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RESOLUTION NO. 6278
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF ARCADIA, 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 STORMWATER PERMIT
FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES AND THE
INCORPORATED CITIES THEREIN (NPDES NO.
CAS00400 1)
WHEREAS, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los
Angeles Region ("Board") adopted the Stormwater Permit for the County of Los
Angeles and the incorporated cities (NPDES Permit) on December 13,2001. This
NPDES Permit is an amendment to Board Order No. 96-054 (existing NPDES
Permit); and
WHEREAS, the City of Arcadia ("City") currently supports and funds
efforts to reduce a~d eliminate stormwater pollution. During the five-year period
of the existing NPDES Permit, the City has implemented additional street
sweeping efforts, increased catch basin cleaning, funded a public information
program on stormwater pollution, implemented construction project inspection
programs, implemented the SUSMP program from the State Water Quality Control
Board, completed site visitation programs, initiated waste-oil recycling programs
and implemented various other prdgrams; and
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WHEREAS, under the NPDES 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 stormwater treatment programs, and implement new
stormwater programs, which the Board purports will improve the quality of
municipal stormwater 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 stormwater 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 Stormwater 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 stormwater
to comply with the proposed NPDES Permit and the future Total Maximum Daily
Loads (TMDL's), would cost over $53.6 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 stormwater treatment'
facilities. USEP A 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 treatment facilities would be $1,295, and that
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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 NPDES Permit, the cities
submitted stormwater treatment programs that were subsequently approved by the
Board. Under the existing NPDES Permit, if the cities were timely implementing
these programs, they were deemed to be in compliance with the existing NPDES
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 NPDES Permit requires that cities implement new and untested
technologies to control stormwater from development and redevelopment sites
before the stormwater reaches the City's storm drain system. Similarly, the City
will be responsible for implementing a comprehensive inspection and surveillance
program of industrial and commercial facilities to "control" stormwater and non-
stormwater 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 NPDES 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
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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 NPDES 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 NPDES Permit goes beyond the intent of the Clean Water
Act, and violates the California Porter-Cologne Act, by "micro managing" and
dictating specific programs and a particular manner of compliance on the cities;
and
WHEREAS, the new NPDES 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
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provlSlon 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
WHEREAS, the new NPDES Permit contains numerous, unfunded
mandates, including new illicit connection programs, stormwater 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 the United States Environmental Protection
Agency ("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 9 and continued to
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November 29, 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 November 29, 2001, are
inconsistent with the requirements of the Clean Water Act and State law, will
result in the 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 Permit terms that are not cost-effective and that are in
violation of the Clean Water Act and State law.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY FIND, DETERMINE AND
RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. That the City shall participate with other cities in the County
in 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 NPDES Permit for the County of
Los Angeles and the incorporated cities on November 29,2001.
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SECTION 2. That the City shall retain Richard Montevideo, Esq., in
coordination with other Los Angeles area 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. This Resolution shall become effective upon adoption.
SECTION 4. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution.
Passed, approved and adopted this 18th day of December
,2001.
ATTEST:
~",,0 Uj-~
Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
,
~.p~
City i\ttorney
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) SS:
CITY OF ARCADIA )
I, JUNE D. ALFORD, City Clerk of the City of Arcadia, hereby certifies that
the foregoing Resolution No. 6278 was passed and adopted by the City Council of the
City of Arcadia, signed by the Mayor and attested to by the City Clerk at a regular
meeting of said Council held on the 18th day of December, 2001 and that said
Resolution was adopted by the following vote, to wit:
A YES: Councilmember Chandler, Chang, Kovacic, Marshall and Segal
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
of Arcadia
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