evaluating california water quality standards

A Review of the Administrative Record for the Central Valley’s Water Quality Control Plan: 1975-1994 The California Resource Management Institute is pleased to be making available the report - CLICK HERE FOR A COPY of A Review of the Administrative Record for the Central Valley’s Water Quality Control Plan: 1975-1994 - prepared by Larry Walker, president and founder of Larry Walker Associates (LWA) and former executive officer of the State Water Resources Control Board, and Tess Dunham, legal counsel and regulatory affairs specialist for Larry Walker Associates. The report has determined that the water quality standards contained in the Water Quality Control Plan for the Central Valley’s Sacramento River, San Joaquin River and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (commonly referred to as the “Basin Plan”), as originally developed in 1975 and subsequently amended thereafter, were not developed in compliance with the requirements established under the federal Clean Water Act and the state Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. The Basin Plan covers one-fourth of the total area of California and is the core-regulatory document for water quality as it incorporates both state and federal legal requirements. The purpose of the report is to determine how the factors in the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act have been applied to the development of beneficial uses and water quality objectives that are applicable to surface water and groundwater in the Sacramento River, San Joaquin River and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta basins. The report presents a detailed analysis of the Basin Plan and its administrative records for the period of 1975 to 1994. It compares the requirements of the Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act to the Regional Board’s adoption process for various water quality standards contained in the Basin Plan. Overall, many of the standards adopted in 1975 are still in effect today. In most cases, the original standards have not been reviewed to determine if they are still appropriate and applicable. At the time standards were adopted, the Regional Board intended to review and update the standards as more information became available. Unfortunately, a lack of planning and resources has curtailed refinement as originally anticipated. As a result, discharge conditions and other regulatory controls are being made pursuant to standards that were adopted almost thirty years ago with little information and in violation of the applicable laws at the time the plan was adopted. The Institute hopes that this report will provide valuable information as the region pursues ways of improving water quality. The historical perspective of the report will hopefully serve as a foundation by which the public, those in charge of enforcing water quality laws, and those required to comply with water quality laws can work together to achieve environmental and economic balance as it relates to water quality.