Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environment Water Wastewater topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cowlitz County adopts updated pretreatment ordinance aligning industrial discharge limits with regional wastewater authority
Summary
The commissioners voted to amend Chapter 15‑15010 to replace fixed instantaneous discharge limits with daily maxima and monthly averages (aligning with MPDES/NPDES permit practice) and to add updates addressing volatile organic chemical limits and other housekeeping changes; county staff said the change gives local industrial users more workable compliance parameters and will not alter current leachate handling practices.
Cowlitz County adopted revisions to Chapter 15‑15010 of the county code — the pretreatment ordinance for areas that discharge to the 3 Rivers Regional Wastewater Authority — after a staff presentation and a brief public hearing.
County engineer Susan Eugenis said the update replaces the previous fixed instantaneous limits for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids and ammonia with a daily maximum and a monthly average, consistent with MPDES/NPDES permit approaches. The change is intended to give users reasonable compliance flexibility; for example, a month’s averaging can prevent a single high instantaneous reading from triggering a permit violation if monthly averages remain below the limit.
Eugenis said the update also adds limits for certain volatile organic compounds (based on Permissible Exposure Limits) and clarifies titles and other housekeeping items. She said the county’s main local source of concern is landfill leachate; the changes are designed to allow the county operational leeway while still protecting treatment processes and staff safety.
During the hearing staff stated the county is already operating near current permit boundaries and is conducting a study to determine steps to bring effluent measures comfortably within limits. After opening public comment (no online commenters were present), a commissioner moved to adopt the ordinance amendment and the board approved it by voice vote.
Outcome and next steps: The ordinance was adopted; staff will continue the operational study on leachate and report needs for equipment or other investments if required.
