The City of Kennewick is a regulated small (Phase II) MS4 operator under the Washington State Department of Ecology's Eastern Washington Municipal Stormwater General Permit, issued under RCW 90.48 and 33 USC 1342 (federal Clean Water Act). Local stormwater and illicit-discharge rules are codified in Kennewick Municipal Code Title 14 (KMC Chapter 14.28) and applied to all discharges to the Columbia River, Yakima River, and irrigation district conveyances.
Kennewick is designated by Ecology as a regulated Phase II small MS4 community in Eastern Washington and operates under Ecology's Eastern Washington Phase II Municipal Stormwater General Permit, issued pursuant to RCW 90.48 (Water Pollution Control Act) and the federal Clean Water Act NPDES program at 33 USC 1342. The permit requires Kennewick to implement six minimum control measures (public education, public involvement, illicit discharge detection and elimination, construction-site runoff control, post-construction stormwater management, and pollution prevention/good housekeeping), maintain an updated MS4 map, and adopt local code consistent with the Stormwater Management Manual for Eastern Washington (SWMMEW). Kennewick's MS4 includes outfalls to the Columbia River and to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stormwater ponds, as well as discharges through local irrigation district conveyances. Construction projects disturbing one acre or more must obtain coverage under Ecology's Construction Stormwater General Permit, prepare a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) per the SWMMEW, and file a Notice of Intent before ground disturbance. Permanent post-construction BMPs (bioretention, swales, infiltration) must be maintained by the owner under a recorded maintenance agreement. Illicit non-stormwater discharges to catch basins, ditches, or any tributary of the Columbia or Yakima River are prohibited.
Under RCW 90.48.144, civil penalties for unpermitted discharges can reach up to $10,000 per day per violation, with additional federal Clean Water Act penalties of up to $37,500 per day under 33 USC 1319. Kennewick may issue a stop-work order against any construction site discharging sediment-laden runoff and pursue municipal code-enforcement fines on top of state penalties.
Kennewick, WA
Industrial-source noise crossing into Kennewick residential neighborhoods is capped by WAC 173-60-040 at 60 dBA during the day and 50 dBA between 10:00 p.m. ...
Kennewick, WA
Motor vehicle noise on Kennewick streets is governed by the statewide motor vehicle noise performance standards in WAC Chapter 173-62, which set in-use sound...
Kennewick, WA
Tri-Cities Airport (KPSC) is operated by the Port of Pasco and sits across the Columbia River in Franklin County, not Kennewick. Aircraft noise in Kennewick ...
Kennewick, WA
Amplified music in Kennewick is regulated under the Kennewick Municipal Code's public-disturbance noise provisions, which treat amplified sound that is plain...
Kennewick, WA
Kennewick has not codified a gas leaf blower ban, a decibel cap specific to leaf blowers, or restricted hours of operation. Use is governed by the general pu...
Kennewick, WA
Persistent or habitual barking, howling, or other animal noise that disturbs the peace is regulated as a public-disturbance noise nuisance under the Kennewic...
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