California Stormwater Regs Are ‘A Toxic Mess'

In California, the system for regulating stormwater is a mess.

The California Water Resources Control Board has enacted rules “to clean up pollution coming from small businesses, but it doesn’t know how many businesses it’s trying to regulate or how much pollution those businesses are generating,” NBC San Diego reported.

But “environmentalists say water officials aren't doing their jobs, so they've stepped up and started to take the law into their own hands, filing lawsuits against small businesses that report dirty stormwater,” the report said.

Voice of San Diego has reported extensively on stormwater in California, calling the regulatory system a “toxic mess.” In a three-part series, the publication identified various problems with the state’s regulatory system for stormwater.

One problem is that businesses appear to have the opportunity to dodge stormwater rules:

Across California, there could be thousands or even tens of thousands of businesses dodging environmental rules and sending pollution into the state’s waters. Though an entire regulatory system exists to police businesses and keep water safe for residents and wildlife, the state doesn’t know how many unpermitted businesses are out there, or how much damage they’re doing. Businesses that comply are at a disadvantage competing with those that don’t. State officials admit they could not handle enforcing their own rules. If somehow it were to be sorted out, businesses would face potentially billions in devastating fines.

As a result, lawsuits play a key role in enforcing the rules, another report said:

The state system for monitoring and punishing stormwater pollution is a mess: For years, regulators weren’t even reading businesses’ reports about how much pollution was flowing into local waterways. Other businesses evade the system altogether. It’s all given rise to a private police force of local attorneys and environmentalists who comb through government records, looking for businesses to take to court.

The reports describe a system that is not beneficial to businesses or the environment:

[Businessman] Jerry Williams self-reported stormwater pollution from his business to the state, as required by law. Environmental groups sued over the reports, and as the legal fight dragged on, Williams closed shop. Meanwhile, other businesses flout the law, don’t do the monitoring and likely make more in profit.

Stormwater is the top reason for water quality impairment, according to the U.S. EPA. In a report, the agency called it a “fast growing” water quality concern because more land is being developed every year. The agency is encouraging cities to develop sustainable stormwater controls. If they do fail to do so, “the quality of our urban waters will worsen and the cities will be less appealing places to live,” the report said.

For similar stories visit Water Online’s Stormwater Management Solutions Center.