California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) campaigns to hold wastewater polluters accountable, to enforce existing laws under the Clean Water Act (CWA), and to reduce stormwater pollution in the state overall. This campaign involves taking action through regulatory proceedings and by taking legal action when necessary.
CSPA monitors stormwater and takes regulatory and legal action against those responsible for discharging pollutants that exceed applicable standards. CSPA also takes actions against polluters who fail to prepare an adequate Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, install required control measures to reduce or prevent pollutants from entering waterways, implement an adequate monitoring and reporting program, and file true and correct annual reports.
In this context stormwater is the water that falls onto the ground and travels over surfaces, many of which are impacted by human activities, and into stormwater drains or directly into streams, lakes, and the ocean. Stormwater is not treated, thus any pollutants stormwater picks up as it travels is deposited into waterways.
Pollution in stormwater has many different sources, some sources being difficult to regulate. However, California has regulations to minimize stormwater pollution from sources that have a clear identifiable source such as municipalities, businesses, industrial sites, and construction sites. Such potential polluters are required to obtain permits, implement best management practices, and implement stormwater pollution prevention plans.
Other Stop Pollution Campaigns
Recent News
Stop Stormwater Pollution Campaign
PRESS RELEASE: The Sierra Club Tahoe Area Group and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) are thrilled to announce victory in their lawsuit against herbicide discharges into the Tahoe Keys lagoons connected to Lake Tahoe. In January 2022, the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board issued a permit allowing the first ever discharge of herbicides […]
PRESS RELEASE April 3, 2024 In an April 1, 2024 letter to three water boards, fishing and conservation groups and a Tribe have urged regulators to control recently measured excess levels of selenium in Mud Slough. Mud Slough drains selenium-impaired land on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley into the San Joaquin River and ultimately […]
On 9 September 2019, CSPA and a coalition of fishing, environmental, tribal and environmental justice organizations submitted comments to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) regarding the Grasslands Bypass Project Long-Term Storm Water Management Plan EIR/EIS Addendum and Initial Study. The Grasslands Bypass Project […]
CSPA and a coalition of environmental, fishing and environmental justice organizations submitted comments to U.S. EPA regarding proposed federal water quality criteria for selenium applicable to California. A protective water quality criterion for selenium is essential not only for various aquatic species, through various lifecycles, during various seasons, but also for the protection of terrestrial […]
On 30 September 2014, CSPA settled a Clean Water Act lawsuit against the City of Watsonville for violations of the California General Industrial Stormwater Permit. The City operates a 1.6-acre Material Recovery Facility, a 5.8-acre Corporation Yard and a 100-acre landfill in Watsonville, California. The lawsuit alleged that the facilities discharged polluted stormwater into Watsonville […]