The State Clean Water Laws That Protect Our Stormwater
In 1990, the US EPA established a stormwater program within the Clean Water Act’s existing National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program and included regulations that apply to storm drain systems owned and operated by cities, towns and unincorporated local governments. In California, larger municipalities with populations of 100,000 or more were then required to apply for Area Wide Municipal Stormwater Permits (Phase I Permits) issued by the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards.
In 2003, smaller (less than 100,000 population) municipalities and unincorporated counties were required to obtain coverage under a statewide NPDES Municipal General Stormwater Permit (Phase II Permit) issued by the State Water Resources Control Board. In Marin, the County and all Marin’s municipalities are subject to the conditions of the regulations described in the current 2013 Phase II Permit.
MCSTOPPP develops tools and provides assistance to the municipalities and the county to comply with the following required Phase II Permit program areas:
- Program Management
- Public Education and Outreach
- Public Involvement and Participation
- Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination
- Construction Site Stormwater Runoff Controls
- Post Construction Stormwater Management for Development Projects
- Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping for Municipal Operations
- Water Quality Monitoring
- Program Effectiveness Assessment and Improvement
- Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Compliance
- Annual Reporting
View current Additional Information on the Phase II permit.