Project 3a: Develop Guidance for Alternative Compliance Approaches for Municipal Storm Water Permit Receiving Water Limitations

Project Contact Information

Project Lead:
Chris Beegan
(916) 341-5912

What's New

Update: 3/30/2018

In March, California State University Sacramento Office of Water Programs produced a report describing alternative compliance pathways, the conditions and supporting documentation under which the pathways are allowed, and suggestions for improvements based on lessons learned.

Update: 9/1/2016

In June, the Water Board executed a contract with California State University Sacramento Office of Water Programs.

Project Description

Priority

High, Assessment: Critically important, achievable with moderate barriers

Project Objective

Develop guidance and permit template language for Water Board staff to incorporate alternative compliance measures.

Scope

Compile and evaluate alternative compliance approaches to meeting receiving water limitations in municipal storm water permits throughout California, including the transferability of the alternative compliance approach to other regions/permittees. Monitor implementation of the State Water Board decision regarding the Los Angeles MS4 Permit appeal and other Water Boards' efforts to develop alternative compliance options. Based on this evaluation, develop general guidance, consistent with the State Water Board's action on the Los Angeles MS4 Permit, for Water Boards to incorporate alternative compliance approaches into storm water permits, including permits developed and issued by the State Water Board. The San Francisco Bay Region has also developed an approach applied within the Regional Municipal Storm Water Permit for translating or implementing receiving water limitations through explicit enforceable permit provisions that will be incorporated into this evaluation. Establish technical guidance and supporting documentation for Water Board staff to incorporate alternative compliance approaches into storm water permits, while ensuring water quality outcomes are achieved. This project has a direct nexus with the STORMS project to Develop Watershed-Based Compliance and Management Guidelines and Tools (Project 3b).

Background

Since the beginning of the storm water regulatory program, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirement that dischargers must not cause or contribute to an exceedance of a water quality standard has been contentious (this discussion was recently expanded to address TMDL requirements. Dischargers claimed that strict reading of the permit requirement would lead to cost-prohibitive compliance efforts that would require many years to implement. Accordingly, two recent NPDES permitting efforts attempted to address this issue. Both the Los Angeles County Permit and the San Diego Region Permit identified an alternative compliance approach for the municipalities to use in demonstrating compliance with permit requirements; however, petitioners associated with the Los Angeles Permit challenged whether the alternative compliance pathway was legal and appropriate. The State Water Board issued an order addressing the arguments on June 16, 2015. The San Francisco Bay Region Municipal Regional Storm Water Permit also provides examples of translating or implementing receiving water limitations through explicit enforceable permit provisions.

Products and Timelines

Contractor Products

  1. Autumn 2017: Technical Memo summarizing the findings of similarities and differences among alternative compliance pathways and reasonable assurance analyses used throughout California.
  2. Autumn 2017: Report describing alternative compliance pathways, and the conditions and supporting documentation (including quantitative analysis and minimum data requirements) under which the pathways are allowed and suggestions for improvements based on lessons learned.

Staff Products

  1. Fall 2018: Staff report evaluating alternative compliance approaches to meeting receiving water limitations in storm water permits throughout California, including the transferability of the alternative compliance approach to other regions/permittees.
  2. Spring 2019: Present draft general guidance, consistent with the State Water Board decisions/orders, for Water Board staff to incorporate alternative compliance approaches into storm water permits. Prepare Item for State Water Board consideration of adoption.