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State Water Board adopts policy to standardize municipal stormwater cost reporting
Summary
The board unanimously adopted a water quality control policy to require standardized, machine-readable cost reporting for municipal stormwater permits, with first reporting expected for fiscal year 2026–27 and data due in late 2027.
The State Water Resources Control Board on Jan. 22 adopted a water quality control policy to standardize cost reporting for municipal stormwater (MS4) permits and directed staff to begin implementing the policy and a cost-data portal.
Amanda McGee, senior engineering geologist in the Division of Water Quality, told the board the policy was developed in response to a 2018 California State Auditor recommendation and a multi-year stakeholder process that included a 6-month beta test with 11 volunteer permittees. "The goal of this policy is ... to identify true costs associated with each permit element, to estimate implementation costs for new permit requirements, and to promote transparency through statewide uniform cost reporting," McGee said.
The policy requires statewide cost reporting for Phase I MS4 permittees, a streamlined version for traditional Phase II MS4 permittees, and machine-readable reporting through a state cost data portal. Staff estimated cost tracking would begin July 1, 2026 (fiscal year 2026–27) with the first reports due in late 2027, concurrent with annual reports.
Major clarifications and provisions
- Cost categories and subcategories were revised after public comment and beta testing; some subcategories were removed and others were clarified to reduce tracking burden.
- Structural BMP (best management practice) cost reporting is required only for permittee-owned public projects; design parameters requested were reduced (staff removed requests for BMP surface area and volumetric loading rate).
- Street-sweeping reporting clarified: routine sweeping is reportable only when it meets a permit requirement or is part of a permit program plan. Sweep area reporting was changed to curb miles; debris may be reported by either weight or volume.
- Funding-source reporting may use relative contribution percentages rather than exact dollar amounts to address permittee concerns about unknowns.
- The policy explicitly prohibits using cost reporting as a surrogate for compliance and clarifies that financial resource needs will not justify noncompliance.
Implementation and regional issues
Staff plans to issue Water Code section 13383 orders to require Phase I permittees to report using the new framework; Phase II reporting will be incorporated into the statewide Phase II permit when reissued. For regions whose existing permit formats differ substantially (San Francisco, Central Coast, Los Angeles), staff said region-specific 13383 orders using crosswalks will be issued to avoid duplicate reporting.
Several permittee representatives and environmental groups praised staff for balancing detail and reporting burden during public comment. Sean Bothwell, executive director of California Coastkeeper Alliance, said the updated approach struck a useful balance but urged access to supporting cost documents by public request when estimates are used. Karen Cowan and Jenny Newman (regional permittee representatives) praised staff and the beta-testing and noted planned tools to ease reporting.
The board voted unanimously to adopt the policy and associated resolution. Staff will develop a revised cost-accounting guidance document, open the cost-data portal in early 2026 and begin issuing orders later in 2025.
Quotes
"The goal of this policy is ... to identify true costs associated with each permit element, to estimate implementation costs for new permit requirements, and to promote transparency through statewide uniform cost reporting," Amanda McGee said.
"If they go back to, you know, overblowing the numbers, I'm not going to have faith in the data that's collected," said Sean Bothwell of California Coastkeeper Alliance, urging accurate reporting and access to supporting materials.
Ending
Adoption starts a multi-year implementation timeline meant to produce consistent, machine-readable statewide stormwater cost data to inform permitting and funding decisions; staff will review the policy after collecting five years of data and will present findings and any recommended amendments to the board.
