The 1972 Clean Water Act (CWA) established the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit Program to regulate the discharge of pollutants from point sources to waters of the United States (U.S.), i.e., Newport Bay, the Santa Ana River, the ocean. The NPDES Permit was adopted on January 18, 2002. With the adoption of the permit, deadlines were set for municipalities, working with the County of Orange, to meet the various requirements of the permit. The currently adopted form of the permit includes considerable mandates for the implementation of water quality control programs, including public education, regulatory requirements for existing and new development, increased inspections, monitoring, revision, and the adoption of more restrictive development standards (commercial, industrial, restaurant facility inspections, new Best Management Practices, etc.).