Cal. Code Regs. tit. 23 § 2914

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 45, November 8, 2024

Section 2914 - Policy for Implementation of Toxics Standards for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California

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.

The Policy establishes:

(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".

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 23, § 2914

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).