City Council backs regional trash limits, adopts internal 60% early-target for river cleanup

The Los Angeles City Council voted to adopt amending motions on the regional trash total maximum daily load (TMDL) and the draft municipal stormwater permit, and the council set an internal goal of achieving a 60 percent reduction in trash for the city's early-control period. Councilmembers approved the amended package 14-0 after a separate voice vote adopted a verbal amendment raising the early target from 50 percent to 60 percent (12-2 on the verbal amendment).

Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas, chair of the committee working on the items, framed the package as closing a compliance gap while keeping implementation reasonable and cost-effective. He said the motions "raise the bar for the city of Los Angeles." The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board has adopted a draft trash TMDL and the stormwater permit the council considered seeks city responses and plans to reduce trash carried by storm drains into the bay and harbor.

Environmental groups and the regional board urged the council to move quickly. "This TMDL is cost effective," said Leslie Mintz, staff attorney for Heal the Bay. Dennis Dickerson, executive officer of the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, showed photographs of debris clogging beaches and harbors and said the board set a 14-year compliance horizon with interim steps to reduce trash that currently flows from city streets into the LA River and out to the ocean.

Supporters said the measures provide a framework to reduce thousands of tons of debris that flow into local waterways during storms. Santa Monica Baykeeper Executive Director Steve Fleischli told the council the regional board had "bent over backwards" to accommodate city concerns and warned long delays or opposition would harm prospects for coordinated regional cleanup.

Several council members urged pairing the policy with public education, enforcement and targeted investments to retrofit storm drains and priority catch basins. Councilmember Eric Garcetti urged the council to seek a higher early target, saying, "the first 20 miles you spend about half your energy and getting through that last 6 miles you spend just as much," urging an internal 60 percent goal so the city holds itself to a higher standard. Councilmember Nathan Bernsen cautioned that setting an overly ambitious target could risk litigation if the city later failed to meet it; he opposed formally increasing the numeric obligation beyond what the regional board had set but did not oppose the council's internal 60 percent commitment.

The package adopted by the council removed certain language the city had proposed and directed staff to continue negotiating implementation details with the regional board. The council also incorporated a distributed amendment (item 48) and directed departments to return with practical, cost-effective plans for meeting permit requirements. The council instructed city sanitation staff that limited additional street sweeping or targeted catch-basin cleaning likely would be needed; city sanitation staff indicated modest additional sweeping could be required but likely would not cause major new operational cost.

Council action does not itself change the regional board's legal requirements. The regional board retains authority to adopt numeric limits and compliance schedules. The council vote signals city support for moving the permitting and TMDL processes forward while asking for feasible, cost-effective implementation details.

The council expects department briefings and implementation plans to follow and indicated willingness to pursue grant and state funding where available to meet cleanup goals.