On February 17, 2021, the Washington state department of ecology (ecology) reissued the sand and gravel national pollutant discharge elimination system and state waste discharge general permit (permit). The permit becomes effective on April 1, 2021, and expires on March 31, 2026.

Purpose of the Permit: The permit provides statewide coverage for facilities that engage in sand and gravel operations, rock quarries, similar mining operations, concrete batch operations, and hot mix asphalt operations. The sand and gravel general permit does not provide coverage to facilities that are covered under an individual permit that authorizes discharges from these activities. The purpose of the permit is to control the discharge of pollutants from process water, stormwater, and mine dewatering water associated with sand and gravel activities into waters of the state. Under federal and state water quality laws (Federal Clean Water Act and State Water Pollution Control Act), a permit is required for the discharge of these wastewaters.

Public Notice Process and Comments: Ecology accepted public comments on the draft permit, fact sheet, and related documents from October 27, 2020, through 11:59 p.m. on December 11, 2020. Ecology held two public workshops and hearings via online webinars on December 2, 2020, and December 4, 2020. Ecology received written comments during the public comment period. The comments and ecology's responses are included in Appendix A of the fact sheet.

Copies of the Permit: You may download copies of the final permit, fact sheet, response to comments, and other supporting documents online at https://ecology.wa.gov/sandandgravel. You may also request copies from Kimberly Adams at kimberly.adams@ecy.wa.gov or 360-407-6448.

Applying for Coverage under the Permit: Permitted facilities that have complied with the one hundred eighty day duty to reapply requirement, General Condition G20 in the current permit, will be covered under the new permit. New or unpermitted facilities may obtain coverage under the permit by submitting a complete permit application to ecology and satisfying all applicable public notice and State Environmental Policy Act requirements (WAC 173-226-200). Access to the application is available online at https://ecology.wa.gov/sandandgravel.

Ecology Contact: Adrien Carroll-Perkins, Washington State Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47696, Olympia, WA 98504-7696, phone 360-407-7386, email adrien.carroll-perkins@ecy.wa.gov.

Your Right to Appeal: You have a right to appeal the final general permit and the general permit coverage for a specific facility to the pollution control hearings board. The appeal process is governed by chapters 43.21B RCW and 371-08 WAC.


•	Appeals of the general permit issuance must be filed within thirty days of issuance of the general permit. See the appeal of the general permit focus sheet for more information at https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/documents/1710009.pdf.
•	Appeals of the general permit coverage for a specific facility must be filed within thirty days of the effective date of coverage. See the appeal of a general permit coverage focus sheet for more information at https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/documents/1710007.pdf.