Watershed Services and 208 Plan
NWCCOG is the designated regional water quality management agency for the region, and as such NWCCOG’s Watershed Services Program completes and implements a water quality management plan for the region (“208 Plan”), in compliance with Section 208 of the Clean Water Act. The 208 Plan functions as a Master Plan for water quality management in Region 12. It provides demographic information, descriptions of wastewater treatment facilities, summaries of of transmountain diversions, recommendations for State water quality standards and classifications and an overview of the Region’s water quality over time. Most importantly it provides policy recommendations for future water quality management in our region. The 208 Plan has recently been updated and approved by the NWCCOG Council.
The NWCCOG 208 Plan is currently being updated.
The NWCCOG Administrator is currently using the 2025 208 Plan Policies during consistency reviews related to all land use applications before member local governments and all site applications before the Water Quality Control Division until the 2012 Plan Update is approved.
2012 208 Regional Water Quality Management Plan
Functions of the Watershed Services Program include:
Regional Permit Reviews:
- Discharge Permits
- Environmental Impact Statements
- Site Applications
- 401 Permits
Technical Assistance:
- Project Development
- Grant and Loan Applications related to Water Quality
- Land-Use Issues related to Water Quality Impacts
- Advocating for Local Interests on Water Quality and Environmental Regulations
- NWCCOG has developed Model Water Quality Protection Standards and Definitions to these standards.
Use Attainability Analysis, Lower French Gulch and the Blue River Downstream of French Gulch, May 5, 2003: