About the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) Permit
The City of Mill Creek is issued a permit from the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) so that the City can discharge stormwater into pathways, such as natural streams like North Creek, that drain out of our city limits.
This permit is titled the Western Washington Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit. For short, the permit is frequently called the "Ecology permit", the "MS4 permit", the "NPDES permit", and similar names.
Ecology's permit is issued in compliance with the federal Clean Water Act through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The Clean Water Act required all municipal agencies across the United States to take steps toward reducing pollution to natural receiving waters from stormwater runoff.
The Ecology permit provides requirements for a wide range of required compliance activities by the City as a whole, from individual private property owners to the City Surface Water Utility described below
Compliance with the permit include multiple activities associated with each of the following:
- Operations and Maintenance
- Administration and Financial Management
- Public Education and Outreach
- Strategic/long-term Planning, including ongoing system mapping
- Public Stewardship/Volunteering
- Water Quality Sampling and Tracking, particularly discharges to North Creek from both the storm system and natural tributaries such as Penny Creek
- Pollutant Source Identification and Elimination
- Development/Redevelopment Oversight and Permitting
- Documentation in detail of all permit activities and obligations to Ecology
