MARINE SALMON NET PENS AND WATER QUALITY PERMITTING

Kessina Lee
Washington Department of Ecology
PO Box 47600
Olympia, WA 98504
kessina.lee@ecy.wa.gov
 

The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) Water Quality Program administers the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. The NPDES permit translates the general requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act into specific provisions tailored to any operation discharging pollutants to waters of the state. Any marine salmon net pen operation that produces more than 20,000 lbs. of fish per year or feeds more than 5,000 lbs. of fish food during any calendar month is required to obtain an NPDES permit.

In 1991, Ecology, with input from representatives of the net pen aquaculture industry, state and local regulators, tribes, and environmental groups, developed a model NPDES permit for net pens. That model permit was used to write and issue 12 individual NPDES permits for existing marine salmon net pens in 1996. The first permits were appealed by environmental groups, and were adjudicated in the courts over the next several years, creating the regulatory framework under which permitting of marine salmon net pens still operates. The eight existing NPDES permits for marine Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) net pens in Puget Sound are based on the original model permits, environmental monitoring information submitted during each permit cycle, state surface water quality and sediment standards, the current state of the science regarding marine net pen aquaculture, and public input.

The NPDES permits include reporting of biomass, feed, and disease control chemicals, effluent limits and monitoring requirements in the sediment and water column, underwater photographic surveys, and operational plans to address pollution prevention, fish release prevention, and accidental fish release response.

With technical assistance from NOAA National Center for Coastal Ocean Science, the history of compliance with water quality standards and sediment standards has been compiled for analysis and will help inform any future NPDES permits for marine salmon net pens.

An overview of permit development and compliance history will be presented, along with an update on the August 2017 fish escape incident, including possible ramifications for future permits, and lessons learned.