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Public Works seeks Board's signatory delegation for county NPDES stormwater permit filings
Summary
Cowlitz County Public Works briefed the Board on NPDES/MPDES stormwater permit obligations for the urbanized area and asked that the Board designate the chair as the county's responsible official, with routine submittals delegated to the Public Services director.
Cowlitz County Public Works asked the Board to designate the Board chair as the county's responsible official for its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit and to delegate routine filings to the Public Services director so staff can meet permit deadlines without repeated Board signatures.
"MPDES is the acronym for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System," Savannah Clement explained, describing the permit as the Clean Water Act program delegated to states to manage stormwater runoff. She told commissioners the county is a phase 2 permittee for the urbanized area around Longview, Kelso and Lexington and implements the program there, not countywide.
Clement summarized routine permit obligations: mapping stormwater discharges, public education and outreach (the county participates in a shared outreach program called "Callets Clean Waters" with Longview and Kelso), inspecting discharges and responding to reported spills, and a new urban street-sweeping requirement in the recent permit. She said the county must clean 25% of its catch basins annually and maintain stormwater pollution prevention plans (SWIPs) for Public Works facilities.
Clement noted the county charges a $39 annual stormwater fee per parcel for county-only areas and that fees are higher inside city limits. Because Ecology requires a designated "responsible official" on permit submittals and staff turnover triggers re-delegation, Clement asked the Board to name the chair as the responsible official so staff can delegate day-to-day signatory authority to Mike Moss, Public Services Director, and handle submittals on schedule.
Commissioners said the process had worked well in the past; Clement offered to present the annual report in February when it is complete. She said staff post the annual report for public comment and submit it by permit deadlines.
No ordinance changes were proposed at the workshop; Clement said the Board would be asked to adopt any Ecology-required ordinance updates in the normal course.
