Pre-development feedback on the permit

We have started the early stages of updating our Winery General Permit. The current permit expires in 2029, but we are beginning our process early because we are considering expanding the permit to other alcoholic beverage facilities such as large breweries, cideries, and distilleries.

Because these facilities have similar potential pollution and we already permit some facilities, we are considering expanding the permit to large alcoholic beverage facilities that produce more than 17,835 gallons or 7500 cases per year, that discharges their wastewater to ground. This permit would not apply to a facility that discharges to a wastewater treatment facility. We have not finalized any expansion plans yet.

This permit has a long history of being created collaboratively, to ensure that the permit protects the environment and does not overburden industry. We welcome any comments, questions, recommendations, or other feedback you would like to share over the next year as we consider the best way to update the permit.

Ecology will consider the feedback collected during this period as we develop the draft of the next permit, planned for spring 2027. Provide feedback on our comment website before 11:59 p.m. July 31, 2026.

If your feedback is about a specific part of the current permit language, please note the section and page number in your comments. For tips and instructions on submitting comments visit: How to submit comments to us.

Please note, we will not provide formal responses to input we receive.

Next steps

In spring 2028, we anticipate issuing a public notice and hosting an open formal comment period on the draft permit. We will host at least one public meeting where spoken comments can be formally submitted. After the comment period, we will review and respond to all comments before finalizing a revised permit.

Background

Washington is the second-largest wine-producing state in the nation. If not properly managed, process wastewater from wineries can potentially harm groundwater resources and damage wastewater treatment and storage equipment. Ecology first issued the Winery General Permit in 2019 to help protect groundwater in Washington and prevent process wastewater from overwhelming wastewater treatment plants.

Washington's Winery General Permit regulates discharges of process wastewater from wineries to land, groundwater, and wastewater treatment plants. No surface water discharges are allowed under this permit. This permit is for large wineries that meet a permitting threshold. The threshold is based on wine production volume, and wastewater discharge methods.

The current permit went into effect July 1, 2024, and expires June 30, 2029.