Below is an update for you on where the Statewide Stormwater Coalition (SSC) is currently:
- California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance to undertake new project that seeks to reform water quality regulatory process – We are passing along information on a project being undertaken by the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance (http://www.cceeb.org/). The folks organizing the project are seeking funding contributions and are close to reaching their fundraising target, but need additional support. Please review the attached document and consider contributing to make it happen. If you have any questions, please contact Bob Lucas (916‐444‐7337) or Gerald Secundy (415‐512‐7890, ext. 16).
•– Template “support” letters are being drafted for SB 964/SB 965 (Wright) – We are currently drafting “support” template letters for SB 964 and SB 965. The SSC Executive Committee recently adopted a “support” position on these two bills and will be recommending that SSC members individually send in those support letters when prompted. The “support” template letters will be distributed in the next week or so for SSC members to act on.
•– Other bill activity – There are several other bill concepts that are being developed that are looking towards process reform for the State Water Resources Control Board. Some of those concepts include:
•o Addressing scientific peer review processes.
•o Clearly define Maximum Extent Practicable (MEP).
•o Bill to address oil run-off from vehicles.
We will be providing specific bill language when and if they are formally introduced in the State Legislature. The deadline to introduce new bills is February 24.
•– SSC members and non-members are encouraged to reach out to their local labor unions; badly conceived stormwater permits are a threat to local general funds – As we all know, the latest draft MS4 permit, if it was approved in its current form, would have been devastating to many local government’s general funds. In some cities and counties on the brink, this would have meant non-compliance with their stormwater permit, third-party lawsuits and the choice of cutting police, fire, library and parks services to afford to implement a larger general-funded local stormwater program. This predicament, caused by State Water Resources Control Board actions, constitutes what we consider to be a threat to local municipal labor organizations and their members. Roseville has already reached out to our municipal labor unions on this issue and recommend that other SSC members do the same. With labor’s help, we will be far more effective in the political process in changing Board processes and their outcomes – stormwater permits and protect scarce local general fund resources from poorly conceived state-issued stormwater permits in the future. If you need assistance or ready-made outreach material to reach out to your local labor unions on this issue, contact Sean Bigley ([email protected]).
If you need any other updates or assistance, feel free to send your questions my way and we’ll get an answer for you. We are here to help and support our members. Thank you and enjoy the rest of your day.
Sean Bigley
Administrative Analyst II
Governmental Affairs | Communications
Environmental Utilities
City of Roseville
2005 Hilltop Circle
Roseville, CA 95747
(916) 774-5513
www.roseville.ca.us/eu