HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003 002 CC RESO2003 002 CC RESO (Ìì Š Ò RESOLUTION NO. 2003-002
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
BALDWIN PARK, CALIFORNIA. AUTHORIZING THE
FILING OF A LAWSUIT CHALLENGING THE STORM
WATER/URBAN RUNOFF PERMIT FOR THE COUNTY OF
LOS ANGELES AND THE INCORPORATED CITIES
THEREIN. EXCEPT THE CITY OF LONG BEACH NPDES
NO.CAS004001)
WHEREAS, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles
Region Regional Board") adopted Order No. 01-182, a National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System NPDES") Permit for Municipal Storm Water and Urban Runoff
Discharges within the County of Los Angeles and the incorporated cities therein, except
the Crty of Long Beach hereinafter NPDES Permit") on December 13, 2001; and
WHEREAS, in January of 2002, forty-nine cities, including the City of Los
Angeles, as well as the County of Los Angeles, filed administrative petitions with the
State Water Resources Control Board State Board") challenging the validity of the
NPDES Permit on a number of grounds, including its deletion of the Safe Harbor"
provisions that existed in the prior 1996 NPDES Permit, the modifications to the terms
of the Permit dealing with Receiving Water Limitations and the requirement therein that
would allow numeric" limits to be imposed upon municipalities without compliance with
the maximum extent practicable" standard set forth in the Clean Water Act), as well as
those provisions allowing for the automatic incorporation of total maximum daily loads
TMDL") by the Regional Board's Executive Officer, the failure of the Regional Board to
comply with the requirements of CEQA or to adopt terms consistent with CEQA, the
imposition of additional inspection obligations on municipalities for various industrial and
commercial facilities, and the attempt by the Regional Board to rollback the changes
that had been made to the Standard Urban Storm Water Mitigation Plan requirements
SUSMP Requirements") by the State Board, along with other objectionable terms,
including various provisions which infringe upon the local land use authority of the
Cities; and
WHEREAS, although indicating in February of 2002 that it would address a
number of substantive issues raised by the administrative petitions, on December 18.
2002, after three settlement negotiation sessions that did not lead to a resolution of the
issues, the State Board denied all of the administrative petitions without providing a
hearing to the public, and concluded that the Petitions failed to raise substantial, new
issues;" and
WHEREAS, the City of Baldwin Park City") currently supports and funds efforts
to reduce and eliminate storm water pollution. During the five year period of the prior
NPDES Permit, the City implemented additional street sweeping efforts, increased
catch basin cleaning, funded a public information program on storm water pollution,
implemented construction project inspection programs, implemented a Standard Urban
Storm Water Mitigation Plan the SUSMP") as modified by the State Board, completed
the site visitation programs, initiated waste-oil recycling programs and implemented
various other storm water programs; and
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WHEREAS, the NPDES Permit contains various language within the Receiving
Water Limitations section and other provisions of the Permit) which violate the
maximum extent practicable" standard, and which in many cases, directly or indirectly
seek to impose responsibility on municipalities throughout the County, to insure that
storm water runoff into and from their storm drain systems, does not violate water
quality objectives, including numeric effluent limits that may be adopted through the
incorporation of TMDLs; and
WHEREAS, under the NPDES Permit, the City, along with 83 other incorporated
cities in Los Angeles County and the County of Los Angeles, are required to expand
existing storm water treatment programs, and to implement new storm water programs
which the Regional 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
Regional 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; and
WHEREAS, under the new NPDES Permit, the City will be responsible for
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 of the National Academy of Sciences 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 may 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. The removal of the legal Safe Harbor." combined with the addition of language
putting the Cities in a constant state of violation, is legally inappropriate and
fundamentally unfair; and
WHEREAS, the revised SUSMP Requirements under the new NPDES Permit
are contrary to a prior order issued by the State Board, and require the imposition of
mitigation measures that are contrary to existing State law under the California
Environmental Quality Act, and the Permit terms infringe upon traditional local land use
authority and the basic powers of local governments;
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 by imposing
requirements that are not authorized anywhere under State or federal law; 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 private 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.
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WHEREAS, the actions taken by the Regional Board in adopting the NPDES
Permit 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, and will
result in the imposition of numerous unfunded mandates on the City.
NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BALDWIN PARK,
CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. To participate with other Cities in the County with the filing of a lawsuit
challenging Regional Board Order No. 01-182, NPDES Permit No. CAS004001, Waste
Discharge Requirements for Municipal Storm Water and Urban Runoff Discharges
within the County of Los Angeles and the Incorporated Cities therein, expect the City of
Long Beach.
Section 2. To retain the law firm of Rutan & Tucker, LLP, with Richard Montevideo,
Esq., designated as lead attorney, in coordination with other Los Angeles County Cities,
to advise, assist and represent the City in the filing and in the prosecution of a lawsuit
challenging Regional Board Order No. 01-182, the Municipal NPDES Permit for Los
Angeles County and the incorporated Cities therein, except the City of Long Beach.
Section 3. The Chief Executive Officer is authorized to execute a retainer agreement to
procure the legal services anticipated by this Resolution.
Section 4. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption hereof.
PASSED. ADOPTED, AND APPROVED on this 15th day of January 2003.
MANUEL LOZANO
Mayor
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ATTEST:
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ss
CITY OF BALDWIN PARK
1. ROSEMARY RAMIREZ, Chief Deputy City Clerk, of the City of Baldwin Park do
hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was duly and regularly passed and adopted
by the City council of the City of Baldwin Park at its regular meeting of the City Council
on January 15, 2003 by the following vote:
AYES:
COUNCILMEMBERS:
Bill Van Cleave. Linda Gair, Ricardo Pacheco,
Mayor Pro Tern Marlen Garcia and Mayor
ManuelLozano
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ROSEMARY4W»BttBEZ, CMC
Chief Deputy City-cierk
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