Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 52, December 27, 2024
On March 2, 2000, the State Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB) adopted Resolution No. 2000-015, creating the Policy for Implementation
of Toxics Standards for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of
California (Policy). On April 26, 2000, the SWRCB adopted Resolution No.
2000-030, which amended Resolution No. 2000-015 by modifying the conditions for
the effective date of the Policy with respect to its application to certain
standards. The goal of the Policy is to establish a standardized approach for
permitting discharges of toxic pollutants to non-ocean surface waters in a
manner that promotes statewide consistency. The Policy applies to discharges of
toxic pollutants into the inland surface waters, enclosed bays, and estuaries
of California subject to regulation under the State's Porter-Cologne Water
Quality Control Act (Division 7 of the Water Code) and the federal Clean Water
Act. Such regulation may occur through the issuance of National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, the issuance or waiver of waste
discharge requirements, or other relevant regulatory approaches. The Policy
does not apply to discharges of toxic pollutants from combined sewer systems or
to the regulation of storm water discharges.
(1) implementation provisions for priority
pollutant criteria promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(U.S. EPA) through the National Toxics Rule (NTR) (40 C.F.R. §
131.36) and through the California Toxics
Rule (CTR) (40 C.F.R. §
131.38), and for priority pollutant
objectives established by Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCBs) in
their water quality control plans (basin plans);
(2) monitoring requirements for 2,3,7,8-TCDD
equivalents; and
(3) chronic
toxicity control provisions. In addition, the Policy includes a description of
the State's existing nonpoint source management approach, procedures for
initiating site-specific objective development, and exceptions provisions.
Terms are defined in Appendix 1 of the Policy. The specific, regulatory Policy
provisions are summarized as follows:
(a)
Establishing Water Quality-Based Effluent Limitations for Priority
Pollutant Criteria/Objectives(1)
Specifies the priority pollutant criteria and objectives, and their general
application to beneficial uses designated in basin plans, to which the Policy
applies.
(2) Addresses data
requirements and adjustments; specifies that the RWQCBs shall issue letters to
all NPDES permittees requesting the data necessary to determine whether water
quality-based effluent limitations are needed and to calculate the limits;
authorizes a time schedule of not to exceed three years from the Policy's
effective date for submittal of data; states that it is the discharger's
responsibility to provide the necessary data; requires that
criteria/objectives, and pollutant and flow data, are properly adjusted,
applied, and expressed for the purposes of establishing water quality-based
effluent limitations pursuant to the Policy.
(3) Establishes provisions to determine
whether a water quality-based effluent limitation for a priority pollutant is
required in a discharger's permit (flowchart is provided in Appendix 2 of the
Policy).
(4) Establishes four
methods for calculating water quality-based effluent limitations for priority
pollutants to be included in permits: derive from a Total Maximum Daily Load
(TMDL); use a steady-state model; apply a dynamic model, and consider intake
water pollutants; detailed procedures are established for the steady-state
model method; specifies that more restrictive water quality-based effluent
limitations (e.g., discharge prohibition) are required if necessary to protect
beneficial uses or are otherwise required by law; establishes method for
calculating effluent limitations where pollutants are so diluted by cooling
water as to make monitoring impractical.
(5) Establishes procedures for applying
translators to metals and selenium criteria/objectives; requires that the U.S.
EPA conversion factor (listed in Appendix 3 of the Policy) be used as
translators unless the discharger completes a site-specific translator study
and proposes a site-specific translator within two years of permit issuance or
reissuance; establishes general procedures for conducting the study and
specifies interim permit requirements.
(6) Authorizes RWQCBs to consider granting
mixing zones and dilution credits to be used in calculating water quality-based
effluent limitations; establishes procedures for deriving a dilution credit;
establishes conditions to be met in allowing a mixing zone and factors to be
considered in determining whether to deny or significantly limit a mixing zone
and dilution credit.
(7)
Establishes procedures for determining the ambient background concentration of
a priority pollutant for use in determining whether a water quality-based
effluent limitation is required and in calculating a limit; specifies that the
observed maximum of individual reported values be used, except that an
arithmetic mean shall be used in the case of calculating a water quality-based
effluent limitation for a priority pollutant that is intended to protect human
health from carcinogenic effects.
(8) Establishes conditions under which a
credit for intake water pollutants may be considered in calculating a water
quality-based effluent limitation for a priority pollutant.
(b)
Determining Compliance With
Priority Pollutant Criteria/Objectives and Water Quality-Based Effluent
Limitations for Priority Pollutant Criteria/Objectives
(1) Authorizes the RWQCBs to grant compliance
schedules up to five years from permit issuance, reissuance, or modification to
comply with water quality-based effluent limitations for CTR priority
pollutants, and up to 15 years to develop and adopt a TMDL, and accompanying
Waste Load Allocations and Load Allocations, for CTR priority pollutants;
establishes conditions, including discharger justification, under which a
compliance schedule may be granted for an existing discharger; requires
compliance with CTR criterion-based effluent limitation within 10 years from
the effective date of the Policy; requires compliance with TMDL-derived
effluent limitations within 20 years from the effective date of the Policy;
requires that a compliance schedule be accompanied by interim requirements in
the permit.
(2) Establishes
provisions for interim requirements under a compliance schedule, including a
requirement for numeric interim limitations if the compliance schedule exceeds
one year; establishes provisions for interim requirements under a schedule to
submit data sufficient to establish water quality-based effluent
limitations.
(3) Establishes a
requirement for dischargers to conduct self-monitoring programs and a
requirement for RWQCBs to specify monitoring requirements in permits; lists
options for analytical methods for priority pollutants to be used; requires
that laboratories monitoring samples be certified by the Department of Health
Services in accordance with Water Code Section
13176.
(4) Establishes that the discharger shall
report with each analytical sample result two reporting levels, the Method
Detection Limit (MDL) and the applicable Minimum Level (selected in accordance
with the Policy); establishes procedures for selecting and using an ML from
among the MLs established in Appendix 4 of the Policy; establishes conditions
under which an ML that is not in Appendix 4 may be included in the discharger's
permit; establishes protocols for reporting analytical sample results in
relation to the required reporting levels (the MDL and the ML); establishes
provisions for determining compliance with water quality-based effluent
limitations for priority pollutants based on the reporting protocols, including
a requirement to conduct a Pollutant Minimization Program under specified
situations.
(c)
2,3,7,8-TCDD Equivalents: Directs RWQCBs to require all NPDES
permittees to monitor their effluents for the presence of the 17 congeners of
2,3,7,8-TCDD (dioxin) for specified periods; states that the results of this
statewide monitoring effort will be assessed for the purpose of developing a
multi-media control strategy for these chemicals in the future.
(d)
Toxicity Control
Provisions: Establishes minimum toxicity control provisions for
implementing the narrative toxicity objectives for aquatic life protection in
basin plans that supplement, not supersede, existing RWQCB toxicity
requirements.
(e)
Special
Provisions
(1) Establishes a
procedure for the RWQCBs to follow in considering the initiation of
site-specific objective development for priority pollutants.
(2) Establishes provisions for granting
categorical exceptions to meeting priority pollutant criteria/objectives
determined to be necessary to implement control measures for resource or pest
management conducted by public entities, or regarding drinking water, to
fulfill statutory requirements; establishes provisions for granting
case-by-case exceptions to meeting a priority pollutant criterion/objective or
any other provision of the Policy where the exception will not compromise
protection of enclosed bay, estuarine, and inland surface waters for beneficial
uses and the public interest will be served.
(f)
Definition of Terms: The
Policy defines "acutely toxic conditions", "arithmetic mean", "average monthly
effluent limitation", "best management practices", "bioaccumulative",
"biologically-based receiving water flow", "carcinogenic", "coefficient of
variation", "completely-mixed discharge", "dilution credit", "dilution ratio",
"dynamic models", "effluent concentration allowance", "enclosed bays",
"estimated chemical concentration", "estuaries", "existing discharger",
"four-day average of daily maximum flows", "harmonic mean", "incompletely-mixed
discharge", "infeasible", "inland surface waters", "load allocation",
"long-term arithmetic mean flow", "maximum daily flow", "maximum daily effluent
limitation", "median", "method detection limit", "minimum level", "mixing
zone", "mutagenic", "new discharger", "objectionable bottom deposits", "ocean
waters", "persistent", "pollutant minimization", "pollution prevention",
"process optimization", "public entity", "source of drinking water", "standard
deviation", "teratogenic", "toxicity reduction evaluation", "use attainability
analysis", "1Q10", "7Q10", and "90th percentile of observed
data".
1. New section
summarizing the policy adopted by State Water Resources Control Board
Resolution Nos. 2000-015 and 2000-030; approved by OAL and effective 4-28-2000
pursuant to Government Code section
11353;
summary filed with the Secretary of State 4-28-2000 (Register 2000, No.
17).
2. Revision of "alternate test procedure" provision of section
2.3 of the Policy for Implementation of Toxics Standards for Inland Surface
Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California approved by OAL and
effective 5-22-00 pursuant to Government Code section
11353;
summary filed with the Secretary of State 5-22-00 (Register 2000, No.
21).
