Item B: Approval of Legislative Policies Document

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City of Eugene Legislative Policies for 2009 Oregon Legislative Session ?Eugene supports a level of accountability incorporated into the DEQ's permit fee structure similar to local requirements. Local governments are required to establish fair and equitable user charges to sewage system customers. ?Eugene opposes any effort to increase reliance on fees from local government to support statewide programs, believing that statewide water quality programs should be funded from the State General Fund. Permit and other fees should be based only upon the actual cost of issuing and administering the permits for the different permittees. The distribution of the costs should not result in one class of permittees subsidizing another class (large vs. small permittees or municipal vs. industrial permittees). B1c. Stormwater ?Eugene supports the use of resources to coordinate municipal urban stormwater permitting activities between the regions of the state, including establishing procedures for storage and analysis of statewide stormwater monitoring data. ?Eugene supports efforts to promote innovative partnership agreements with the state and local agencies for the effective implementation of the stormwater regulations. The City has established a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the DEQ to administer portions of the department’s obligations under the industrial stormwater program within the City limits. Included in the MOU is a cost-sharing formula for the permit fees associated with the program. ?Eugene opposes additional requirements for stormwater controls unless evaluation and documentation of the effectiveness of the management practices in the existing plan are done first. B1d. Non-Point Sources ?Eugene supports the continued use of State resources to fund comprehensive basin studies of water quality, such as the Willamette River Basin Water Quality Study, and will continue to support related efforts such as the McKenzie River Watershed Council and the Long Tom Watershed Council. ?Eugene supports including non-point sources when water quality management plans are developed in the Willamette Basin. B1e. Water Quality Standards ?Eugene supports regulations that will improve water quality and decrease pollution. ?Eugene 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 28