2014-028 - Approving General Plan Amendement No. 2014-01

Home Browse Search

City of Santa Ana -Park View at Town and Country Manor Draft EIR HVdrologV and 4.3 - Hydrology and Water Quality 4.3.1 - Introduction This section describes the existing hydrology and water quality setting and potential effects from project implementation on the site and its surrounding area. Descriptions and analysis in this section utilize information contained in the Preliminary Water Quality Management Plan (WQMP) prepared in July 2009 by the project engineer, Hall and Foreman, Inc., and included in this FIR as Appendix C. 4.3.2 - Existing Conditions The project site is currently occupied by a grassy area and parking lot, contained within the southwest corner of the Town and Country Manor campus. Drainage patterns for the campus are from the northeast to the southwest. The westerly portion of the property drains to a storm drain on Owen Street, then to a storm drain on Main Street which drains into Santiago Creek, and then into the Santa Ana River. The Santa Ana River, Reach 4, is listed as impaired by pathogen. Santiago Creek, Reach 4, is impaired by salinity, Total Dissolved Solids (IDS), and chloride. 4.3.3 - Regulatory Setting NPDES Storm Water Regulatory Requirements The proposed project and its facilities must comply with surface water quality regulations promulgated by a multitude of public agencies federal, State, and local to control polluted runoff. They include: 1) the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA); 2) the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB); 3) the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana Region (SARWQCB); 4) the County of Orange, and 5) the City of Santa Ana. Federal EPA In 1990, the US EPA initiated the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ( NPDES) Storm Water Program, in accordance with Section 402(p) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), to control polluted runoff from sources that had the greatest potential to negatively impact water quality to the waters of the United States. As a result, this permitting program requires operators of municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), industrial facilities, and construction sites to obtain coverage for the storm water discharges generated from these operations. These NPDES permits thus provide a mechanism for monitoring and regulating the discharge of pollutants from these non -point sources. In essence, the NPDES permits effectively prohibit non -storm water discharges from MS4s, industrial activities, and construction activities, unless otherwise permitted under a separate NPDES permit. The implementation of the NPDES Storm Water Program was carried out in two phases. Phase I, which began in 1990, required NPDES permit coverage from Large and Medium MS4s serving populations of 100,000 or more (i.e. cities and counties). Eleven categories of industrial activities (classified by SIC code) were also required to have NPDES permit coverage. One of those 11 activities included construction activities disturbing five acres or more of soil. Phase II of the NPDES Storm Water Program, implemented in 1999, tightened non -point source regulations by adding the Michael Brandman Associates 4.3 -1 H\Cl t(PN -Rn) 32]b327W3MMVB2]0030 Se 4B Hyd bUadWat Wity.d¢