Pollution control permit delayed for public perusal

Bryce Alderton

State water officials have held off on passing a pollution control

permit to which they have made major revisions that will further restrict

what can be washed into storm drains in north and central Orange County

to give the public more time to consider possible impacts.

The Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board did not vote as

scheduled on the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System storm

water permit at its Dec. 19 meeting after city officials argued that

there had not been enough time to review changes made to the county’s

storm water permit.

Written public comments will be accepted until Jan. 8. A public

hearing on the issue will be held on Jan. 18 at 9 a.m. in the City of

Santa Ana City Council chambers.

The permit will set the ground rules in the county for the next five

years about what cities can discharge storm water and urban runoff into

receiving waters such as lakes, streams and rivers. The federal Clean

Water Act requires the permit, with regulations that are meant to reduce

the amount of polluted runoff going into waters.

The vote was delayed because the 25 cities the permit applies to,

including Huntington Beach, didn’t get a chance to comment on 49 proposed

changes, some of which weren’t mailed to the cities until the day before

the meeting at which the board was scheduled to vote, said water board

member Kurt Berchtold.

“Many in our view are quite minor, clarifications already in the

permit, but there are others that potentially may be more significant

that we may hear comments about,” Berchtold said. “Most of the changes

deal with wording and the language describing the permit’s goals.”

Berchtold has identified some areas of the permit where more stringent

guidelines may be needed such as businesses being subject to inspections,

placing additional requirements on new developments and minimizing waste

from newly paved roads.

Huntington Beach city officials have said that added costs to an

already reduced city budget for increased water quality monitoring are a

concern but they recognize the importance of maintaining a clean water

supply.

“I’m supportive of cleaner water but am concerned with unfunded

mandates,” said Huntington Beach Mayor Debbie Cook. “Staff is concerned

with the enforcement aspects of it and how we would pay for that.”

There are some groups that support a permit with less allowances.

Garry Brown, founder and executive director of Orange County

CoastKeeper, a grass-roots organization who’s goal is to protect and

preserve the the county’s marine habitat, has said the permit should

employ more restrictive water quality standards like ones in San Diego

and Los Angeles counties.