Water quality: permits.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about the compliance options beyond mentioning green infrastructure.

Water Quality: Permits for Stormwater

This bill requires the State Water Resources Control Board to create a statewide permit that regulates stormwater discharge from commercial, industrial, and institutional properties with at least five acres of impervious surface.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the state board to make certain findings before creating a new statewide NPDES order for stormwater management on large commercial, industrial, and institutional sites.
• Establishes a draft order by December 31, 2028, or within 18 months after reissuing a specific statewide permit, which must be open for public comment.
• Requires the state board to develop rules for agreements between businesses and local governments to manage stormwater offsite.
• Includes multiple compliance options in the final order that encourage green infrastructure like rain gardens and permeable pavements.

Who It Names or Affects

• Commercial, industrial, and institutional properties with at least five acres of impervious surface
• Local municipalities involved in stormwater management agreements

Terms To Know

NPDES permit

A National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit that regulates the discharge of pollutants into waters.

Impervious surface

Surfaces like concrete or asphalt that do not allow water to soak through them, leading to increased stormwater runoff.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill did not specify the exact compliance options beyond mentioning green infrastructure.
• It is unclear how many properties will be affected by this new permit requirement.
• The bill died on inactive file and has not been signed into law.

Official Summary Text

AB 1313, as amended, Papan.
Water quality: permits.
Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and the 9 California regional water quality control boards regulate water quality and prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the federal national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit program established by the federal Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. Existing law requires each regional board to formulate and adopt water quality control plans for all areas within the region, as provided.
The bill would require the state board, after making the necessary
residual designation authority
findings, to establish a statewide commercial, industrial, and institutional NPDES
order,
order
for properties
of
with
5 acres or
more, regulating stormwater and authorized nonstormwater discharges from facilities with impervious surfaces that are significant contributors of pollutants to federally protected surface waters, as determined by the state board.
more of impervious surface, as provided.
The bill would require the state board to publish a draft order of the statewide order for public comment on or before December 31, 2028, or 18 months after the reissuance of a specified statewide permit, as specified. The bill would require the state board to contemporaneously
develop a model memorandum of understanding
establish rules for
offsite compliance agreements
to issue with the publication of the draft statewide order for public comment that details the necessary components of an agreement between commercial, industrial, and institutional permittees and local municipalities for achieving offsite stormwater capture and use within the adopted final statewide commercial, industrial, and institutional NPDES order. The bill would require the NPDES order to include multiple
compliance
options
to achieve compliance with water quality standards,
for discharges to select and comply with to be deemed in compliance with applicable water quality based effluent limitations,
including, but not limited to, compliance options
incentivizing
green infrastructure
onsite or offsite stormwater capture and use.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF