Plan to control nonpoint sources of pollution

It takes us all

Nonpoint pollution refers to pollution that doesn't come from a single source. Instead it, comes from many sources and conditions. It occurs when rainwater or snowmelt picks up pollution as it flows over land and carries it into waterways. Nonpoint pollution can also happen when there is a lack of shade-providing trees next to streams and water temperature increases. 

Coming from many different places, this type of pollution can be difficult to manage and is often harder to control compared to pollution that comes from a single source. Our Nonpoint staff work with landowners and local partners across the state to reduce nonpoint pollution from agricultural, forestry, and residential sources.

Our collective plan to address nonpoint pollution

The Washington’s Water Pollution Control Act  gives Ecology authority to regulate active and potential sources of nonpoint pollution, however achieving clean and cool water takes us all. 

Together, Nonpoint Plan and Clean Water Guidance outline our collective strategies and site-specific recommendations to ensure cool and clean water for all. 

Washington's Nonpoint Plan

The Nonpoint Plan outlines our approach to addressing water quality impacts from nonpoint sources. The Plan is required by the Clean Water Act and ensures funding that allows us and our partners to help implement clean water solutions on the ground. While Ecology is responsible for Washington's Nonpoint Plan, it encompasses statewide efforts and partnerships.

2025 Nonpoint Plan 

To ensure the Nonpoint Plan accurately reflects our statewide efforts, we strive to update the plan regularly in coordination with state and local partners involved in this work. We are in the process of updating the plan and will submit the next update to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by the end of 2025.

Provide feedback on the Nonpoint Plan

We are currently accepting comments on the draft 2025 Nonpoint Plan. Comments can be submitted from midnight on May 22 - Aug. 29, 2025, 11:59 p.m. Read our blog for more information. 

Draft materials 

• Plan to Control Nonpoint Sources of Pollution

• Reading guide - This is an overview of the plan and highlights recent updates

How to comment

• Submit comments online

• Submit comments by mail to:
  Kathryn Loy
  WA State Department of Ecology, Water Quality Program
  P.O. Box 47696
  Olympia, WA 98504-7696

Join our public webinar

• June 11, 2025  10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
  Register in advance on Zoom.

We are hosting a webinar where we will discuss our process and provide an overview of updates made to the plan. While there will be time for questions, because this is not a formal hearing we will not be taking oral testimony and encourage comments be submitted online or through the mail.

Clean Water Guidance

We are developing the Voluntary Clean Water Guidance for Agriculture alongside the current Nonpoint Plan update. This guidance document is a technical resource for agricultural producers that recommends site-specific best management practices (BMPs) to protect water quality. It is intended to support healthy farms while helping producers meet clean water standards.

Chapters are developed using best available science and through a collaborative process design in coordination with our advisory group. Read our focus sheet to learn more.

Provide feedback on the Clean Water Guidance

We are currently working on the remaining eight chapters that will be submitted alongside the 2025 Nonpoint Plan. These chapters will have their own formal comment period, anticipated for fall 2025. After the formal comment period we review all comments, make necessary changes to chapters, and will provide a response to comments when we submit the final chapters to EPA. 

We will release draft chapters for early preview as they become available. You can begin submitting comments on these chapters as soon as they are released - before the formal comment period for all remaining chapters begins this fall. We plan to have more chapters for preview and will list them below when available. 

Preview draft material:

• Runoff Control for Agricultural Facilities 

How to comment

• Submit comments online

• Submit comments by mail to:
  Ron Cummings
  WA State Department of Ecology, Water Quality Program
  P.O. Box 47696
  Olympia, WA 98504-7696

Keeping the guidance up-to-date

To ensure the guidance uses the best current science, we anticipate updating chapters as needed in the future.