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Pollution Prevention Assistance
This page is currently being updated: 6/15/2021
Working With Businesses to Reduce Pollution
The City of Puyallup places a high value on protecting our surface water and groundwater, which supplies our drinking water and feeds into the Puget Sound Watershed. To help protect these resources, the City partnered with Washington State Department of Ecology. Through this partnership, Ecology provides funding for a Pollution Prevention Specialist, staff position in Public Works Engineering. By working with the cities PPA Specialist we can help reduce pollution by providing recommendations on Best Management Practices for stormwater protection and hazardous material storage, help protect employee helath, stop polluted runoff at it's source and locating recycling or disposal resources for hazardous wastes.
Many routine business activities can pollute stormwater runoff or groundwater. Ecology’s goal under their partnership with the City is to provide technical assistance and educational services to help local small businesses prevent stormwater contaminants and hazardous waste from entering our waterways.
Program Focus
The City’s PPA program utilizes an industry focused approach to provide technical assistance to local businesses. This approach allows the PPA Specialist to provide concentrated assistance and resources to specific industries.
Current industry focus includes Property Management (including Apartment homes), Restaurants and Mobile Food Vendors or Food trucks. However, if your business does not fall under the listed industry types, do not hesitate to contact your PPA Specialist, Bryana Solis, for assistance.
What the PPA Program Does
Under this program the City's Pollution Prevention Assistance Specialist will visit 15-20 local businesses each month. This program seeks voluntary cooperation by providing education and technical assistance, and is not a regulatory compliance visit. During a site visit the Pollution Prevention Specialist will check on these activities to make sure they are done responsibly:
- High risk pollution generating activities
- Maintenance of pretreatment devices
- Outdoor maintenance practices
- Outdoor storage of products and waste
- Solid and hazardous waste disposal
- Spill prevention
- Washwater practices
Activities implemented through this partnership with the Department of Ecology are supporting other City strategies and efforts to protect local water resources, improve management of solid and hazardous wastes, and protect public and environmental health.
If you have any questions regarding this program, please contact Bryana Solis at 253-770-3364 or email.
Pollution Prevention Tips
Follow these Best Management Practices for pollution control of stormwater and the sanitary sewer:
- Dispose of Wastes Properly: Only clean rainwater should enter storm drains.
- Don’t Ignore Maintenance: Make sure grease traps, oil-water separators, and catch basins are regularly maintained. Otherwise, they won’t work as they are meant to, and could cost more to fix than maintain.
- Storage of Materials: Store chemicals and other materials under cover and/or with secondary containment. Exposing these materials can lead to stormwater pollution.
- Keep Outdoor Areas Well Maintained: Don’t allow dirt, garbage, debris, leaks, and spills to accumulate.
- Recycling: Be sure to recycle your light bulbs! You can locate more information and participating businesses online.
- Dumpster Lids: Something as simple as keeping your dumpster lids closed could help the environment. Keeping the lids closed can help your dumpster last longer by reducing the amount of leachate that can cause corrosion of the dumpster. If you have any questions about replacing your dumpster please contact your disposal company.