2014-069 - Final Environmental Impact Report No. 2014-01

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HARBOR BLVD. MIXED USE TRANSIT CORRIDOR PLAN FINAL FIR CITY OF SANTA ANA 5. Environmental Analysis HYDROLOGY AND WATER QUALITY National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 further strengthened the NFIP by providing a giant program for state and community flood mitigation projects. The act also established the Community Rating System (CRS), a system for crediting communities that implement measures to protect the natural and beneficial functions of their floodplams, as well as managing erosion hazards. The City of Santa Ana, under NEW, has created standards and policies to ensure flood protection. These policies address development and redevelopment, compatibility of uses, required predevelopment drainage studies, compliance with discharge permits, enhancement of existing waterways, cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the Orange County Flood Control District for updating, and method consistency with the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) and proposed BMPs. State Porter - Cologne Water QuabtyAct The Porter - Cologne Water Quality Act (Water Code sections 13000 et seq.) is the basic water quality control law for California. Under this act, the State Water Resources Control Board ( SWRCB) has ultimate control over state water rights and water quality policy. In California, the EPA has delegated authority to issue NPDES permits to the SWRCB. The state is divided into nine regions related to water quality and quantity characteristics. The SWRCB, through its nine RWQCBs carries out the regulation, protection, and administration of water quality in each region. Each regional board is required to adopt a Water Quality Control Plan or Basin Plan that recognizes and reflects the regional differences in existing water quality, the beneficial uses of the region's ground and surface water, and local water quality conditions and problems. The City of Santa Ana is in the Santa Ana River Basin, Region 8, in the Lower Santa Ana River Watershed. The Water Quality Control Plan for the Santa Ana River Basin (8) was updated in 2008. This Basin Plan gives direction on the beneficial uses of the state waters within Region 8, describes the water quality that must be maintained to support such uses, and provides programs, projects, and other actions necessary to achieve the standards established in the Basin Plan. Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans Pursuant to the CWA, in 2009, the SWRCB issued a statewide general NPDES Permit for stormwater discharges from construction sites (Order No. 2009- 0009 -DWQ; NPDES No. CAS000002). Under this Statewide General Construction Activity Permit (GCP), discharges of stormwater from construction sites with a disturbed area of one or more acres are required to either obtain individual NPDES permits for storm water discharges or to be covered by the GCE Coverage by the GCP is accomplished by completing and filing a Notice of Intent with the SWRCB and developing and implementing a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan ( SWPPP). Each applicant under the GCP must ensure that a SWPPP is prepared prior to grading and is implemented during construction. The SWPPP must list BMPs implemented on the construction site to protect stormwater runoff, and must contain a visual monitoring program; a chemical monitoring program for "non- visible" pollutants to be implemented if there is a failure of BMPs; and a monitoring plan if the site discharges directly to a water body listed on the state's 303(d) list of impaired waters. October 2014 Page 5.7 -3