The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance that implements Regional Water Quality Control Board requirements calling for treatment or infiltration of three-quarters of an inch of stormwater runoff for certain project types.

Gary Moore of the Bureau of Sanitation, presenting the item, told the council, "This ordinance here will make us in compliance with the new requirements from the Regional Water Quality Control Board that 9 different designation types of projects will require either treatment or infiltration of 3 quarter inch of rainwater." He described the technical basis for the city's updated standard.

Councilmembers pressed staff about how waivers would be handled and whether the council would be notified when waivers are requested or granted. A council member asked, "So would you have any objection to notifying the council when waivers are requested and granted?" Moore and other staff said reporting could be folded into regular department reporting. The ordinance limits waiver authority to the three reasons allowed by the regional board: extreme limitation of space, soil conditions that prohibit infiltration, and a risk of groundwater contamination.

Supporters on the Environmental Quality and Waste Management Committee described the ordinance as advancing environmental protections without harming the general fund. Councilmember Feuer moved the ordinance as amended to include direction to the department to incorporate waiver notification as part of its reporting. The council voted 13-0 to adopt the ordinance.

The ordinance requires developers to demonstrate compliance with the city's standard urban stormwater mitigation plan as a condition of permit. Where the three Regional Water Board waiver conditions apply, staff will grant waivers consistent with state and regional rules; staff said it will provide council-level notification through existing reporting mechanisms if waivers are used.

The city clerk recorded the ordinance as approved. Implementation details and any subsequent reports on waivers will be handled by the Bureau of Sanitation and the Board of Public Works.