1999 Accomplishments and Priorities

Regional Water Quality Control Boards

The Regional Water Quality Control Boards work with the State Water Resources Control Board to preserve and enhance the quality of California's water resources for the benefit of present and future generations.

Accomplishments during Second Half of 1999

1. Groundwater Cleanups.
   • City of Santa Monica, Arcadia Wellfield. Investigations were completed and plans approved to clean up the MTBE contaminated production zone aquifer in this area of the Los Angeles Region. Construction of the production zone treatment system has begun and pilot testing is scheduled to start in early January 2000. Subsequent to completion of pilot testing and receiving permits from the State Department of Health Services, residents of the City of Santa Monica will use treated groundwater.
   • Guadalupe Oilfield. In response to a cleanup order of the Central Coast Regional Board in November 1999, Unocal secured the last of the permits required to begin the four-year cleanup project at its former Guadalupe Oilfield. Unocal will excavate numerous areas of the oilfield where petroleum products were spilled, contaminating ground and surface waters.
   • Oxnard Forebay. In August 1999, the Los Angeles Regional Board prohibited all new septic systems in the Oxnard Forebay and mandated that discharges from existing septic systems must cease within 8 years. Pathogens and nitrogen from up to 3000 septic systems, from approximately 13,000 residents in El Rio and nearby communities, have impaired portions of the groundwater. The Oxnard Forebay recharges groundwater in aquifers underlying the Oxnard Plain. These aquifers store almost 700,000 acre-feet of water and are a critical source of local water for the County of Ventura.
   • Brownfields. The San Francisco Regional Board adopted two Prospective Purchaser Agreements (PPAs) for sites in Hayward and South San Francisco. PPAs release developers of brownfield properties from future liability through orders that require site cleanup and protection of the public and environment. Without PPAs, these brownfield properties would most likely not be returned to economic use or cleaned up in a timely manner. Under the Polanco Act (California Health and Safety Code, Section 33459), the Regional Board provided liability relief for developers of contaminated properties in cooperation with Redevelopment Agencies in San Leandro and in San Jose.
2. Cleanup of Abandoned Mines.
   • Penn Mine, Calaveras County. In November 1999, the Central Valley Regional Board, in cooperation with East Bay Municipal Utility District, completed remediation of the abandoned Penn Mine in Calaveras County. This achievement marked the culmination of litigation involving the Committee to Save the Mokelumne River and signaled a new era in water quality in that foothill watercourse. The Penn Mine Environmental Restoration Project was funded equally by the State and the District at a combined cost of approximately $10 million. The project involved landfill construction, mine waste excavation and disposal, landfill closure and revegetation, monitoring well construction, removal of previously constructed acid mine drainage facilities, mineshaft sealing, site grading and revegetation. The Regional Board and the District will continue to monitor ground and surface water quality to determine the effectiveness of the restoration project.
   • Leviathan Mine. The Lahontan Regional Board conducted a treatability study and successfully treated over 4 million gallons of acid mine drainage that was stored in ponds at the Leviathan Mine in Alpine County. As a result, there is a good likelihood that there will be no discharge of acid mine drainage from the evaporation ponds next spring and summer. Revegetation of approximately five acres of land at the site was also completed.
   • Gambonini Mine. Construction to remediate the abandoned Gambonini Mine in western Marin County was completed in September. This mine was a major source of mercury-laden sediment going to Tomales Bay and tributary streams in the San Francisco Bay Region. Revegetation and monitoring was funded by the State Cleanup and Abatement Account while earth moving and construction of drainage and stabilization systems were funded by the federal Superfund.
   • Buena Vista and Klau Mine. The first phase of remedial work, including the installation of sedimentation basins and other erosion control measures, was completed at the Buena Vista and Klau mines. This work resulted from years of enforcement and litigation by the Central Coast Regional Board to stop ongoing pollution emanating from these mines.

3. Adoption of New General Discharge Permit for Dairies. In August 1999, the Santa Ana Regional Board adopted a new General Discharge Permit for dairies. The new permit requires engineered waste management plans for all facilities, prohibits manure disposal, prohibits manure use for fertilizer in portions of the region, and includes new requirements for manure management at dairies. The Regional Board also adopted a cease and desist order, specifying time schedules for compliance with these new requirements. The new General Permit will help to control serious water quality problems caused by dairies in the Santa Ana Region.

4. TMDL for the East Fork of the San Gabriel River. In October 1999, the Los Angeles Regional Board adopted a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for trash in the East Fork of the San Gabriel River. This action set the goal of zero trash in the river to be achieved by April 1, 2003. The East Fork Trash TMDL is the first of its kind in the nation. The TMDL requires the U.S. Forest Service to develop and submit an implementation plan by February 1, 2000, and to begin implementation and monitoring by April 1, 2000.

5. New River/Mexicali Sanitation Project.
   • Colorado River Basin Regional Board staff completed a water quality study of the New River at the international boundary. Conventional pollutants, bacteria, metals, and volatile organic constituents were monitored. Results will be used to develop TMDLs for the New River and to determine Mexico’s compliance with water quality treaties.
   • The "Quick-Fix" projects for Mexicali were completed in July 1999. The Quick-Fixes were emergency sanitary infrastructure projects required to mitigate water quality impacts on the New River at the international boundary.

6. Wetlands Restoration. Through funding recommendations, enforcement remedies and other means, the San Diego Regional Board assisted several regional wetlands restoration and planning projects. Projects included the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project, the Tijuana Estuary Model Marsh Project, the San Elijo Lagoon Tidal Circulation Project, the Rose Creek Tidal Restoration Plan and the Buena Vista Lagoon Tidal Restoration Plan.

Priorities for First Half of 2000

1. Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs).
   • The Central Valley Regional Board is developing TMDLs for two longstanding water quality problems in the Delta: low dissolved oxygen in the San Joaquin River in the vicinity of Stockton and elevated levels of mercury in fish. Two CALFED funded projects will be initiated: an $800,000 project to determine the principle sources of oxygen depleting substances going into the San Joaquin River and a $3.8 million project, developed by a mercury advisory group, working through the Sacramento River Watershed Program, to develop information on mercury sources and cycling. For the San Joaquin River dissolved oxygen problem, a steering committee, including representatives of all the surrounding municipalities, the Port of Stockton, the California Farm Bureau, dairy industry, the state and federal resource agencies and the Bay Keeper and Delta Keeper, has made a commitment to recommend a TMDL and implementation plan to the Regional Board by 2002.
   • The San Lorenzo River Nutrient TMDL and San Luis Obispo Creek Nutrient TMDL, the first two TMDLs for water bodies in the Central Coast Region, will be considered for adoption.
   • The Los Angeles Regional Board plans to develop three TMDLs: chlorides in Calleguas Creek, trash in the Los Angeles River and trash in Ballona Creek.
   • The Colorado River Basin Regional Board will consider a bacteria TMDL for the New River and the sedimentation/siltation TMDL for the Alamo River in April 2000.
   • In April 2000, the Lahontan Regional Board expects to adopt a TMDL for Heavenly Valley Creek and the delisting (considered equivalent to a TMDL) of several naturally impaired waters from the federal 303(d) list. Two additional TMDLs covering Pine Creek and either Indian Creek Reservoir or a blanket TMDL for nine saline water bodies will be considered by the Board in June 2000.
   • San Diego Regional Board staff will complete and forward to U.S. EPA a toxicity TMDL for Chollas Creek and a nutrient TMDL for Rainbow Creek.

2. Salinity Standards on San Joaquin River. The San Joaquin River has been identified as one of the poorest quality rivers in the United States, due primarily to salinity. The recent SWRCB Draft Bay-Delta Decision relies heavily upon the Central Valley Regional Board taking actions to control salinity on the San Joaquin River upstream of the Delta. The Regional Board will hold two workshops in March and April 2000 to begin the process of amending its Water Quality Control Plan (Basin Plan) to establish water quality objectives and an implementation plan for controlling salt inputs into the river. Such a Basin Plan amendment could result in specific requirements for long-term salinity control on the river being imposed on a number of water and wastewater agencies.

3. Unocal, Avila Beach. Responding to enforcement orders issued by the Central Coast Regional Board, Unocal is expected to complete the cleanup of Avila Beach before summer 2000. Unocal excavated and replaced portions of the town and beach to remove petroleum contamination that leaked from pipelines.

4. Timber Harvest Activities. Increased staffing for timber harvest enforcement activities will result in substantial increases in the conduct of preharvest, active and post-harvest inspections on North Coast timberlands. The following inspections and review meetings are anticipated:
   • 270 inspections on lands of the Pacific Lumber Company
   • 315 inspections on other lands
   • 10 inspections on lands of the US Forest Service
   • 100 timber harvest review team meetings

5. Dioxins in San Francisco Bay. The San Francisco Bay Regional Board will conduct a third major sampling for dioxins in fish in the spring of 2000 (previous sampling in 1994 and 1997). By March 2000, U.S. EPA and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District will update the inventory of potential air sources of dioxins. Efforts will be coordinated with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and Department of Health Services.

6. Leviathan Mine. The Lahontan Regional Board will request bids for a contract to treat acid mine drainage at the Leviathan Mine site using the bi-phasic neutralization process. Companies wishing to test a different process will be invited to conduct onsite pilot-scale treatability studies throughout the summer.

7. International Border Issues
   • The San Diego Regional Board will resolve violations of the International Boundary and Water Commission International Wastewater Treatment Plant.
   • Construction of the New River/Mexicali wastewater treatment facility and collection system for the Mexicali metropolitan areas will begin in March 2000. These infrastructure improvements are essential to mitigate water quality impacts in the New River at the international boundary.
8. Basin Plan Amendments.
   • In early 2000, the San Francisco Bay Regional Board will consider Basin Plan amendments which will assist the Board and responsible parties in prioritizing and addressing groundwater cleanups and protection actions. Issues include the application of drinking water standards for groundwater cleanups and revised groundwater basin definitions.
   • The Santa Ana Regional Board will conduct a public hearing to consider major changes in the Region’s Basin Plan. Revised water quality objectives for nitrogen and total dissolved solids, as well as modified groundwater subbasin boundaries, will be proposed for adoption. This is the next milestone in the $3 million watershed-wide study that has been directed by a stakeholder task force. Members of the task force include representatives of all major water districts, publicly owned treatment works, and other local and federal agencies with interests in the Santa Ana River watershed.

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