Polluted rain runoff from big box parking lots could get a crackdown
When rain falls on California shopping centers and warehouses, the water runs off parking lots carrying metal dust and chemicals from vehicle tires and brake pads, oil and grease from engines, and bacteria from trash. The gunk washes into storm drains and pollutes creeks, rivers and beaches. Now environmental advocates are pushing state regulators to crack down by requiring stormwater permits. … Groups that represent the businesses say they are already paying property taxes that in L.A. County include a special tax for cleaning up stormwater, and that imposing new regulations in this way doesn’t make sense. But California Coastkeeper Alliance and other nonprofit groups submitted petitions to regional water officials across the state this week demanding they begin regulating commercial propertiessuch as big-box stores, auto dealers and industrial parks.
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