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How is urban runoff regulated ?
Development in San José is subject to Federal and State requirements as well as the City of San José's General Plan, ordinances, policies, guidelines, and permit conditions.
The Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) requires local municipalities to implement measures to control pollution from their municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4) to the maximum extent practicable. In addition, the State of California's Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act of 1969 and other State legislation require municipalities to protect water quality.
On October 14, 2009, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) adopted the Municipal Regional Stormwater NPDES Permit (Permit Number CAS612008)* for the San Francisco Bay Region. In an effort to standardize stormwater management requirements throughout the region, this permit replaces the formerly separate countywide municipal stormwater permits with a regional permit for 76 Bay Area municipalities, including the City of San José.
The intent of these various laws and permits is to mitigate potentially detrimental effects of urban runoff through proper site design and source control early in the development review process and to provide guidance in the selection of appropriate Best Management Practices (BMPs). BMPs are defined as methods, activities, maintenance procedures, or other management practices for reducing the amount of pollution entering a water body. The City of San José Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) reviews individual public and private projects for stormwater conformance with applicable laws, policies, and guidelines, and is the lead City agency responsible for implementing the C.3 Provision requirements of the NPDES Permit related to new development and redevelopment.
The C.3 Provisions of the NPDES Permit require each of the co-permittees, including the City of San José, to implement measures/BMPs to reduce stormwater pollution and to reduce increases in stormwater runoff flow, volume, and duration (“hydromodification”) from new development or redevelopment projects.The City has developed several policies that implement Provision C.3 of the NPDES Permit, requiring new development and redevelopment projects to include specific construction and post-construction measures for improving the water quality of urban runoff. The City’s Post-Construction Urban Runoff Management Policy (6-29) established general guidelines and minimum Best Management Practices (BMPs) for specified land uses, and includes the requirement of regular maintenance to ensure their effectiveness.
Later, the City adopted the Post-Construction Hydromodification Management Policy (8-14) to manage development related increases in peak runoff flow, volume and duration, where such hydromodification is likely to cause increased erosion, silt pollutant generation or other impacts to local rivers, streams and creeks. Policy 8-14 was revised in February 2010 for consistency with the aforementioned Municipal Regional Stormwater NPDES Permit. Implementation of these Policies will reduce potential water quality impacts to less than significant levels.
In addition to the NPDES Permit provisions, all construction projects in the City of San José are regulated by the NPDES General Permit for Storm Water Discharges Associated with Construction Activity (General Permit), which requires the preparation of a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) and the filing of a Notice of Intent (NOI) with the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) for all projects that disturb an area of one acre or greater.
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