ELR Citation: ELR 20237
No(s). D046112 (Cal. App. 4th Dist. Nov 29, 2006)

The court denied an environmental group's petition for writ of mandate challenging a state permit allowing the U.S. Department of the Navy to discharge stormwater into the San Diego Bay. Although the state could have issued a permit that imposed numeric limits on chemicals in the Navy's stormwater discharges under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and other applicable regulations, the state was authorized to instead require that the Navy limit its stormwater chemical discharges by employing best management practices (BMPs). The organization argued that CWA §402(p) does not authorize BMPs to control industrial stormwater discharges and that the only authority for use of BMPs in an industrial setting is provided by 40 C.F.R. §122.44 (k)(3), which permits BMPs when numeric effluent limitations are not feasible. But there is nothing on the face of the statute that suggests that Congress intended to limit the use of BMPs in controlling stormwater discharges in general or that BMPs may be used in the case of municipalities and other nonindustrial stormwater discharges but not in the case of industrial discharges. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that in enacting §402(p), Congress intended to give the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other permitting authorities wide discretion in regulating stormwater runoff, including the use of BMPs where the agencies believed they were appropriate.