HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 2002-02RESOLUTION NO. 2002- 02
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
DIAMOND BAR, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING THE FILING OF
A PETITION TO THE STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL
BOARD CONTESTING ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE
CALIFORNIA REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL
BOARD, LOS ANGELES REGION, IN CONNECTION WITH
THE STORM WATER/URBAN .RUNOFF PERMIT FOR THE
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES AND THE INCORPORATED
CITIES THEREIN (NPDES NO. CAS004001)
WHEREAS, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles
Region ("Board") adopted the Storm Water/Urban Runoff Permit for the County of Los
Angeles and the incorporated cities (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, "MS4
Permit") on December 13, 2001. This MS4 Permit is an amendment to Board Order No.
96- 054 ("existing MS4 Permit"); and
WHEREAS, the City of Diamond Bar ("City") currently supports and funds efforts
to reduce and eliminate storm water. pollution. During the five year period of the existing
MS4 Permit, the City has implemented additional street sweeping efforts, increased catch
basin cleaning, funded a public information program on storm water pollution,
' implemented construction project inspection programs, implemented the Standard Urban
Storm Water Mitigation Plan (SUSMP) from the State Water Quality Control Board,
completed the site visitation programs, implemented, initiated waste -oil recycling
programs and implemented various other programs; and
WHEREAS, under the MS4 Permit, the City, along with 83 other incorporated
cities in Los Angeles County and the County of Los Angeles, will be required to expand
existing storm water treatment programs, and implement new storm water programs,
which the Board purports will improve the quality of municipal storm water in a cost-
effective manner. However, a cost -benefit study was never performed by the Board to
illustrate that the new programs will result in cost-effective improvements to storm water
quality. In addition, the Board did not develop or rely upon scientific data to support the
need for the numerous programs to be imposed by the new Permit. A copy of the
"Financial and Economic Impacts of Storm Water Treatment Los Angeles County NPDES
Permit Area" prepared by the California Department of Transportation in November of
1998 (Report I.D. #CTSWRT-98-72) was supplied to the Board for its review and
consideration before issuing the subject Permit. This Report concluded that to treat storm
water to comply with the proposed MS4 Permit and the future Total Maximum Daily Loads
(TMDL's), would cost over $53.8 billion to construct, with an annual operational cost of
$198 million. The Report also found that 13,950 acres of new storm water retention
facilities would be required, with 480 storm water treatment facilities. USEPA has
' estimated that the economic impacts from such treatment would be "widespread and
substantial. The Report further concluded that annual costs per household for the new
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treatment facilities would be $1,295, and that property taxes would increase by as much
as 70% (a 2.06% tax rate) in order to finance the capital improvements; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with the existing MS4 Permit, the cities submitted
storm water treatment programs that were subsequently approved by the Board. Under
the existing MS4 Permit, if the cities were timely implementing these programs, they were
deemed to be in compliance with the existing MS4 Permit receiving water requirements,
i.e. they were provided a legal "safe harbor" from Board fines and from third -party litigation
from environmental organizations. The new MS4 Permit requires that cities implement
new and untested technologies to control storm water from development and
redevelopment sites before the storm water reaches the City's storm drain system.
Similarly, the City will be responsiblefor implementing a comprehensive inspection and
surveillance program of industrial and commercial facilities to "control" storm water and
non -storm water runoff from these facilities. A recent study ordered by the United States
Congress and completed by the National Research. Council recommended that storm
water programs utilize "adaptive implementation", and recognized that cities should not be
subjected to fines and legal action while they are developing new and untested storm
water programs. The new MS4 Permit will place the Cities in a constant state of violation,
and will subject all municipalities covered by the Permit to needless lawsuits by
environmental organizations, and exposing the Cities to excessive fines ($27,500 per day
per violation). The removal of the legal "safe harbor' clause combined with the addition of
language putting the Cities in a constant state of violation, is legally inappropriate and
fundamentally unfair; and
WHEREAS, the MS4 Permit contains provisions that require the City to adopt
new ordinances and policies for the review and approval of development projects in areas
where discretion has been reserved for local government. These new requirements
appear to infringe upon the City's land use authority and basic police powers, and, in
some cases appear to require the City to adopt regulations that will violate property
owners' constitutional rights against illegal searches and seizures; and
WHEREAS, the MS4 Permit goes beyond the intent of the Clean Water Act, and
violates the California Poder-Cologne Act, by "micro managing" and dictating specific
programs and a padicular manner of compliance, on the Cities; and
WHEREAS, the new MS4 Permit requires that the Cities expand the current
private property site visitation and education program to a mandatory inspection, and
enforcement program, that the Cities reduce pollutants in runoff from industrial and
commercial facilities (including federal and State facilities) and that the Cities modify their
CEQA Guidelines and their General Plan requirements. All such requirements and
programs are being mandated on the Cities, without any provision for State funding. In
addition, the Board rejected the alternative inspection program submitted by the Coalition
for Practical Regulation (Coalition), an ad hoc group of 35 of the Permittee Cities
dedicated to achieving clean water through practical regulation; and
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WHEREAS, the new MS4 Permit contains numerous, unfunded mandates,
including new illicit connection programs, storm water diversion programs, additional
street and storm drain maintenance requirements, as well as a new mandatory inspection
program of thousands -of properties throughout the various watershed areas. These
unfunded mandates and various other mandates created by the new Permit, present a
financial hardship on the Cities, especially in light of the threat by the State to reduce and
eliminate the Vehicle License Backfill funds from the upcoming budget; and
WHEREAS, the Coalition, although asserting that the new Permit is
objectionable, supported a process to resolve these various issues, by offering to fund a
facilitator to address the issues that remained in dispute with the Board. The offer to
facilitate was unfortunately rejected by the Board, but the Cities proceeded to present their
concerns to USEPA, who then agreed to provide a facilitator from USEPA Region 9, and
to facilitate negotiations between the parties over the various disputed terms of the Permit.
The facilitation process began on November 9th and continued to November 29th, but yet,
even with facilitation, the Board proceeded to adopt the new Permit, in spite of the
ongoing need for facilitation with the Cities, the County of Los Angeles and other
stakeholders; and
WHEREAS, the actions taken by the Board on December 13, 2001, E re
inconsistent with the requirements of the Clean Water Act and State Law, will result int e
imposition of unsupportable programs on the City and its citizenry, will result in numerous
unfunded mandates on the City and will result in the imposition of programs and Perit
terms that are not cost-effective and that are in violation of the Clean Water Act and St to
Law.
NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR,
CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. To participate with other Cities in the County with the filing of a Petition
to the State Water Resources Control Board to challenge the actions taken by the Los
Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board in connection with the Storm Water
Management/Urban Runoff NPDES Permit for the County of Los Angeles and the
Incorporated Cities on December 13, 2001.
Section 2. To retain Richard Montevideo, Esq., in coordination with other Los
Angeles County Cities, to advise, assist and represent the City in the filing and in the
prosecution of a Petition to the State Water Resources Control Board.
Section 3. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption hereof.
PASSED, ADOPTED AND APPROVED at a regular meeting of the City Council
this 8th day of January, 2002.
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Wen Chang, Mayor
I, LYNDA BURGESS, City Clerk of the City of Diamond Bar, do h6re certify that the
foregoing Resolution was passed, approved and adopted at the regular meeting of the
City Council of the City of Diamond Bar held on the stn day of January
2002, by the following Roll Call voter
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Herrera, Huff, Zirbes,
MPT/O'Connor, M/Chang
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSTAINED: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ATTEST:'
Lynda Burgess, City Clerk
City of Diamond Bar
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2002-02