1 Management of Non-Point Source Pollution CE 296B Department of Civil Engineering California State University, Sacramento Lecture #4, February 10, 1998 Clean Water Act - Part III

2 Beneficial Uses; and Water Quality Objectives Beneficial uses are what we are trying to protect the water body for; and Water quality objectives are standards for the water body. The water quality in the water body should, in theory at least, conform to the water quality objectives. Recall from the last two lectures, the starting place for the protection of water bodies is:

3 I.In California, the document that spells out beneficial uses and associated water quality objectives is the basin plan. A.Recall the nine regional water quality control boards: 1. North Coast 2.Bay Area 3.Central Coast 4.Los Angeles 5.Central Valley 6.Lahontan 7. Colorado River 8.Santa Ana 9.San Diego

4 B.Each region has an entity in the administrative branch of government that regulates that region. There are two sections to that entity: 1.A board appointed by the governor. 2.A staff of civil servants that: –Makes recommendations for the board to vote on. –Carries out day-to-day regulatory actions I.In California, the document that spells out beneficial uses and associated water quality objectives is the basin plan. (cont.)

5 C.The staff prepare a basin plan for board approval. The basin plan is supposed to conform to the CWA and Porter-Cologne Act. The Porter-Cologne Act requires that each basin plan be formally reviewed and revised every three years. The board must then vote on that reviewed and updated plan. If approved, it becomes the governing document for defining and meeting beneficial uses. I.In California, the document that spells out beneficial uses and associated water quality objectives is the basin plan. (cont.)

6 D.Each basin plan has the following sections: 1.A forward that describes the authority under which the basin plan is prepared. 2.An introduction that gives a general description of the region. 3.The chapter describing existing and potential beneficial uses in the region. 4.The chapter describing the water quality objectives required to meet the beneficial uses in the region. I.In California, the document that spells out beneficial uses and associated water quality objectives is the basin plan. (cont.)

7 5. A chapter on the implementation of the basin plan. It describes the policies and plans designed to meet the beneficial uses. 6.A chapter on surveillance and monitoring. It describes in very general terms the process of collecting data on the assessment of beneficial uses and water quality objectives. I.In California, the document that spells out beneficial uses and associated water quality objectives is the basin plan. (cont.) D. Each basin plan has the following sections:

8 7.An appendix that contains: –Copies of relevant State Water Board Resolutions. –Copies of relevant State Water Board Memorandums of Agreement and Understanding between the Water Boards and other agencies. –Copies of Regional Water Quality Control Board guidelines and policies. I. In California, the document that spells out beneficial uses and associated water quality objectives is the basin plan. (cont.) D. Each basin plan has the following sections:

9 E.It is important to remember that the chapters that really matter are the two that describe the beneficial uses and water quality objectives. All the rest is designed to support the goal of meeting those beneficial uses and water quality objectives. I.In California, the document that spells out beneficial uses and associated water quality objectives is the basin plan. (cont.)

10 Discussion Break Despite the fact that a basin plan is centered on the chapters on beneficial uses and water quality objectives, the appendix contains a relentless sometimes contradicting sequence of fine print. Could this cloud the goal of staying focused on beneficial uses and water quality objectives?

11 A.Rather than start with a water body and detail out the beneficial uses, basin plans start by describing a set of generic beneficial uses. An example would be: Water Contact Recreation (REC -1) - Uses of water for recreational activities involving body contact with water where ingestion of water is reasonably possible. These uses include, but are not limited to, swimming, wading, water-skiing, skin and scuba diving, surfing, white water activities, fishing or use of natural hot springs. II.How is the chapters on beneficial uses and water quality objectives devised?

12 B.Then, the water body in question is assigned the appropriate generic beneficial uses. Each beneficial use is a “one size fits all” designation. C.Generic water quality objectives are then assigned for the achievement of each generic beneficial use. II. How is the chapters on beneficial uses and water quality objectives devised? (cont.)

13 Discussion Break What are the advantages of assigning beneficial uses and water quality objectives in this way? What are the disadvantages of assigning beneficial uses and water quality objectives in this way?

14 A.In California, two different things happen: 1.With State Board and USEPA oversight, the regional boards may designate that water body as impaired. It then goes on the 303,d impaired water body list. This assessment is done every other year and requires a vote of the Board. 2.The State Board staff may designate the water body as impaired. III.What happens when water quality objectives are not met (i.e., receiving water limitations exceeded)?

15 III. What happens when water quality objectives are not met (i.e., receiving water limitations exceeded)? (cont.) B.What does the 303,d designation mean? Within a reasonable amount of time, a set of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) for each pollutant contributing to the impairment of the water body must be set. After assessing who contributes how much of each pollutant load in the watershed, the necessary reductions in those loads are partitioned among the dischargers.

16 Discussion Break What are some of the difficulties in assessing how much of each pollutant the water body can take? What are some of the difficulties in assessing how much of each pollutant each discharger is contributing? What about the case where some dischargers are regulated and some are not? With respect to adding a water body to the 303,d list and with respect to keeping a water body off the list, the process is often criticized as being political. Why?

17 Discussion Break The 303,d impaired water body and associated TMDL law is in a different section of the CWA from NPDES permits. This has created much uncertainty as to how this will be enforced. The most powerful enforcement mechanism are citizen enforcement lawsuits, particularly those directed against new development. Why would counties be so worried about TMDL’s?

18 C.What about the State Board impaired list? The list is compiled without a board vote. It is designed to be a strictly scientific designation. It also contains a listing of water bodies in good condition and those in an intermediate state. III. What happens when water quality objectives are not met (i.e., receiving water limitations exceeded)? (cont.)

19 Discussion Break Given finite resources, is money better spent preventing water bodies that are in good shape from becoming impaired or better spent fixing impaired water bodies? The CWA directs society to first fix the impaired water bodies and then has an anti-degradation clause directing dischargers to not allow water bodies to deteriorate more. Could better direction be given?

20 A.After the 1986 Amendments to the Clean Water Act (CWA)were passed the first action was to ignore the problem. B.After being sued, USEPA agreed to establish non-point source regulations in phases under the NPDES section of the CWA. 1.Phase I regulations were implemented in 1990 and were directed to communities with more than 100,000 people. 2.Phase II regulations will bring in communities with more than 50,000 people. IV.What has been the general direction of the USEPA is setting non-point source regulations?

21 C.Additionally, with each phase, the standards of pollutant reduction will be increased. D.State and local regulatory agencies have until now, been reluctant participants in the process. They often have to be goaded into issuing NPDES permits. IV. What has been the general direction of the USEPA is setting non-point source regulations? (cont.)

22 Discussion Break A pattern of regulatory agencies being reluctant parties to the regulation of non-point source pollution is evident. Why?

23 Homework #2 Water Bodies to Assess American River: Placerville to Folsom Lake Bear River Butte Creek: Sources to Chico Cache Creek: Clear Lake to Yolo Bypass Consumnes River Feather River: Fish Barrier Dam to Sacramento River Mokelumne River: Camanche Reservoir to Delta Putah Creek: Lake Berryessa to Yolo Bypass Stanislaus River: Goodwin Dam to San Joaquin River Yuba River: Englebright Dam to Feather River