Public Notice: Proposed Stormwater Permit for City of Tacoma in Washington

Summary

EPA is proposing to issue a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permit to the city of Tacoma, Washington. The city owns and operates municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) outfalls located on land held in trust by the federal government within the 1873 Survey Area of the Puyallup Reservation in Tacoma, Washington, and/or that directly discharge to surface waters of the Puyallup Tribe.

The draft permit authorizes stormwater runoff from the MS4 outfalls to discharge to the lower Puyallup River, Blair Waterway, and Hylebos Waterway. The permit requires the implementation of a comprehensive stormwater management program and outlines the control measures that the permittee must use to reduce pollutants in stormwater discharges to the maximum extent practicable, protect water quality, and satisfy the appropriate water quality requirements of the Clean Water Act. Annual reporting is required to reflect the status of the stormwater management program implementation.

Although EPA accepted comments on prior drafts of the Tacoma MS4 permit (in 2021 and 2022), a final permit has not yet been issued. After significantly revising the draft Tacoma MS4 permit based on prior public input, and upon considering new information regarding appropriate stormwater management techniques to protect water quality, EPA is now requesting comment on its revised draft permit.

Applicant

City of Tacoma
326 East D Street
Tacoma, WA 98421

Permit number: WAS026689

Water quality certification

Section 401 of the Clean Water Act requires applicants for federal licenses or permits to conduct any activity which may result in a discharge into waters of the United States to obtain a certification or waiver from the certifying authority where the discharge originates. Since the identified MS4 outfalls to be authorized by the permit discharge to surface waters of the Puyallup Tribe, and the Tribe has been approved for treatment as a state from EPA for purposes of the Clean Water Act, the Puyallup Tribe is the certifying authority. Comments regarding the Tribe’s intent to certify the permit should be directed to Char Naylor, Water Quality Manager, Puyallup Tribe of the Puyallup Reservation, at char.naylor@puyalluptribe-nsn.gov.

Neighboring jurisdictions

Clean Water Act Section 401(a)(2), more commonly known as the neighboring jurisdiction process, requires EPA to notify a neighboring state or authorized Tribe (i.e., neighboring jurisdiction) when the discharge may affect the quality of the neighboring jurisdiction’s waters.

As stated above, the Puyallup Tribe is the certifying authority for this permit. After the final certification is received, EPA will determine whether the discharge may affect the quality of a neighboring jurisdiction’s waters.

Administrative record

Copies of the draft permit and supporting documents are available below:

• 2026 Draft NPDES Stormwater Permit, City of Tacoma MS4, Washington, #WAS026689 (pdf) (950.73 KB, June 2026)
  Revised draft stormwater permit.
• 2026 NPDES Permit Fact Sheet, City of Tacoma MS4, Washington, #WAS026689 (pdf) (1.2 MB, June 2026)
  Technical basis for revised draft permit.

The previous draft permit documents remain available for reference. A copy of Tacoma’s MS4 permit application, and other supporting information which are part of the EPA’s draft Administrative Record for this action, may be requested by contacting Misha Vakoc (vakoc.misha@epa.gov), 206-553-6650.