1 How the Water Board Protects California’s Water Quality Kate Hart, Board Member Chair Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board

2 Function of the Water Boards The primary duty of the Water Boards is to protect the quality of the waters within the state for all beneficial uses. Specific responsibilities and procedures of the Water Boards are contained in the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Act.

3 The Water Boards work hard to preserve, protect, enhance and restore water quality throughout the state.

4 Organization of the Water Boards  State Water Board, located in Sacramento  Nine Regional Water Boards, whose geographic boundaries are based on watersheds  Central Valley Water Board, located in Rancho Cordova, Redding and Fresno

5 What the State Board Does Protects water quality by:  Setting statewide policy  Coordinating and supporting the Regional Water Board efforts  Reviewing petitions that contest Regional Water Board actions  Allocating surface water rights

6 Policy for Maintaining Instream Flows in Northern California Coastal Streams  Adoption of principles and guidelines as part of state policy for water quality control  Preservation of instream flow needed to protect fishery resources  Applicable to specific areas that provide habitat for steelhead trout, coho salmon, Chinook salmon

7 Water Rights  Law administered by the State Water Resources Control Board  Water rights are required if you take water from lake, river, stream, or creek  Protects water for beneficial uses  Stops wasteful or unreasonable uses of water which may harm streambeds, endangered species, fisheries, fish and wildlife

8 Thermal Pollution  California Thermal Plan  Discharge of heated water from industrial processes, which kill or injure aquatic species  Water-cooled power plants, hydroelectric dams (Oroville, Shasta, Folsom), refineries, chemical plants, urban runoff

9 What the Central Valley Water Board Does Protects water quality by:  Making critical water quality decision for the Central Valley  Setting standards  Issuing waste discharge requirements and determining compliance with those requirements  Taking appropriate enforcement actions

10 Central Valley Water Board Programs  CV-SALTS Initiative  Delta Strategic Plan  Mining  Timber Harvest  CWA 303d List/Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)  Water Quality Certification  Waste Discharge to Land – Protects Groundwater  National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) – Protects Surface Water  Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs)

11 CV-SALTS Initiative  Elevated salinity and nitrates in surface water and groundwater, which can impact wildlife  Conditions worsening in Central Valley  CV-SALTS is an effort to develop a long-term management plan

12 Delta Strategic Plan  State/Regional Board team coordinate with other entities to address impairments in Delta  Develop Delta Regional Monitoring Program  Helps address Pelagic Organism Decline

13 Mining Program  Oversees the discharge of waste from hundreds of active, inactive or abandoned mines in the Central Valley  Metals and salts from mining impact Central Valley rivers, streams, lakes and groundwater, which can result in fish kills

14 Timber Harvest Program  Reviews timber harvest plans to regulate public and private timber harvest activities  Excessive soil erosion and sediment delivery creates unstable stream channels, silts fish spawning habitats and wetlands, and clogs drinking water intakes

15 Clean Water Act 303d List  Section 303d of the Clean Water Act requires states to develop a list of impaired water bodies  Several water bodies are listed as impaired for mercury, which bioaccumulates in some fish species  d list has been updated and approximately 400 impaired Central Valley water bodies have been added to the d list

16 TMDL Program  Develops control programs to address impairments to water bodies listed on the Clean Water Act 303d List  TMDLs have been developed for pesticides, dissolved oxygen, mercury, sediment, metals, salts, selenium, and pathogens

17 Waste Discharge to Land Program  Regulates waste discharges to land from over 1200 Central Valley facilities which could impact underlying groundwater  Primarily focuses on measures necessary to prevent and/or mitigate groundwater degradation

18 NPDES Program  Regulates discharges to surface waters from wastewater treatment plants, industries, and storm water discharges  Polluted water can have many adverse effects on plants, fish, animals and people

19 NPDES Permits  30% of permits statewide  Approximately 220 Central Valley facilities  Addresses toxic pollutants (organics and heavy metals), and other constituents (aluminum, ammonia, hardness)  Regional Goals:  Regionalization and recycling  Minimal permit renewal backlog

20 Water Quality Certification Program  Clean Water Act Section 401/404 certification for discharge of dredged and/or fill materials  River gravel augmentation or improvement projects, including pilot gravel injection projects or salmonid spawning gravel augmentation programs  Sediment removal for maintaining fish passage

21 Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs)  During settlement negotiations over an enforcement action, the dischargers may choose to use a SEP from the list to offset a portion of the liability  Proponents can submit SEP proposals for consideration  Qualified SEP List will be posted on Central Valley Water Board’s website

22 Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs)  Any SEP meeting the criteria and deemed acceptable by the RB staff will be posted on our website for a 30 days public comment period  Projects accepted on the list are not formally approved

23 Questions?