The regulations that govern industrial storm water aren’t adequately controlling this pollution. Baykeeper is advocating for tighter regulations and stricter discharge permits to protect San Francisco Bay from industrial runoff pollution.
A Stronger Statewide Industrial General Permit
Most industrial facilities are regulated by a set of guidelines called the Statewide Industrial General Permit—but this permit does not require facilities to meet explicit pollution limits. Instead, facilities must meet water quality standards that are defined in numerous other laws and regulations. This lack of cohesiveness has led to both facilities and regulators disregarding their full legal obligations to control industrial storm water pollution.
The Statewide Industrial General Permit is up for review in 2012, and Baykeeper is advocating that the permit provide strict and comprehensive standards that will require industrial facilities to control industrial storm water pollution.
Stricter Rules for Large Facilities
Large industrial facilities such as refineries are monitored more closely by individual storm water permits—but even these often fail to take into account all the water quality standards that apply to industrial storm water pollution. When these permits come up for renewal, Baykeeper works to tighten limits on these facilities’ permitted storm water pollution.
Read about an example of this work—our advocacy to tighten regulations on the Shell Oil Refinery.