About the Placer County Stormwater Quality Program

Placer County Stormwater Quality Program Regulatory Background

A 1990 regulation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires urban and growing areas to apply for a special permit regulating stormwater flows into natural water bodies. This permit is called a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The NPDES regulations require permitted areas to develop and implement a Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP) identifying specific activities to eliminate or control stormwater pollution.

Under Phase I of the NPDES program, Placer County shares a permit with El Dorado County and the City of South Lake Tahoe for the Lake Tahoe watershed area. The Phase II program required Placer to develop SWMPs for Western Placer (including Foresthill and Colfax) and the Truckee River Basin.

 Map of NPDES Phase I and Phase II Permit Areas

Placer County Stormwater Management Plans
All three Stormwater Management Plans (SWMP) include activities to be performed to improve and protect the quality of stormwater runoff. Included are such things as public education and involvement; illicit discharge detection and elimination; construction; and industrial and municipal best management practices. The goal of the stormwater quality program is to reduce pollutants in stormwater runoff, eliminate non-stormwater discharges and lessen the long-term impacts of stormwater discharges from development , business, and municipal activities. The County also implements a program to assure that County operations themselves are in compliance. The County prepares and submits annual reports to the local Water Quality Control Board. These reports can be viewed at our office located at 3091 County Center Drive, in Auburn.
Because of the historic decline in the clarity of Lake Tahoe, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board may have additional water quality protection requirements. One notable TRPA requirement involves capture and treatment of stormwater runoff from improved areas of a site, to prevent discharge of pollutants. The County's SWMP for the Tahoe area is intended to complement the water quality programs of these agencies. For more information, please visit these sites:

Tahoe Basin:
Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board
Regional Board's Phase I Municipal Permit
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA)
Tahoe Basin Stormwater Management Plan (pdf - 1.3 Mb)

Western Placer County:
Central Valley Regional State Water Resources Control Board
State Board's Statewide General Phase II Permit
West Placer Stormwater Management Plan (pdf - 1.4 Mb)
Truckee Basin Stormwater Management Plan (pdf - 9.1 Mb)

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