Individual State Wastewater Discharge Permit - Industrial Wastewater to a Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW)

Help/Assistance

For assistance information and materials please visit https://ecology.wa.gov/Water-Shorelines/Water-quality/Water-quality-permits.

Other sources of help, information, and references:

Subject matter expert contact information:

Subject Matter Expert Contacts

Description/Purpose

State waste discharge permits prevent the upset of wastewater treatment systems by limiting the discharge of pollutants. For more information see Ecology’s webpage on wastewater discharge permits in Washington https://ecology.wa.gov/Water-Shorelines/Water-quality/Water-quality-permits Some local authorities issue these permits. See the notes/comments section at the bottom of this entry to find out what agency issues your permit.

Triggers and activities which would require this permit

Industrial facilities that discharge wastewater to privately or publicly-owned wastewater treatment plants must obtain a state waste discharge permit unless it has obtained a pretreatment discharge permit issued by a delegated municipality.

Explanation/Description of costs/fees, including statutory, regulatory, or other legal authority for fees

Fees are determined according to chapter 173-224 WAC at https://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=173-224.

If your permit is issued by an agency other than Ecology, contact the agency directly for fees (see notes/comments).

Application Information

Applying and getting application/form

The application is called 'State Application - Industrial Wastewater to Municipal (Form 040-177)' is online and can be accessed at https://ecology.wa.gov/Water-Shorelines/Water-quality/Water-quality-permits/Water-Quality-individual-permits#forms.

Requirements for the application, additional actions, information, or documentation

If Ecology issues your permit, the application may require more information on wastewater flows, treatment, diagrams, and test results. Ecology may also request more information during application review.

Conditional or associated dependencies or requirements upon approval

When making the decision on your order/permit, Ecology will consider the applicable laws and rules, the contents of your application, and the background environmental conditions.

In addition, the permitting process includes public review. This means that the public may submit comments to Ecology during the 30 day public comment period to support or oppose your proposed activity. If any comments are received, Ecology must review and respond to the comments and take them into consideration when making the decision to issue or deny permit coverage.

Application submittal process

If your permit is issued by Ecology: Contact the permit coordinator in your region at https://ecology.wa.gov/Water-Shorelines/Water-quality/Water-quality-permits.

Approval validation duration

Permits are typically valid for five years.

Appeal process

If your permit is issued by Ecology: You have a right to appeal this permit coverage to the Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB) within 30 days of the date of receipt of your decision. This appeal is limited to the general permit's applicability or non-applicability to an individual discharger (WAC 173-226-190(2)). The appeal process is governed by Chapter 43.21B RCW and Chapter 371-08 WAC. "Date of receipt" is defined in RCW 43.21B.001(2).

To appeal, you must do the following within 30 days of the date of receipt of notice of coverage:

File your appeal and a copy of the permit cover page with the PCHB (see addresses below). Filing means actual receipt by the PCHB during regular business hours.
Serve a copy of your appeal and the permit cover page on Ecology in paper form — by mail or in person (see addresses below). E-mail is not accepted.

You must also comply with other applicable requirements in Chapter 43.21B RCW and Chapter 371-08 WAC.

Mailing Addresses:

   Pollution Control Hearings Board
   PO Box 40903
   Olympia, WA 98504-0903

   Department of Ecology
   Attn: Appeals Processing Desk
   PO Box 47608
   Olympia, WA 98504-7608

Physical Addresses:

   Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB)
   1111 Israel Road SW, Suite 301
   Tumwater, WA 98501

   Department of Ecology
   Attn: Appeals Processing Desk
   300 Desmond Drive SE
   Lacey, WA 98503

Permit Timeliness Results

Permit Timeliness data collection is in response to a State Auditor’s Performance Audit and RCW 43.42A. Each regulatory agency developed a plan to improve permit clarity, predictability, and timeliness. Each agency considers the customers experience to ensure permit assistance is simple to use, easy to access, and designed in a customer-friendly manner. Agencies report progress to the Governor’s Office for Regulatory Innovation and Assistance (ORIA). ORIA prepares and distributes reports, with participation from the State Auditor’s Office and Results Washington. See latest report here: https://www.oria.wa.gov/ORIA-2020-PermitTimelinessProgressReport.pdf.

Estimated Time Required By the Agency to Process a Permit Application (Definition)
Average days from Receipt to Complete: 494
Maximum days from Receipt to Complete: 494

Estimated Time Required By the Agency to Issue a Permit Decision (Definition)
Average days from Complete Application to Decision: 36
Maximum days from Complete Application to Decision: 36

(Summary results based on 1 submittals in 2017, no data for latest year [2024])

Legal authority

Schematic

View the schematic

Notes / Comments

Ecology oversees the approved pretreatment programs of municipalities that have been delegated pretreatment program authority. Ten Washington municipalities have approved publicly owned treatment works (POTW) pretreatment programs and have been delegated pretreatment authority. These include:

Everett 3200 Cedar St. Everett, WA 98201 Ryan Wichert, (425) 257-8240 www.everettwa.gov	Richland 505 Swift Blvd. MS-27 Richland, WA 99352 Toby Billings, (509) 942-7485 Richland Pretreatment
LOTT 500 Adams Street NE Olympia, WA 98501-6911 Julie Dufresne, (360) 664-2333 LOTT Pretreatment	Spokane County 1026 W. Broadway Avenue, 4th Floor Spokane, WA 99260 Stela Matei-Rowley, (509) 477-7177 SMatei@spokanecounty.org
Lynnwood 20816 44th Ave W. Ste. 230 Lynnwood, WA 98104 Jacob Bradley, (425) 670-5221 www.lynnwoodwa.gov	Spokane City 4401 N. Aubrey L. White Pkwy. Spokane, WA 99205 Angela Tagnani, (509) 625-4620 atagnani@spokancity.org
Metro / King Co. 201 S. Jackson Street, Suite 513 Seattle, WA 98104 Dana Heinz, (206) 477-5300 KCIW (with map)	Tacoma 2201 Portland Ave, P-1 Tacoma, WA 98421 Cassie Petty, (253) 502-2239 Tacoma Pretreatment
Pasco 1015 S. Grey Pasco, WA 99301 Heath Bateman, (509) 544-3078 hartmanh@pasco-wa.gov	Vancouver PO Box 1995 Vancouver, WA 98668-1995 Kevin Smithline, (360) 487-7177 Vancouver Pretreatment
Pierce County 930 Tacoma Avenue S. Tacoma, WA 98402 River Wan, (253) 798-3002 Pierce County Pretreatment	Walla Walla 572 Hatch Street Walla Walla, WA 99362 Dara Osborne, (509) 524-4588 dara.osborne@ch2m.com
Port Angeles 321 E. 5th Street Port Angeles, WA 98362 David Freed, (360) 417-4692 Port Angeles Pretreatment	Yakima 2220 E. Viola Ave. Yakima, WA 98901 Mike Price, (509) 249-6815 Yakima Pretreatment
Quincy P.O. Box 1249 Quincy, WA 98848 Samuel Snead, (509) 855-3360 ssnead@woodardcurran.com

This means that in these areas, the local authority will issue the permit. Where Ecology does not delegate full responsibility to implement the pretreatment program, Ecology will issue permits to users.

Contacts

Department of Ecology
Headquarters
300 Desmond Drive
PO Box 47600
Olympia WA 98504-7600
Website: http://www.ecology.wa.gov/
Telephone: (360) 407-6000

* Credential details last updated 9/2/2026

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