LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS

December 2009

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Legislation Creates Stormwater Reuse Framework for California

On October 11, 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill (SB) 790 into law, which allocates bond finances to stormwater reuse plans. Until SB 790, which was written by Senator Fran Pavley, California treated stormwater as polluted refuse, requiring discharge into the Pacific Ocean in accordance with the national pollutant discharge elimination system under the Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. In contrast to the refuse management regime constructed by traditional pollution control statutes, SB 790 creates an incentive to manage stormwater as a beneficial resource rather than as wastewater, which has the potential for simultaneously improving water quality and alleviating California’s water supply crisis. .