Washington Administrative Code

Use of registered or accredited laboratories:(1) Except as established in subsection (3) of this section, monitoring data submitted to the department in accordance with this chapter shall be prepared by a laboratory accredited under the provisions of chapter 173-50 WAC no later t…

(1) Any permit issued under this chapter can be modified, suspended, or revoked, in whole or in part by the department for the following causes:(a) Violation of any permit term or condition;(b) Obtaining a permit by misrepresentation or failure to fully disclose all relevant fact…

For a given facility, permit requirements under this chapter and NPDES permit requirements under Water Pollution Control Act, RCW 90.48.260, shall under normal circumstances, be contained in a single permit document.[Statutory Authority: Chapter 90.48 RCW. WSR 93-10-099 (Order 92…

Qualified cities, towns, and other municipal corporations who administer a local permit program shall fulfill the requirements of chapter 173-208 WAC and 40 C.F.R. Part 403.[Statutory Authority: Chapter 43.21A RCW. WSR 86-06-040 (Order 86-03), § 173-216-150, filed 3/4/86.]

The purpose of this chapter is to protect groundwater quality by:(1) Preventing groundwater contamination by regulating the discharge of fluids into Underground Injection Control (UIC) wells; and(2) Satisfying the intent and requirements of Part C of the Federal Safe Drinking Wat…

(1) The policy of the department of ecology for this chapter is:(a) To preserve and protect groundwaters by preventing the injection of fluids that will endanger groundwater;(i) That contains fewer than 10,000 mg/L of total dissolved solids and is obtainable for beneficial uses a…

"Abandoned well" means a well that is unused, unmaintained, or is in such disrepair as to be unusable."AKART" is an acronym that means all known, available and reasonable methods of prevention, control and treatment. AKART shall represent the most current methodology that can be …

The most common type of UIC well in Washington is a Class V well. A Class V well is usually a shallow disposal well such as a drywell, drainfield or French drain (see subsection (5) of this section).(1) "Class I injection well" means a well used to inject dangerous and/or radioac…

The following are not considered UIC wells and are not regulated under this chapter.(1) Single-family residential septic systems, handling only sanitary wastes and have the capacity to serve less than twenty people per day or an equivalent design capacity of less than 3,500 gallo…

To operate an existing or new UIC well in Washington, the UIC well must be registered and either rule authorized or receive a state waste discharge permit from the department to operate, except as noted below, and the following must be met:(1) Class I UIC wells are prohibited and…

In order to receive rule authorization, your well must meet the nonendangerment standard (see WAC 173-218-080 and 173-218-090) and must be registered with the department unless otherwise noted below. If your UIC well is rule authorized, it does not need a state waste discharge pe…

To meet the nonendangerment standard you must prevent the movement of fluid containing any contaminant into the groundwater if the contaminant may cause a violation of chapter 173-200 WAC Water quality standards for the groundwaters of the state of Washington. In order to meet th…

Specific requirements for Class V wells are organized by wells that are used for stormwater management and wells that are used for other purposes. This section does not apply to the Class V wells in WAC 173-218-100.(1) New Class V UIC wells used for stormwater management must:(a)…

(1) The following new and existing Class V UIC wells automatically meet the nonendangerment standard and are considered rule authorized after the well is registered. These Class V wells are not subject to the requirements of WAC 173-218-090:(a) UIC wells which inject fluids that …

If you are denied rule authorization and you are operating a UIC well, you must obtain a state waste discharge permit under chapter 173-216 WAC State waste discharge permit program or chapter 173-226 WAC Waste discharge general permit program or close the well.(1) Permit terms an…

(1) Permit required:(a) Class V UIC wells used for the geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide are not rule authorized and must obtain a state waste discharge permit under chapter 173-216 WAC, State waste discharge permit program or chapter 173-226 WAC, Waste discharge general p…

(1) Decommissioning standards for all UIC wells:(a) Wells must be decommissioned in a manner that prevents movement of fluid containing any contaminant into the groundwater (40 C.F.R. 144.82); and(b) When decommissioning wells, the owner or operator must dispose or otherwise mana…

(1) For violations of this chapter, the department shall rely upon the provisions of the Water Pollution Control Act, chapter 90.48 RCW, and all other applicable statutes.(2) All injection well operations not operated in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, that cause …

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter."Agricultural water use" means the use of water for irrigation and other uses related to the production of agricultural products. These uses include, but are not limited t…

(1) Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to encourage the use of reclaimed water to help meet the growing need for clean water across the state by establishing a regulatory framework for the generation, distribution, and use of reclaimed water for the beneficial uses establish…

(1) Applicability. The requirements of this chapter apply to all existing and proposed facilities that are or will be designed, constructed, operated, and maintained in the state of Washington to generate, distribute, and/or use reclaimed water, and to the persons involved in the…

All persons subject to the requirements of this chapter must comply on the effective date of this chapter, except as allowed under subsection (1) of this section.(1) Exceptions. Persons issued a permit before the effective date of this chapter are subject to this chapter except a…

When either health or ecology is the lead agency under this section, the other agency will be the nonlead agency. On a case-by-case basis, ecology and health may agree to change the lead agency designation. If the lead agency changes, the new lead agency must notify the generator…

(1) Lead agency responsibilities.(a) Coordinate with the nonlead agency, including:(i) Preplanning meeting and scoping of project.(ii) Review of required documents including, but not limited to, all project or permit applications, reports, plans, specifications, and draft and fin…

No reclaimed water may be distributed or used without a reclaimed water permit issued pursuant to this chapter and chapter 90.46 RCW. Nothing in a reclaimed water permit excuses a person from complying with all applicable federal, state, or local statutes, ordinances, or regulati…

(1) Reclaimed water permit application.(a) Applications for reclaimed water permits shall be submitted to the lead agency no later than one hundred eighty calendar days before planned distribution of reclaimed water for use.(b) Upon receipt of the application or renewal applicati…

(1) Compliance with RCW 90.46.130. Any person applying to ecology or health for a reclaimed water permit, permit renewal, or permit modification under this chapter must demonstrate compliance with RCW 90.46.130.(2) Determining compliance. Ecology is responsible for determining wh…

The lead agency must make available for inspection and copying records relating to reclaimed water permits, in accordance with chapter 42.56 RCW. The lead agency may require a reasonable fee for copying of documents. Claims of confidentiality must be handled in accordance with th…

(1) Public notice of permit application when ecology is the lead agency. Ecology will provide notice of a complete reclaimed water permit application via electronic mail, posting on ecology's website, press release, or other appropriate means.(2) Public notice of draft permitting…

Public comment period required. A minimum of thirty calendar days from the beginning of the public comment period must be provided for public input and comment on a draft permit. The lead agency must retain, consider, and respond to all comments received during the public comment…

During the public comment period, any person may request a public hearing for the lead agency to accept verbal comments on the drafts. Any such request for a public hearing must be filed with the lead agency before the end of the public comment period. The lead agency will hold a…

Ecology will streamline permit requirements under this chapter and chapters 173-216 and 173-220 WAC, and NPDES permit requirements under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act into a single permit document issued by ecology.Health will streamline permit requirements under this c…

The generation, distribution, and/or use of reclaimed water without a permit, or in a manner that violates the terms and conditions of a permit, order, or directive issued under this chapter, is prohibited.(1) Immediate protection of public health or the environment. When it appe…

(1) Appealable actions. Any person aggrieved by a permitting decision, made in accordance with provisions of this chapter, may appeal that decision as provided by law applicable to the agency issuing the decision. This includes, but is not limited to, chapters 34.05, 43.21B, 43.7…

(1) Early consultation with lead and nonlead agencies. Potential generators must arrange and attend a preplanning meeting with the lead and nonlead agency to determine the scope of the feasibility analysis, as well as other planning, permitting, or technical matters related to th…

(1) Long-term feasibility of reclaimed water generation, distribution, and use. A feasibility analysis must demonstrate that the generator has the long-term technical, management, legal, and financial capacity to design, construct, operate, and maintain the reclaimed water facili…

(1) Timing. The generator is responsible for ensuring that there is sufficient time to meet funding, contractual, and other project deadlines.(a) The lead agency may require an update to an approved engineering document to address changes in conditions, regulatory requirements, o…

(1) Plan review required. All feasibility, planning, design, and construction documents and, if applicable, associated fees, must be submitted to the lead agency for review and approval before constructing or significantly modifying reclaimed water facilities.The lead agency will…

(1) Submission of engineering report to lead agency. The engineering report is the technical basis for the design of a proposed reclaimed water facility. A generator must comply with the requirements of WAC 173-219-180 (1)(b) and (c) and include a section or stand-alone engineeri…

(1) Approved construction plans and specifications. Construction plans and specifications must be submitted to the lead agency for review and approval prior to construction of the facility. The generator must submit:(a) Two complete sets of paper plans and specifications, and one…

(1) Construction of reclaimed water facilities.(a) Reclaimed water facilities must be constructed in accordance with chapter 90.46 RCW, this chapter, and the construction plans and specifications approved by the lead agency prior to construction.(b) When health is the lead agency…

The generator must at all times properly operate and maintain any facilities or systems of control installed by the generator to achieve compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit. Where design criteria have been established, the generator must not allow flows or wast…

(1) Certified operator requirements. Certified operators must perform certain functions for reclaimed water facilities, as identified in this chapter or the reclaimed water permit, and consistent with the certifications standards of the agency issuing the certificate. The reclaim…

Any use, generation, distribution, or storage of reclaimed water, authorized by a permit may be subject to such monitoring requirements as may be reasonably required by the lead agency, including the installation, use and maintenance of monitoring equipment or methods, and, where…

The reclaimed water permit must identify terms and conditions determined to be necessary by the lead agency, for the protection of public health, the environment, and to implement this chapter and chapters 90.46, 90.48, 70.118, and 70.118B RCW as applicable. The reclaimed water p…

(1) Fact sheet required. The lead agency must prepare a fact sheet to support the reclaimed water permit.(2) Content of the fact sheet. The fact sheet must include, but is not limited to, the following:(a) Nature of the source water to the reclaimed water facility.(b) Chemical, b…

(1) Review and approval of use agreements. Together with the use site evaluation under WAC 173-219-380, the generator must submit to the lead agency for review and approval all proposed or signed contracts or use agreements, if applicable, between:(a) Generator and distributor of…

(1) Source water controls. Source water controls must prevent the presence of substances that may affect the reclaimed water quality or the ability to generate reclaimed water.(2) Other applicable requirements. Source water to reclaimed water facilities must comply with the appli…

(1) Applicability, purpose, and responsibility. Reclaimed water generators, distributors, users, and potable water purveyors must take action to eliminate or prevent cross-connection between water supplies.(2) Group A water systems, as defined in WAC 246-290-020, are responsible …

Reclaimed water must meet the minimum technology-based treatment methods and treatment reliability standards in WAC 173-219-350 before distribution and use. Reclaimed water must also meet the applicable performance standards established in Table 1 and Table 2 under WAC 173-219-33…