Olympia to inspect city facilities, businesses for water pollution

We want to make sure that we implement this program in a way that focuses on providing information and resources to businesses to bring them into compliance and using enforcement as a last resort.”

Olympia will begin city facility and business site inspections to identify and prevent the possible source of water pollution in January next year through the city’s Source Control Program.

Jeremy Graham, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) coordinator, and Susan McCleary of Olympia's Public Works Water Resources Division briefed the Utility Advisory Committee members on the program, which started in 2020.  

According to Graham, the primary purpose of the Source Control Program is to prevent and reduce pollutants in runoffs from areas that discharge to the city's stormwater system and help ensure those city properties and business operations comply with environmental regulations.

"We will also be working with private business owners and property owners and managers to help them get into compliance by providing technical assistance and guidance and more education and outreach," Graham said.

Graham said there would be requirements for operations and structural best management practices (BMP) on city and business sites.

He defined BMP as "schedules and activities, prohibitions and practices, maintenance procedures and structural and managerial practices approved by Ecology that, when used singly or in combination, prevent or reduce the release of pollutants and other adverse impacts the waters of the Washington State."

BMPs that prevent pollution include operational and structural activities such as:

• Covering stored or stockpiled materials using tarps or sheds.
• Regular sweeping and cleaning of material storage spaces and dumpster areas.
• Training staff to understand and take appropriate actions in preventing pollution.
• Construction of permanent structural treatment facilities on the property if operational BMPs are ineffective.

Inspection

"Before working with private businesses, we plan on working with our internal staff to educate them on the program to help them know their part and requirements and to ensure our properties and operations comply," Graham told the committee members.

The inspection will start with the city-owned facilities. Then they will begin doing inspections on private business sites.

The program has an inventory of about 105 public and 570 private sites, which McCleary said they are required to inspect at least 20%, or about 130 site inspections, annually.

Using Google satellite and windshield surveys, McCleary said the program ranked all sites high, medium, or low priority to make sure that they identify and address areas with the highest potential to pollute.

"We may not be able to reach all sites within the permit cycle," McCleary explained, adding that some sites that ranked low priority most likely would not be inspected and would receive Pollution Prevention materials.

The program will collaborate with Olympia Code Enforcement, LOTT Clean Water Alliance and Thurston County Environmental Health.

"We understand that businesses in Olympia have been under economic hardship since the beginning of COVID,” McCleary commented. “We want to make sure that we implement this program in a way that focuses on providing information and resources to businesses to bring them into compliance and using enforcement as a last resort."