§ 50-2. Findings.

(a)

The Federal Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. Section 1251 et seq., provides for the regulation and reduction of pollutants discharged into the waters of the United States by extending National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements to stormwater and urban runoff discharge into the County storm drain system.

(b)

The State Board is authorized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to administer the NPDES program within the State. The Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (Water Code Section 13000 et seq.) provides authority for the State NPDES program, including provisions to issue NPDES permits and waste discharge requirements to regulate discharges of stormwater to waters of the State.

(c)

Due to amendments to the Clean Water Act, the USEPA developed a Phase I and a Phase II program requiring municipalities to develop and implement stormwater pollution management programs. Smaller municipalities and contiguous areas with small, but still urban, communities come under the Phase II regulations of the State Board's General Permit for Discharges of Stormwater from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (hereafter called the "Small MS4 General Permit" where MS4 stands for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System). Butte County falls under the Phase II regulations, which require coverage under the "Small MS4 General Permit."

(d)

The County's Stormwater Management Program, approved by the County on February 25, 2003, and then amended and approved on September 23, 2003, requires the County to effectively prohibit non-stormwater discharges from within the State Board's defined boundaries of Butte County's MS4 Stormwater Permit area into the County storm drain system except as otherwise permitted by law.

(e)

The Butte County Board of Supervisors finds in this regard that the provisions of this chapter are necessary to provide the County with the legal authority necessary to implement and otherwise comply with the requirements of the Stormwater Management Program and to protect the waters of the State for the benefit of its people and the environment.

(Ord. No. 3981, § 1 (part), 3-11-08)