Opinion ID: 2626365
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Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Relevant State Statutes

Text: The California statute governing the issuance of wastewater permits by a regional board is section 13263, which was enacted in 1969 as part of the Porter-Cologne Act. (See 26 Cal.Rptr.3d pp. 306-307, 108 P.3d p. 865, ante. ) Section 13263 provides in relevant part:  The regional board, after any necessary hearing, shall prescribe requirements as to the nature of any proposed discharge [of wastewater]. The requirements shall implement any relevant water quality control plans that have been adopted, and shall take into consideration the beneficial uses to be protected, the water quality objectives reasonably required for that purpose, other waste discharges, the need to prevent nuisance, and the provisions of Section 13241.  (§ 13263, subd. (a), italics added.) Section 13241 states: Each regional board shall establish such water quality objectives in water quality control plans as in its judgment will ensure the reasonable protection of beneficial uses and the prevention of nuisance; however, it is recognized that it may be possible for the quality of water to be changed to some degree without unreasonably affecting beneficial uses. Factors to be considered by a regional board in establishing water quality objectives shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, all of the following: (a) Past, present, and probable future beneficial uses of water. (b) Environmental characteristics of the hydrographic unit under consideration, including the quality of water available thereto. (c) Water quality conditions that could reasonably be achieved through the coordinated control of all factors which affect water quality in the area. (d) Economic considerations. (e) The need for developing housing within the region. (f) The need to develop and use recycled water. (Italics added.) The Cities here argue that section 13263's express reference to section 13241 requires the Los Angeles Regional Board to consider section 13241's listed factors, notably [e]conomic considerations, before issuing NPDES permits requiring specific pollutant reductions in discharged effluent or treated wastewater. Thus, at issue is language in section 13263 stating that when a regional board prescribe[s] requirements as to the nature of any proposed discharge of treated wastewater it must take into consideration certain factors including the provisions of Section 13241. According to the Cities, this statutory language requires that a regional board make an independent evaluation of the section 13241 factors, including economic considerations, before restricting the pollutant content in an NPDES permit. This was the view expressed in the trial court's ruling. The Court of Appeal rejected that view. It held that a regional board need consider the section 13241 factors only when it adopts a basin or water quality plan, but not when, as in this case, it issues a wastewater discharge permit that sets specific numeric limitations on the various chemical pollutants in the wastewater to be discharged. As explained below, the Court of Appeal was partly correct.