Item A: Adoption of 2007 Legislative Policies

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e. Water Quality Standards The City opposes any efforts to change State water quality standards through the legislative process. The DEQ has established a comprehensive process for evaluating current water quality standards and proposing new or changed standards which involves all stakeholders as well as recognized technical experts. This process, followed by opportunities for the public to comment, has led to the Environmental Quality Commission adopting changes to several water quality standards. Future changes to water quality standards, including beneficial use designations, should be obtained through a similar collaborative process, and not achieved through legislative action. Recomendation: The City supports legislative or regulations that will improve water quality and decrease pollution f. DEQ Oversight Of Underwater Injection Control The City urges the legislature to maintain funding for DEQ’s statewide oversight of Underwater Injection Control, or dry wells. Local governments recieve the best level of service, fairness and flexibility by working with a state agency. Turning this oversight over to federal agencies could result in a reduced level of service/communication, delays, and inflexibility with regard local management and operation of Underwater Injection Control. 2. POLLUTION SOURCE EQUITY Since Congressional passage of the Clean Water Act (CWA) in 1972, cities and industries which discharge effluent from a “point source” have been under EPA jurisdiction. Authority to discharge from a point source (for example, a sewage treatment plant) requires a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit. Although this focus on point sources has significantly improved the nation’s water quality, substantial water pollution continues to result from unregulated “non-point” sources (i.e., water pollutants with diffuse origins). In its re-authorization of the CWA in 1987, Congress addressed part of this problem by requiring cities and certain industries to treat storm water run-off through a series of “best practices.” The 1987 language called for implementation in two phases based on city population. Phase I called for cities with a population of 100,000 or more to obtain NPDES Storm water permits. By 1995, all City of Eugene Legislative Policies, 2007 Session With IGR Mtg 10/17 and 10/26 Amendments C:\Documents and Settings\ceexelf\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\OLK10B\LegPol2007Sesxx1.doc Updated on: 11/6/2006 By: Last saved by ceexmfw 63