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 3014 - Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California: Toxicity Provisions
Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
On December 1, 2020, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) adopted Resolution No. 2020-0044. On October 5, 2021, the State Water Board adopted Resolution No. 2021-0044. Collectively, these resolutions adopted the State Policy for Water Quality Control: Toxicity Provisions (referred to as the Toxicity Provisions) as a state policy for water quality control for all inland surface waters, enclosed bays, estuaries, and coastal lagoons of the state, and also for inclusion in the Water Quality Control Plan for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California for waters of the United States.
The primary goal of the Toxicity Provisions is to provide consistent protection of aquatic life beneficial uses in all inland surface waters, enclosed bays, estuaries, and coastal lagoons of the state from the effects of toxicity. The Toxicity Provisions supersede any conflicting provisions in regional water quality control plans. The Toxicity Provisions include:
1) numeric water quality objectives for both chronic and acute aquatic toxicity that are expressed as a null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis and incorporate regulatory management decisions that represent the allowable error rates and thresholds that would result in an unacceptable risk to aquatic life,
2) requirements to use the Test of Significant Toxicity statistical approach for analyzing aquatic toxicity test data, and
3) a program of implementation to control toxicity in discharges and achieve, maintain, and protect aquatic life beneficial uses and water quality objectives. The main components of the program of implementation include specific requirements for species sensitivity screening, reasonable potential analysis, effluent limitations and targets, monitoring frequencies, and toxicity reduction evaluations.
1. New section adopting State Policy for Water Control; Toxicity Provisions filed 4-25-2022; approved by State Water Resources Control Board Resolution No. 2021-0044 on 10-5-2021; approved by OAL pursuant to Government Code section 11353 on 4-25-2022 (Register 2022, No. 17).
