El Dorado County, CA Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Adopted by Ordinance No. 040. 080 states the core prohibition: it is unlawful for any person to make or cause to be made any illicit connection to or illicit discharge into a stormwater facility. An illicit discharge is any release into the County's storm drains, ditches, catch basins, or channels that is not composed entirely of stormwater and is not otherwise permitted, and the definitions section lists yard waste, paint, automotive fluids, pesticides, sediment, and animal waste among the pollutants the ordinance targets. Even an exempt discharge loses its exemption if the Enforcement Agency, the lead department under the County's Storm Water Management Plan, determines it is contributing to a water quality violation or endangering public health; the County can then give written notice ending the exemption.

130. Every recipient of a notice or citation can appeal in writing to a Hearing Officer within ten days, with a further appeal to the Board of Supervisors within 15 days of that decision. Violations are also declared public nuisances, letting the County pursue nuisance abatement, summary abatement for imminent hazards, and civil actions seeking injunctions, cost reimbursement, and compensatory damages for harm to water quality or wildlife.