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County officials say proposed stormwater permit could cost Upland hundreds of millions; negotiations ongoing
Summary
San Bernardino County staff and consultants told the Upland City Council the tentative 5th-term NPDES/MS4 permit could require large new capital and operating spending in Upland — Beacon Economics estimated about $424 million over 20 years — and that cities are negotiating changes with the Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Arlene Chun, engineering manager in the San Bernardino County Department of Public Works’ environmental division, updated the Upland City Council on negotiations over the draft 5th-term National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit on Jan. 27. The tentative regional order, released in March 2024 and amended through public process, would expand coverage and add new, numerically based compliance requirements across three counties and dozens of cities.
Chun told the council the Tri-County group (San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange counties and affected cities) submitted an extensive joint comment package on July 3, 2024 — “roughly almost a 1,000 pages” including attachments — and is still negotiating with the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board. The county commissioned Beacon Economics to estimate compliance costs. Chun said Beacon’s analysis shows an estimated combined capital and operations-and-maintenance cost for Upland of about $424,000,000 over 20 years under the permit as written today.
The county and consultants described how the MS4 permit differs from traditional…
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