County of Los Angeles v. California State Water Resources Control Board

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs, 33 cities, the County of Los Angeles (the county), the Los Angeles County Flood Control District (the flood control district), the Building Industry Legal Defense Fund, and the Construction Industry Coalition on Water Quality, appeal from a March 24, 2005 judgment in favor of defendants, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region (the regional board) and the State Water Resources Control Board (the state board) and interveners, Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., Santa Monica Baykeeper, and Heal the Bay. Plaintiffs challenge the legality of the regional board’s issuance of order No. 01-182 adopting the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit No. CAS004001 (the permit) which is entitled, “Municipal Storm Water And Urban Runoff Discharges Within The County Of Los Angeles, And The Incorporated Cities Therein, Except The City Of Long Beach.” The December 13, 2001 permit was issued to the county, the flood control district, and 84 incorporated cities in Los Angeles County. We affirm the judgment in its entirety.

II. THE PERMIT

A. Overview

The permit was issued pursuant to the obligations imposed by…