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AN ORDINANCE relating to King County's combined sewer overflow program and authorizing the King County executive to sign and fulfill the obligations in the First Material Modification to the 2013 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 for thirty-four local sewer utilities. The wastewater treatment division of the department of natural resources and parks serves about two million people, covering four hundred twenty-four 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 five combined sewer overflow treatment facilities and thirty-eight combined sewer overflow outfalls, which are permitted under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit WA-002918-1.
3. The United State Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington state Department of 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 the Washington state Department of Ecology.
4. In response, the parties negotiated a consent decree, which was approved in Ordinance 17514 in 2013. The approved consent decree was entered in Civil Action No. 2:13-cv-677, on July 3, 2013, to settle the litigation between the parties.
5. The parties entered into the Agreed Non-Material Consent Decree Modification to the consent decree on October 25, 2016, and filed such with the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, authorizing the county to select a joint combined sewer overflow project with the city of Seattle to control two of the county's outfalls.
6. On October 28, 2019, the county formally requested that United State Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington state Department of Ecology agree to modify the consent decree due to several changed conditions including, but not limited to, increases in combined sewer overflow volumes requiring control due, in part, to climate change, resulting in project sizes, complexities, and implementation costs that were significantly greater than expected.
7. The parties entered into a Modification to Allow Electronic Reporting to the consent decree on May 9, 2023, not filed with the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, authorizing the county to provide notifications, submissions, or other communications required by the consent decree by email or mail, with a preference for email.
8. The parties have negotiated the First Material Modification to the 2013 Consent Decree in Attachment A to this ordinance in good faith.
9. The First Material Modification to the 2013 Consent Decree constitutes a material change to the consent decree that requires United States District Court for the Western District of Washington approval under paragraph 104 of the consent decree.
10. King County, without admitting liability, agrees with the United State Environmental Protection Agency and Washington state Department of Ecology that the First Material Modification to the 2013 Consent Decree is fair, reasonable, and in the public interest.
11. The First Material Modification to the 2013 Consent Decree updates the remaining individual project sizes and descriptions to ensure the county will build projects that achieve Clean Water Act requirements, updates the critical milestones for each project, and extends the deadline to complete all combined sewer overflow projects from 2030 to 2037.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. The King County council hereby approves the First Material Modification to the 2013 Consent Decree, as presented in Attachment A to this ordinance, and authorizes the King County executive to sign and fulfill the county's obligations contained in the First Material Modification to the 2013 Consent Decree.