Santa Clara, CA Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Under City of Santa Clara City Code SCCC § 13.20.050 (Stormwater management requirements for construction sites), every construction site owner or operator must implement and maintain adequate erosion control, runon and runoff control, sediment control, active treatment systems where appropriate, dewatering controls, good site management, and nonstormwater management through all phases of construction, including grubbing, clearing, site grading, filling, excavation, leveling, building, landscaping, and finishing of lots, until the site is fully stabilized by landscaping or permanent erosion control measures. Temporary erosion and sediment controls must come out once construction is complete.

Before any ground disturbance, owners/operators must submit an erosion and sediment control plan with seasonally appropriate best management practices (BMPs) for City review and approval under § 13.20.050(b). Sites disturbing one acre or more of soil have an added layer: the owner/operator must file a Notice of Intent (NOI) for coverage under the statewide construction general permit and have a qualified developer prepare a site-specific Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), which must be amended as needed; proof of permit coverage is due before the City will issue building, grading, demolition, or site improvement permits (§ 13.20.050(c)).

City representatives must be given access to inspect BMPs before ground disturbance, during construction, and after completion, and the owner/operator must produce the SWPPP and permit coverage evidence on request (§ 13.20.050(d)). This sits within the broader Chapter 13.20 program: new and redevelopment projects face separate low-impact-development treatment and trash-capture-device duties under § 13.20.040, and the City may set stormwater plan review and inspection fees by Council resolution under § 13.20.080. The chapter implements the federal Clean Water Act, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, and the City's Municipal Regional Stormwater NPDES Permit (§ 13.20.010).