Water Agency Adopts Tough Runoff Rules

State water officials unanimously approved tough new regulations on storm water runoff in northern and central Orange County on Friday, a plan that local leaders say will cost $14 million a year.

“It’s going to cost all of us more money,” said Vicki Wilson, director of the county’s Public Facilities and Resources Department. “We want to make sure we’re spending it wisely and getting improvements.”

Runoff--water containing car oil, pet waste and other contaminants that flows from streets and lawns into waterways and eventually the ocean--is the No. 1 cause of coastal pollution, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

New requirements include strict inspections of construction sites, carwashes and other businesses that produce runoff; a ban on discharges from storm drains polluting water beyond state limits; and the adoption of civil and criminal penalties for violations.

The Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board--an arm of the state that enforces state and federal water-quality laws in northern and central Orange County--is trying to make a dent in the local runoff problem by imposing strict new rules in a five-year permit issued to the county and cities in its jurisdiction.

The permit, required by the federal Clean Water Act, was approved by the regional water board on a 6-0 vote.

Two board members, John Withers and Jose Solario, abstained because of potential conflicts of interest.

Board members and staff said they tried to improve local water quality while offering local officials flexibility.

“We need to reach a balance,” board member William Ruh said.

The permit has been through countless drafts and revisions. In December, the water board delayed taking action on it after local officials objected to dozens of revisions they had not had a chance to review.

Testimony during Friday’s one-hour hearing was restricted to those 49 changes.

No one--not environmentalists, builders or cities--truly likes the new permit.

“If everyone’s mad at you, then we’ve done something right,” said board Chairwoman Carole Beswick.

Environmentalists say the rules offer too many concessions to developers and are vaguer and less effective than storm water permits adopted for Los Angeles and San Diego counties.

“This permit is a salute to the building industry at the expense of citizens who recreate on the beach,” said Bob Caustin, founder of Newport Beach-based Defend the Bay.

David Beckman, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, added, “It’s the water-quality weakling along the coast.”

Other permits in the region require developers to plan most new construction with built-in mechanisms to slow and cleanse the “first flush” of runoff.

The first flush--typically a little less than an inch of rain to fall in Southern California--is the dirtiest, picking up pollutants that have been accumulating on streets and lawns for weeks or months, and sending them into waterways and eventually the ocean.

The permit approved Friday gives local officials until March 2003 to come up with a regionwide approach for the first flush of runoff.

That could mean diverting runoff to artificial wetlands that would naturally clean the water.

If they fail to come up with a broad plan, a first-flush standard similar to those in Los Angeles and San Diego counties will be imposed.

However, developments that have tract maps in place by that date will be exempt--which environmentalists call a gaping loophole in a county that approves 7,932 building permits annually.

Local activists also say public education, street sweeping and other requirements are vague, and that self-audits of municipal yards and other facilities are “laughable.”

Builders and cities say the permit is more reasonable than those found elsewhere in the region, but still too costly.

“This is a very workable permit,” said attorney Paul Singarella, representing Leisure World. “I think they sent everybody away a little less than perfectly satisfied, so therefore, I think they struck the right balance.”

According to a cost analysis prepared by the county, the cities were already spending $52 million to meet existing storm water regulations in northern and central Orange County this fiscal year. Meeting the new permit requirements would cost an additional $14 million, the analysis said.

“We will spend more on water quality than we do on police protection,” said Robert Ring, a Laguna Woods councilman.

Others said the new regulations are impractical and will lead to higher housing costs.

“A permit like this will cause developers . . . to look to other parts of the state to build affordable housing,” said Matt Petteruto of the Apartment Assn. of Orange County, which represents more than 3,000 apartment owners and management companies.

A more stringent permit is under consideration for South County, which is under the jurisdiction of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board.

It is modeled after the permits adopted for Los Angeles and San Diego counties and is expected to be voted on Feb. 13 in the Mission Viejo City Council chamber.