Does anybody have any information on the controversy surrounding the
following article? I am interested in how this issue regarding the LA
SWRCB may affect other communities in California and the country.



SIGNAL HILL, CA - A coalition of cities in the state have urged Gov.
Gray Davis to modify or repeal stormwater regulations recently adopted
by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.

The regulations, the Coalition for Practical Regulation stated, are so
strict that the measures necessary to meet the mandates will cost
agencies and residents dearly.

An letter to the governor was delivered on Friday and copies were
published in the form of advertisements in some Southern California
newspapers, bearing the signatures of 76 elected officials, including 25
mayors, representing 39 cities in Los Angeles County.

The coalition said the letter highlights concerns of many cities that
the rules, which were adopted by the Regional Board without undergoing a
cost-benefit analysis, will devastate local government budgets while
failing to produce meaningful environmental benefits.

"A study commissioned by the California Department of Transportation
estimated that these stormwater regulations will cost $54 billion and
could trigger property tax increases of up to 70 percent for Southern
California homeowners - equivalent to a family budget busting tax of
$1,295 a year,'' the letter said.

"The staggering costs imposed by the board's ineffective stormwater
regulations will force cities, already suffering from thinly stretched
budgets, to pay for compliance by raising taxes or by cutting essential
public services such as law enforcement and fire protection," the group
said in the letter.



A decision is expected by late summer or early fall on the regulation
issue. Meanwhile, the cities and county have requested a stay of
implementation in the intervening months prior to publication of the
appeal decision.







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