In a requirement that is the first of its kind in the country, some 600 commercial and industrial properties in the Los Angeles area will have to clean up the water that runs off their parking lots or pay to have it cleaned up. The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board voted to require shopping centers, warehouses, private hospitals and office complexes whose properties drain into the Dominguez and Los Cerritos channels to get stormwater permits. … Environmental advocates, who have pushed for the change for years, said the new requirements will make a major difference in addressing water pollution. … But representatives of developers, property owners and business groups raised concerns about the costs and requirements that they said are sometimes unclear.

Other stormwater and water quality news:

• Sky-Hi News (Granby, Colo.): Partners commit $30M to protect Grand Lake, Three Lakes system
• NBC7 (San Diego): San Diego awarded nearly $12M for stormwater project in flood-prone Oak Park
• City of San Diego: News release: Nearly $12 million secured for green infrastructure project along Chollas Creek