On February 27, the NAIOP SoCal Legislative Affairs Committee convened an online panel of experts to discuss the potential impact that a proposed commercial, industrial and institutional (CII) stormwater discharge permit will have on our NAIOP SoCal Members’ commercial and industrial properties located in two specific Los Angeles County watersheds. Specifically, the CII permit would impact properties with five or more acres of impervious surfaces (i.e., larger industrial or commercial building rooftops, parking lots, and other large surfaces). 

The panel discussion was adeptly moderated by NAIOP SoCal’s Regulatory Affairs Consultant, Clifford Moriyama. Speaking first among panelists, Dr. Mark Grey, Technical Director for the Construction Industry Coalition on Water Quality, stated that the cost to comply with this new permit would be in the millions of dollars depending on the number of acres of impervious surfaces located on the property.  He also cautioned that even before the per acre mitigation costs would need to be paid, property owners would also need to spend thousands of dollars in developing a stormwater pollution prevention plan for the site, along with water quality sampling of stormwater runoff from the site. Shanda Beltrán, an environmental and land-use attorney, warned that property owners would now be open to citizen lawsuits for being out of compliance with the CII permit. Adam Regele, NAIOP SoCal’s Sacramento-based Senior Government Relations Advisor, highlighted the fact that supporters of the regional permit have also tried - unsuccessfully to date - to have a similar permit apply to commercial, industrial and institutional properties statewide. Adam reminded participants that while they may not have property in the two watersheds that are currently the focus of attention in the Los Angeles area CII permit, they definitely need to be concerned because, at some point, the regional watershed issue could become a statewide one. 

NAIOP SoCal will keep Members directly impacted by the proposed CII permit updated on next steps and new developments.