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<br />INITIAL STUDY/NEGATIVE DECLARATION ER-2004-14 <br />GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT 2004-04 <br /> <br />PROJECT DESCRIPTION <br /> <br />The proposed project involves amendments to various sections of <br />the General Plan to establish goals, objectives and policies to <br />provide for the conservation and management of watersheds and to <br />minimize adverse water quality impacts in the City of Santa Ana. <br /> <br />SETTING <br /> <br />The Federal Clean Water Act requires National Pollutant Discharge <br />Elimination System (NPDES) permits for storm water discharge from <br />municipal storm and sewer systems. Uncontrolled discharges from <br />storm and sewer systems are considered significant contributors to <br />adverse water quality impacts to receiving waters. The purpose of <br />the NPDES permit program is to control water pollution by <br />regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters. <br /> <br />The California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana <br />Region, which includes the County of Orange, the Orange County <br />Flood Control District and the majority of the incorporated cities <br />in Orange County, including Santa Ana, requires area wide NPDES <br />permits for municipal storm water runoff. The permit contains <br />limits on what can be discharged, monitoring and reporting <br />requirements and other provisions to ensure that discharges do not <br />result in adverse water quality impacts and associated public <br />health risks. The principal permittee of the NPDES Permit is the <br />County of Orange and the incorporated cities are co-permittees. <br />The permittees have jurisdiction and maintenance responsibility <br />for an estimated 400 miles of storm drain systems within Orange <br />County. The ultimate goal of this storm water management program <br />is to protect the beneficial uses of the receiving waters, such as <br />municipal and domestic water supply, agriculture, recreation <br />waters and preservations of biological habitats and endangered <br />species. <br /> <br />PROJECT DESCRIPTION <br /> <br />The Santa Ana Region Permit requires the City of Santa Ana to <br />minimize short and long-term water quality impacts on receiving <br />waters to the greatest extent possible. The Countywide NPDES <br />permit requires that the City's General Plan be reviewed and <br />updated as necessary to ensure the incorporation of watershed <br />management policies storm water quality management policies and <br />practices. In response to this requirement a series of goals, <br /> <br />1 <br /> <br />15DO~8 <br />