California Code of Regulations
Title 23 - Waters
Division 3 - State Water Resources Control Board and Regional Water Quality Control Boards
Chapter 23 - Water Quality Control Plans
Section 3006 - Clear and Concise Summary of the Sediment Quality Provisions of the Water Quality Control Plan for Enclosed Bays and Estuaries of California Adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board on September 16, 2008 and Amended on April 6, 2011 and on June 5, 2018

(a) As adopted on September 16, 2008, Part 1 includes two narrative sediment quality objectives and a program to implement the narrative objectives. The narrative objectives protect:

* Benthic communities for direct exposure to pollutants in sediment, and

* Human health from contaminants in fish tissue that bioaccumulate from the sediment up the food web

Part 1 describes how to interpret the narrative objectives and how to assess whether the narrative objectives have been attained. The program of implementation addresses:

* Stressor identification studies

* Monitoring ambient sediment quality

* Use of the sediment quality objectives as receiving water limits in Waste Discharge Requirements/National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permits

* Exceedance of receiving water limits

* Applicability of the sediment quality objectives to dredging activities

* Applicability of State Water Board Resolution No. 92-49 for cleanup actions and cleanup levels, and

* Development of site-specific sediment management guidelines

(b) the amendments to part 1, as adopted on april 6, 2011, modify the regulatory provisions of the previous part 1 to include the following:

* A narrative sediment quality objective that protects wildlife and resident finfish from both direct exposure to toxic pollutants in sediment and indirect exposure to pollutants in sediment that bioaccumulate up the food web

* A requirement to utilize ecological risk assessment to implement this narrative

* Additions to the glossary and supersession language to provide additional clarity

(c) The amendments adopted on June 5, 2018 include the following:

* A revised approach implementing the aquatic life--benthic community protection sediment quality objective to assess multiple stations that encompass a site based upon magnitude of response and percent of area of impact, in order to evaluate the need to list waterbodies as impaired and evaluate compliance with receiving water limits

* A revised approach implementing the sediment quality objective protecting human consumers from contaminants that bioaccumulate from sediment into tissue, applicable to organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls from sediment into sportfish

* Additions to the glossary and supersession language to provide additional clarity