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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 ci...
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