Department of Finance v. Commission on State Mandates CA3

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

For a fuller discussion of the stormwater discharge permitting system and the constitutional mandate subvention system, please see the discussion in Department of Finance v. Commission on State Mandates (2017) 18 Cal.App.5th 661, 668-675 (San Diego Mandates I). For our purposes, it is sufficient to state that the federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.) prohibits pollutant discharges into the nation’s waters unless they comply with a permit, established effluent limitations, or standards of performance. The Clean Water Act created the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) to permit water pollutant discharges that comply with all statutory and administrative requirements. (San Diego Mandates I, at pp. 668-669.) Pursuant to federal approval granted under the Clean Water Act, California under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (Wat. Code, § 13000 et seq.) operates the

The permittees are the County of San Diego and the Cities of Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Coronado, Del Mar, El Cajon, Encinitas, Escondido, Imperial Beach, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, National City, Oceanside, Poway, San Diego, San Marcos, Santee, Solana Beach,…