastewater treatment efficiency study and engineering report
• Outfall evaluation, outfall dilution study report, dilution ratio study, and mixing study
• PFAS study
• Groundwater impact study, including a hydrogeological study and monitoring program plan
• Stormwater monitoring for fecal coliform, enterococci, and priority pollutants (PP) total metals
• AKART analysis and Engineering Report requirement for Outfalls 002, 003, and 006
• Total chromium stormwater allocation
• Eliminates stormwater monitoring for TSS

The proposed permit requires HF Sinclair to conduct updated chronic whole effluent toxicity (WET) testing in the last summer and last winter of the new permit cycle. A draft order accompanies the proposed permit requiring HF Sinclair to conduct additional biomonitoring of Outfall 001’s effluent for potential impacts to Pacific herring.

If you would like to be added to the list of interested parties for HF Sinclair Puget Sound Refinery and receive updates on Ecology’s Industrial Section actions at the site, contact Tara Roberts at tara.roberts@ecy.wa.gov.