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South Tacoma Groundwater Protection District

The South Tacoma groundwater aquifer supplies up to 40% of Tacoma’s total water demand during peak summer months, making it a critical resource for the city. Historically, the aquifer has faced significant risks of contamination due to spills, leaks, and improper disposal of hazardous substances by local industries. To mitigate these threats, the City of Tacoma established the South Tacoma Groundwater Protection District (STGPD) in 1988.

The South Tacoma Groundwater Protection District is an overlay zone designed to protect the aquifer by regulating the handling, storage, and disposal of hazardous materials within the area that recharges the aquifer. It also imposes additional restrictions on high-impact land uses that could further jeopardize the aquifer’s quality or quantity. These measures aim to safeguard public health, ensure a reliable water supply for future generations, and protect the city from the financial and environmental consequences of groundwater degradation.

Contact

Maryam Moeinian
Senior Planner
MMoeinian@tacoma.gov

Adam Nolan
Senior Planner
ANolan@tacoma.gov

South Tacoma Groundwater Protection District (STGPD) – Code Updates 

Upcoming Planning Commission Public Hearing: May 21, 2025, at 6 PM

The Planning Commission will hold a hybrid (virtual/in-person) public hearing on the STGPD Code Update on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 6 PM. The proposed amendments include sections of TMC Title 13, specifically pertaining to sections of the code regarding the STGPD and landscaping/tree canopy-related code. The proposed amendments are detailed in the public review document below:

How to attend the Public Hearing and provide comments:
  • In Person: Council Chambers, 1st Floor of the Tacoma Municipal Building, 747 Market Street
  • Virtually: www.zoom.us/j/84416624153
  • Dial In: +1 253 215 8782; Webinar ID: 844 1662 4153
How to submit written comments:
  • Email: Planning@Tacoma.gov
  • Mail: Planning Commission, 747 Market Street Room 345, Tacoma, WA 98402
  • The deadline for written comments is Friday, May 23, 2025, at 5 PM.
Community Informational Meeting (In-person)
  • Date/Time: May 15, 2025, 6:00 – 7:30 PM
  • Location: STAR Center, 3873 S 66th St, Tacoma, WA 98409

The purpose of this meeting is to provide information on the code update and how to provide comments during the Planning Commission public hearing comment period.

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Why we are updating the STGPD Code

The Growth Management Act (GMA) requires the designation and protection of “Critical Areas” to prevent harm to the community from natural hazards and to safeguard natural resources. There are five types of critical areas defined by the GMA:

  1. Wetlands
  2. Areas with a critical recharging effect on aquifers used for potable water
  3. Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas
  4. Frequently flooded areas
  5. Geologically hazardous areas

The functions and values of the Critical Areas must be protected using the best available science (BAS). The Critical Areas Ordinances must be evaluated and revised as needed every ten years.

One such area is the STGPD, which is designated as a Critical Aquifer Recharge Area (CARA).

The City of Tacoma is currently reviewing and updating Tacoma Municipal Code (TMC) 13.06.070 (South Tacoma Groundwater Protection District) and 13.11.800 (Aquifer Recharge Areas). This review is part of state’s mandatory code evaluation and aligns with the work plan adopted by Substitute Resolution No. 40985, which was later updated by the Planning Commission on December 20, 2023.

 

 

While the City is conducting the code review and update process, the current STGPD program is managed by the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (Health Department), which works in close collaboration with the City of Tacoma and Tacoma Water.

The Health Department regulates businesses and facilities that use or handle hazardous substances (product or waste) over 220 pounds (roughly 35 gallons) and/or have infiltration systems on site. Regulated facilities receive a permit and biennial site inspections from the Health Department. Compliance issues or complaints may trigger additional inspections. Whenever possible, inspections are meant to provide educational and technical assistance to businesses to achieve voluntary compliance.

The City has partnered with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (Health Department) to conduct a Health Impact Assessment as part of the research and analysis for the code update process. HIAs serve as a tool to inform decision-makers and the public of the potentially significant impacts, both beneficial and harmful, of a proposed project, policy, or program. The Health Department completed the Health Impact Assessment, and the final recommendations will be presented at the May 7, 2025, Planning Commission meeting.

HIA Report

The City of Tacoma has partnered with the HDR/Terraphase team to update Tacoma Water’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which evaluates future water supply and demand in the context of climate change and regional growth. As part of this update, the City requested an assessment of existing groundwater protection and stormwater management codes to identify opportunities for strengthening the protection and sustainability of groundwater resources. This assessment focuses on the South Tacoma Groundwater Protection District (STGPD) ordinance and related regulations. The technical memorandum summarizes the STGPD framework, its alignment with state groundwater regulations, identifies potential regulatory gaps and offers recommendations for improvements.

STGPD Technical Memo

In 2023, the City Council adopted a moratorium on underground storage tanks and metal recycling/auto wrecking facilities in the STGPD through Ordinance No. 28872. This moratorium was set to expire in March 2024 but was extended three times by Ordinance Nos. 28958, 28977, and 29020. The final extension was approved on February 25, 2025, extending the moratorium for an additional six-month period, which will now expire on September 20, 2025.

Partners and Related Plans

Below is the list of different agencies and their roles in managing, monitoring, and implementing the STGPD program.

Agency Roles and Responsibilities
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department • Regulates and Inspects businesses with hazardous substances on site and infiltration systems meeting certain criteria
Tacoma Water • Maintains wells that access the south Tacoma aquifer
• Conducts water quality testing and compliance
Tacoma Environmental Services • Administers Stormwater Management Program
• Inspects businesses for source control, pollution prevention, stormwater facilities and environmental compliance.
Tacoma Planning and Development Services • Permit authority for land use, building code, site development, critical areas
• Maintains the STGPD regulations
• State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Lead Agency
Tacoma Fire Department • Administers Fire Code pertaining to hazardous materials; emergency response

The STGPD code review and update is being coordinated across multiple departments and agencies through their ongoing planning initiatives. The following is a summary of these initiatives:

  • One Tacoma: Comprehensive Plan
    Tacoma’s Comprehensive Plan is an important tool that establishes the City’s future vision and policy direction, as well as guiding growth and development over the next 25 years. The City of Tacoma is in the process of updating the Plan which is expected to be completed by June 2025.
  • Critical Areas Ordinances Update
    The City’s Critical Areas Preservation Ordinance is being updated, which will assist us to prevent harm to the community from natural hazards and to protect natural resources including the aquifer recharge areas.
  • Tacoma Water Integrated Resource Plan
    An Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) is comprised of an assessment of the future water needs and a plan to meet those future needs. It is “integrated” in that it looks at both demand side (conservation, water efficiency, etc.) resources as well as the more traditional supply side (new sources, maximizing existing sources, etc.) resources in making its recommendations on how best to meet future water energy needs for the Utility.
  • Tacoma Water Wellhead Protection Plan
    The purpose of the wellhead protection program is to prevent contamination of groundwater used for drinking water, thus protecting the health of people using groundwater for drinking water.
  • Urban Watershed Protection Plan
    The purpose of the Urban Watershed Protection Plan is to implement strategic stormwater management actions to protect our streams, lakes, wetlands, bays and Puget Sound from polluted runoff. The plan uses a data-based approach to prioritize the most effective stormwater actions and projects, at the most important locations, to build a more healthy and resilient Tacoma and a thriving Puget Sound while taking into account city planning priorities, partnership opportunities, neighborhood needs, critical habitat protection, and anticipated climate change impacts. The locations of these actions will be selected to provide more equitable stormwater services throughout Tacoma.
  • Stormwater Comprehensive Plan
    The City of Tacoma (the City) is developing the City’s first ever Stormwater Comprehensive Plan (SWCP). The SWCP will describe how the City will manage, operate, and finance stormwater-related activities within Tacoma City Limits. The purpose of the SWCP is to guide how the City will address surface water and stormwater management needs and requirements, including program management, operation and maintenance (O&M), climate change, capital facilities, and financial elements, while also balancing rates and the financial resources available to the City.

Links and materials are available for meetings under the “Meetings and Events” tab.

Planning Commission Assessment and Recommendations of the STNC application as part of 2022 Amendment to the One Tacoma Comprehensive Plan and Land Use Regulatory Code (Mar. 2021–May 2022):

The Planning Commission assessed the STNC’s application, pursuant to TMC 13.02.070.E, and considered public comments received through a public scoping hearing in June 2021, and made a determination in July 2021 to move the application forward for technical analysis following a two-phased approach:

  • Phase 1A: Work Plan (2022) – Creation of a work plan to occur during the 2022 Amendment cycle. The work plan may include review of allowed land uses, review of the One Tacoma Comprehensive Plan, refinement of allowed uses and boundaries, and periodic update of the STGPD to ensure the regulations fulfill the intent of protecting the district. (Amended Substitute Resolution No. 40985, June 28, 2022)
  • Phase 1B: STGPD Code Amendments (2022-2024) – Update TMC 13.06.070.D pertaining to STGPD, to be done in the future 2023 Amendment Cycle
  • Phase 2: Creation of an Economic Green Zone (2022-2024) – Evaluate the establishment of an Economic Green Zone (EGZ) to attract green industry to the City’s manufacturing/industrial centers, considering the recently adopted 2030 Climate Action Plan and Climate Adaptation Strategy (Resolution No. 40878, November 30, 2021).

Upon completing technical analyses and factoring in public comments, the Planning

Commission forwarded its recommendations on the 2022 Amendment Package to the City Council in May 2022. With respect to the STNC’s application, the Commission recommended that the City Council:

  1. Approve the Work Plan for STGPD Code Amendments;
  2. Consider the merits of a moratorium on future development projects, given that significant permit activity and development during the phased process could pre-empt the broader planning efforts.

 

City Council Consideration of Planning Commission Recommendations of STGPD Code Update Work Plan (Mar.-Jun. 2022):

On June 28, 2022, the City Council adopted Amended Substitute Resolution No. 40985, approving the Work Plan for the South Tacoma Groundwater Protection District Code Amendments, and directed the Planning Commission to conduct a public process to develop findings of fact and recommendations as to whether a moratorium on heavy industrial uses and storage of hazardous materials within the South Tacoma Groundwater Protection District is warranted, and if so, to recommend the scope, applicability, and duration for City Council consideration within 60 days of the effective date of this resolution.

 

Planning Commission Consideration of a Moratorium (Jul.–Aug. 2022)

The City Council’s initiation of the STGPD moratorium consideration was in response to public comments received by the Planning Commission and the City Council during the review and adoption processes for the 2022 Annual Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan. The Planning Commission conducted four meetings, on July 6, July 20, August 3, and August 17, 2022, in response to public comments regarding the moratorium. Planning and Development Services staff also conducted a community informational meeting on July 27, 2022. The Planning Commission completed its review and deliberations of the matter through a public process, and forwarded its Findings of Fact and Recommendations Report, along with a letter of recommendations, to the City Council for consideration on August 17, 2022.

 

A summary of this recommendation is included below:

  • That the City Council consider enacting a targeted and specific moratorium on the establishment of the following uses:
  • Metal recycling/auto wrecking facilities,
  • Vehicle service and repair,
  • Vehicle service and repair – industrial, and
  • Underground storage tanks.
  • The moratorium should additionally limit the expansion of existing facilities but allow for normal maintenance, repair, and replacement activities of existing uses.
  • The duration of the moratorium should apply initially for a period of one year, to be resolved through the South Tacoma Groundwater Code update.

To review the full recommendation:

 

City Council Consideration of a Moratorium (Sept. 2022 – Feb. 2023)

In response, the City Council referred the recommendation to the IPS Committee for further consideration. Following that referral, the IPS Committee, on November 30, 2022, approved the following amendments to the Planning Commission proposal, and forwarded the amended moratorium proposal to the City Council:

  1. Use Categories: The IPS Committee did not find sufficient risk to groundwater resources from the establishment or expansion of vehicle service and repair or industrial vehicle service and repair uses to warrant a moratorium. Therefore, the moratorium should apply only to metal recycling/auto wrecking and underground storage tanks.
  2. Expansion of Existing Uses: The IPS Committee found that a moratorium that is too restrictive on the expansion of existing uses could have the counter effect of prohibiting improvements that provide environmental benefit or reduce the risks and impacts of existing uses. Therefore, the moratorium should allow for reasonable facility and site development that improves environmental outcomes while avoiding the introduction of new risks to the City’s groundwater resources.

On March 7, 2023, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 28872, enacting a moratorium within the South Tacoma Groundwater Protection District as recommended by the IPS Committee. The moratorium in Ordinance No. 28872 became effective March 20, 2023, and were enacted for an initial period of up to one year, to expire on March 20, 2024.

 

City Council Consideration of a Moratorium Extension (Jan. 2024– Mar. 2024)

On March 5, 2024, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 28958 extending an existing moratorium on certain high impact uses within the STGPD for a 6-month period, expiring on September 20, 2024.

 

City Council Consideration of a Moratorium Extension (Jul. 2024– Aug. 2024)

On August 27, 2024, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 28977 extending an existing moratorium on certain high impact uses within the STGPD for a 6-month period, expiring on March 20, 2025.

 

City Council Consideration of a Moratorium Extension (Jan. 2025– Feb. 2025)

On February 25, 2025, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 29020 extending an existing moratorium on certain high impact uses within the STGPD for a 6-month period, expiring on September 20, 2025.

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STGPD Next Steps and Tentative Schedule