Drafter
Clerk 11/16/2012
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AN ORDINANCE relating to King County's long-term combined sewer overflow control plan and authorizing the King County executive to sign and fulfill the obligations in a consent decree with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington state Department of Ecology.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. King County protects water quality and prevents water pollution by providing wastewater treatment to thirty-four local sewer utilities. The wastewater treatment division of the department of natural resources and parks serves about one million five hundred thousand people, covering four hundred twenty square miles, including most urban areas of King County and parts of south Snohomish county and northeast Pierce county.
2. Around twenty percent of the county's service area has combined sewers, all located in the city of Seattle. The county has four combined sewer overflow ("CSO") treatment facilities and thirty-eight CSO outfalls, which are permitted under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ("NPDES") Permit WA-002918-1.
3. The United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and the Washington state Department of Ecology ("Ecology") have alleged that the County violated Sections 301 and 402 of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. Sections 1311 and 1342, and the conditions and limitations of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued by Ecology.
4. In response, King County, EPA and Ecology have negotiated the consent decree in Attachment A to this ordinance in good faith in order to avoid litigation between the parties, King County, without admitting liability, agrees with EPA and Ecology that the consent decree is fair, reasonable and in the public interest.
5. The consent decree requires the county to implement the amendment to the long-term CSO control plan that was approved by the King County council through Ordinance 17413 on September 17, 2012, and take the actions and ...

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