13160. The state board is designated as the state water pollution
control agency for all purposes stated in the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act and any other federal act, heretofore or hereafter
enacted, and is (a) authorized to give any certificate or statement
required by any federal agency pursuant to any such federal act that
there is reasonable assurance that an activity of any person subject
to the jurisdiction of the state board will not reduce water quality
below applicable standards, and (b) authorized to exercise any powers
delegated to the state by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq.) and acts amendatory thereto.
13160.1. (a) The state board may establish a reasonable fee
schedule to cover the costs incurred by the state board and the
regional boards in connection with any certificate that is required
or authorized by any federal law with respect to the effect of any
existing or proposed facility, project, or construction work upon the
quality of waters of the state, including certificates requested by
applicants for a federal permit or license pursuant to Section 401 of
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, and
certificates requested pursuant to Section 169 of the Internal
Revenue Code, as amended, with respect to water pollution control
facilities.
(b) In providing for the recovery of costs incurred by the state
board and regional board pursuant to this section, the state board
may include in the fee schedule, but is not limited to including, the
costs incurred in reviewing applications for certificates,
prescribing terms of certificates and monitoring requirements,
enforcing and evaluating compliance with certificates and monitoring
requirements, conducting monitoring and modeling, analyzing
laboratory samples, reviewing documents prepared for the purpose of
regulating activities subject to certificates, and administrative
costs incurred in connection with carrying out these actions. The
costs of reviewing applications for certificates include, but are not
limited to, the costs incurred in anticipation of the filing of an
application for a certificate, including participation in any
prefiling consultation, and investigation or studies to evaluate the
impacts of the proposed activity.
(c) (1) The fee schedule may provide for payment of a single fee
in connection with the filing of an application, or for periodic or
annual fees, as appropriate to the type of certificate issued and the
activity authorized by the certificate.
(2) The fee schedule authorized by this section may impose a fee
upon any of the following:
(A) Any person who files an application for a certificate.
(B) Any person who files with the state board or a regional board
a notice of intent to file an application for a certificate, or who
files with a federal agency a notice of intent to apply for a federal
permit or license for which a certificate will be required under
Section 401 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
(C) Any person holding a federal permit or license for which a
certificate has been issued.
(D) Any person required to send a notice of intent to the state
board or a regional board to proceed with an activity permitted by a
general permit subject to certification under Section 13160.
(d) (1) If the state board establishes a fee schedule pursuant to
this section, the state board shall adopt the fee schedule by
emergency regulation. The state board shall set the amount of total
revenues collected each year through the fee authorized by this
section at an amount equal to the revenue levels set forth in the
annual Budget Act for this activity. The state board shall review and
revise the fee each fiscal year as necessary to conform with the
revenue levels set forth in the annual Budget Act. If the state board
determines that the revenue collected during the preceding year was
greater than, or less than, the revenue levels set forth in the
annual Budget Act, the state board may further adjust the annual fees
to compensate for the over or under collection of revenue.
(2) The emergency regulations adopted pursuant to this
subdivision, any amendment thereto, or subsequent adjustments to the
annual fees, shall be adopted by the state board in accordance with
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code. The adoption of these regulations
is an emergency and shall be considered by the Office of
Administrative Law as necessary for the immediate preservation of the
public peace, health, safety, and general welfare. Notwithstanding
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code, any emergency regulations adopted
by the state board, or adjustments to the annual fees made by the
state board pursuant to this section, shall remain in effect until
revised by the state board.
(e) Any fees collected pursuant to this section in connection with
certificates for activities involving hydroelectric power projects
subject to licensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
shall be deposited in the Water Rights Fund.
13161. The state board shall annually determine state needs for
water quality research and recommend projects to be conducted.
13162. The state board shall administer any statewide program of
research in the technical phases of water quality control which may
be delegated to it by law and may accept funds from the United States
or any person to that end. The state board may conduct such a
program independently, or by contract or in cooperation with any
federal or state agency, including any political subdivision of the
state, or any person or public or private organization.
13163. (a) The state board shall coordinate water-quality-related
investigations of state agencies, recognizing that other state
agencies have primary statutory authority for such investigations,
and shall consult with the concerned regional boards in implementing
this section.
(b) The state board from time to time shall evaluate the need for
water-quality-related investigations to effectively develop and
implement statewide policy for water quality control and shall
transmit its recommendations for investigations to affected or
concerned federal, state, and local agencies. The affected state
agencies shall comply with the recommendations or shall advise the
state board in writing why they do not comply with such
recommendations.
(c) State agencies shall submit to the state board plans for and
results of all investigations that relate to or have an effect upon
water quality for review and comment.
13164. The state board shall formulate, adopt and revise general
procedures for the formulation, adoption and implementation by
regional boards of water quality control plans. During the process of
formulating or revising such procedures, the state board shall
consult with and evaluate the recommendations of any affected
regional boards.
13165. The state board may require any state or local agency to
investigate and report on any technical factors involved in water
quality control; provided that the burden, including costs, of such
reports shall bear a reasonable relationship to the need for the
reports and the benefits to be obtained therefrom.
13166. The state board, with the assistance of the regional boards,
shall prepare and implement a statewide water quality information
storage and retrieval program. Such program shall be coordinated and
integrated to the maximum extent practicable with data storage and
retrieval programs of other agencies.
13167. (a) The state board shall implement, with the assistance of
the regional boards, a public information program on matters
involving water quality, and shall place and maintain on its Internet
Web site, in a format accessible to the general public, an
information file on water quality monitoring, assessment, research,
standards, regulation, enforcement, and other pertinent matters.
(b) The information file described in subdivision (a) shall
include, but need not be limited to, copies of permits, waste
discharge requirements, waivers, enforcement actions, and petitions
for review of these actions pursuant to this division. The file shall
include copies of water quality control plans and policies,
including any relevant management agency agreements pursuant to this
chapter and Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 13200), and monitoring
data and assessment information, or shall identify Internet links to
that information. The state board, in consultation with the regional
boards, shall ensure that the information is available in single
locations, rather than separately by region, and that the information
is presented in a manner easily understandable by the general
public.
13167.5. (a) The state board or the regional board, as applicable,
shall provide notice and a period of at least 30 days for public
comment prior to the adoption of any of the following:
(1) Waste discharge requirements prescribed pursuant to Sections
13263 or 13377.
(2) Water reclamation requirements prescribed pursuant to Section
13523.
(3) An order issued pursuant to Section 13320.
(4) A time schedule order adopted pursuant to Section 13300 that
sets forth a schedule of compliance and required actions relating to
waste discharge requirements prescribed pursuant to Section 13263 or
13377.
(b) The notification required by subdivision (a) may be provided
by mailing a draft of the waste discharge requirements, water
reclamation requirements, time schedule order, or order issued
pursuant to Section 13320 to each person who has requested notice of
the specific item, or by posting a draft of the respective
requirements or order on the official Internet site maintained by the
state board or regional board, and providing notice of that posting
by electronic mail to each person who has requested notice.
(c) This section does not require the state board or the regional
board to provide more than one notice or more than one public comment
period prior to the adoption of waste discharge requirements, water
reclamation requirements, a time schedule order, or an order issued
pursuant to Section 13320.
13168. The state board shall allocate to the regional boards from
funds appropriated to the state board such part thereof as may be
necessary for the administrative expenses of such boards. The
regional boards shall submit annual budgets to the state board.
Subject to the provisions of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
13291) of Part 3, Division 3, Title 2 of the Government Code and any
other laws giving the Department of Finance fiscal and budgetary
control over state departments generally, the state board shall
prepare an annual budget concerning its activities and the activities
of the regional boards.
13169. (a) The state board is authorized to develop and implement a
groundwater protection program as provided under the Safe Drinking
Water Act, Section 300 and following of Title 42 of the United States
Code, and any federal act that amends or supplements the Safe
Drinking Water Act. The authority of the state board under this
section includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) To apply for and accept state groundwater protection grants
from the federal government.
(2) To take any additional action as may be necessary or
appropriate to assure that the state's groundwater protection program
complies with any federal regulations issued pursuant to the Safe
Drinking Water Act or any federal act that amends or supplements the
Safe Drinking Water Act.
(b) Nothing in this section is intended to expand the authority of
the state board as authorized under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality
Control Act (Div. 7 (commencing with Sec. 13000) Wat. C.).
13170. The state board may adopt water quality control plans in
accordance with the provisions of Sections 13240 to 13244, inclusive,
insofar as they are applicable, for waters for which water quality
standards are required by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and
acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto. Such plans, when
adopted, supersede any regional water quality control plans for the
same waters to the extent of any conflict.
13170.1. The state board shall consider all relevant management
agency agreements, which are intended to protect a specific
beneficial use of water, prior to adopting all water quality control
plans pursuant to Section 13170.
13170.2. (a) The state board shall formulate and adopt a water
quality control plan for ocean waters of the state which shall be
known as the California Ocean Plan.
(b) The plan shall be reviewed at least every three years to
guarantee that the current standards are adequate and are not
allowing degradation to indigenous marine species or posing a threat
to human health.
(c) In formulating the plan, the state board shall develop
bioassay protocols to evaluate the effect of municipal and industrial
waste discharges on the marine environment.
(d) The state board shall adopt the bioassay protocols and
complementary chemical testing methods and shall require their use in
the monitoring of complex effluent ocean discharges. For purposes of
this section, "complex effluent" means an effluent in which all
chemical constituents are not known or monitored. The state board
shall adopt bioassay protocols and complementary chemical testing
methods for complex effluent ocean monitoring by January 1, 1990, and
shall require their use in monitoring complex effluent ocean
discharges by entities discharging 100 million gallons per day or
more by January 1, 1991. The state board shall also adopt a schedule
for requiring the use of these protocols for complex effluent ocean
discharges of under 100 million gallons per day by January 1, 1992.
13170.5. Notwithstanding any provision of law, any plan provided in
Section 13170, 13240, or 13245, and any approval thereof, and any
certification or approval of an areawide waste treatment management
plan prepared pursuant to Section 208 of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act shall be subject to the provisions of Article 5.5
(commencing with Section 53098) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2
of Title 5 of the Government Code.
13171. The state board may establish a Water Quality Coordinating
Committee, consisting of at least one member of each of the nine
regional boards, to assist the state board in carrying out its
responsibilities in water quality control.
13172. To ensure adequate protection of water quality and statewide
uniformity in the siting, operation, and closure of waste disposal
sites, except for sewage treatment plants or those sites which
primarily contain fertilizer or radioactive material, the state board
shall do all of the following:
(a) Classify wastes according to the risk of impairment to water
quality, taking into account toxicity, persistence, degradability,
solubility, and other biological, chemical, and physical properties
of the wastes.
(b) Classify the types of disposal sites according to the level of
protection provided for water quality, taking into account the
geology, hydrology, topography, climatology, and other factors
relating to ability of the site to protect water quality.
(c) Adopt standards and regulations to implement Sections 13226
and 13227.
(d) Adopt standards and regulations for hazardous waste disposal
sites which apply and ensure compliance with all applicable
groundwater protection and monitoring requirements of the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended (42 U.S.C. Sec.
6901 et seq.), any federal act, enacted before or after January 1,
1989, which amends or supplements the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act of 1976, any federal regulations adopted before or after
January 1, 1989, pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act of 1976, as amended, together with any more stringent
requirements necessary to implement this division or Article 9.5
(commencing with Section 25208) of Chapter 6.5 of Division 20 of the
Health and Safety Code.
(e) Adopt policies, standards, and regulations for discharges of
mining waste which apply, and ensure compliance with, all surface
water and groundwater protection and monitoring requirements of this
division, Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 25208) of Chapter 6.5
of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, and Subchapter IV
(commencing with Section 6941) of Chapter 82 of Title 42 of the
United States Code, which are applicable to discharges of mining
waste. These policies, standards, and regulations shall include, but
are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) A statewide policy for monitoring surface water and
groundwater that may be affected by discharges of mining waste. The
policy shall establish the principles the regional boards shall use
in developing monitoring plans for discharges of mining waste,
including the methods the regional boards shall use in determining
the location, number, and type of monitoring sites.
(2) Regulations requiring that waste discharge requirements issued
for discharges of mining waste by regional boards include monitoring
requirements consistent with the statewide policy adopted pursuant
to paragraph (1).
(3) Standards for reporting the results of surface water and
groundwater monitoring to the regional board. The standards shall
establish a reporting format that graphs monitoring data over an
appropriate time period and compares the values found for each
measured parameter against the standard for that parameter
established in the waste discharge requirements.
13173. "Designated waste" means either of the following:
(a) Hazardous waste that has been granted a variance from
hazardous waste management requirements pursuant to Section 25143 of
the Health and Safety Code.
(b) Nonhazardous waste that consists of, or contains, pollutants
that, under ambient environmental conditions at a waste management
unit, could be released in concentrations exceeding applicable water
quality objectives or that could reasonably be expected to affect
beneficial uses of the waters of the state as contained in the
appropriate state water quality control plan.
13173.2. The state board, after consultation with the California
Integrated Waste Management Board and the Department of Toxic
Substances Control, may, as available resources permit, adopt
policies with regard to designated wastes to include, but not be
limited to, both of the following:
(a) Policies that provide for the means by which a regional board
shall identify designated waste and the waters of the state that the
waste may potentially impact.
(b) Policies for regional boards with regard to the granting of
waivers to make inapplicable the designated waste classification.
13176. (a) The analysis of any material required by this division
shall be performed by a laboratory that has accreditation or
certification pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 100825)
of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 101 of the Health and Safety Code.
(b) A person or public entity of the state shall not contract with
a laboratory for environmental analyses for which the State
Department of Public Health requires accreditation or certification
pursuant to this chapter, unless the laboratory holds a valid
certification or accreditation.
13177. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the state board
continue to implement the California State Mussel Watch Program.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares that the California State
Mussel Watch Program provides the following benefits to the people of
the state:
(1) An effective method for monitoring the long-term effects of
certain toxic substances in selected fresh, estuarine, and marine
waters.
(2) An important element in the state board's comprehensive water
quality monitoring strategy.
(3) Identification, on an annual basis of specific areas where
concentrations of toxic substances are higher than normal.
(4) Valuable information to guide the state and regional boards
and other public and private agencies in efforts to protect water
quality.
(c) To the extent funding is appropriated for this purpose, the
state board, in conjunction with the Department of Fish and Game,
shall continue to implement the long-term coastal monitoring program
known as the California State Mussel Watch Program. The program may
consist of, but is not limited to, the following elements:
(1) Removal of mussels, clams, and other aquatic organisms from
relatively clean coastal sites and placing them in sampling sites.
For purposes of this section, "sampling sites" means selected waters
of concern to the state board and the Department of Fish and Game.
(2) After specified exposure periods at the sampling sites,
removal of the aquatic organisms for analysis.
(3) Laboratory analysis of the removed aquatic organisms to
determine the amounts of various toxic substances that may have
accumulated in the bodies of the aquatic organisms.
(4) Making available both the short- and long-term results of the
laboratory analysis to appropriate public and private agencies and
the public.
13177.5. (a) The state board, in consultation with the Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, shall develop a comprehensive
coastal monitoring and assessment program for sport fish and
shellfish, to be known as the Coastal Fish Contamination Program. The
program shall identify and monitor chemical contamination in coastal
fish and shellfish and assess the health risks of consumption of
sport fish and shellfish caught by consumers.
(b) The state board shall consult with the Department of Fish and
Game, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and
regional water quality control boards with jurisdiction over
territory along the coast, to determine chemicals, sampling
locations, and the species to be collected under the program. The
program developed by the state board shall include all of the
following:
(1) Screening studies to identify coastal fishing areas where fish
species have the potential for accumulating chemicals that pose
significant health risks to human consumers of sport fish and
shellfish.
(2) The assessment of at least 60 screening study monitoring sites
and 120 samples in the first five years of the program and an
assessment of additional screening study sites as time and resources
permit.
(3) Comprehensive monitoring and assessment of fishing areas
determined through screening studies to have a potential for
significant human health risk and a reassessment of these areas every
five years.
(c) Based on existing fish contamination data, the state board
shall designate a minimum of 40 sites as fixed sampling locations for
the ongoing monitoring effort.
(d) The state board shall contract with the Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to prepare comprehensive
health risk assessments for sport fish and shellfish monitored in the
program. The assessments shall be based on the data collected by the
program and information on fish consumption and food preparation.
The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, within 18
months of the completion of a comprehensive study for each area by
the state board, shall submit to the board a draft health risk
assessment report for that area. Those health risk assessments shall
be updated following the reassessment of areas by the board.
(e) The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall
issue health advisories when the office determines that consuming
certain fish or shellfish presents a significant health risk. The
advisories shall contain information for the public, and particularly
the population at risk, concerning health risks from the consumption
of the fish or shellfish. The office shall notify the appropriate
county health officers, the State Department of Health Services, and
the Department of Fish and Game, prior to the issuance of a health
advisory. The notification shall provide sufficient information for
the purpose of posting signage. The office shall urge county health
officers to conspicuously post health warnings in areas where
contaminated fish or shellfish may be caught including piers,
commercial passenger fishing vessels, and shore areas where fishing
occurs. The Department of Fish and Game shall publish the office's
health warnings in its Sport Fishing Regulations Booklet.
13177.6. To the extent funding is appropriated for this purpose,
the state board, in consultation with the Department of Fish and Game
and Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, shall perform
a monitoring study to reassess the geographic boundaries of the
commercial fish closure off the Palos Verdes Shelf. The reassessment
shall include collection and analysis of white croaker caught on the
Palos Verdes Shelf, within three miles south of the Shelf, and within
San Pedro Bay. Based on the results of the reassessment, the
Department of Fish and Game, with guidance from the Office of the
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, shall redelineate, if
necessary, the commercial fish closure area to protect the health of
consumers of commercially caught white croaker. The sample collection
and analysis shall be conducted within 18 months of the enactment of
this section and the reassessment of the health risk shall be
conducted within 18 months of the completion of the analysis of the
samples.
13177.7. (a) (1) Notwithstanding Section 12439 of the Government
Code, the Controller may not eliminate any direct or indirect
position that provides oversight and related support of remediation
at a military base, including a closed military base, that is funded
without General Fund moneys through an agreement with a state agency,
or that is funded through an agreement with a party responsible for
paying the state board's costs, and may not eliminate any direct or
indirect position that is funded by a federal grant that does not
require a state match funded from the General Fund.
(2) An agreement with a state agency subject to this section may
not require the use of a state matching fund from the General Fund by
that agency.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including Section
4.10 of the Budget Act of 2003, the Director of Finance may not
eliminate any direct or indirect position that provides oversight and
related support of remediation at a military base, including a
closed military base, that is funded through an agreement with a
state agency or party responsible for paying the state board's costs,
and may not eliminate any direct or indirect position that is funded
by a federal grant that does not require a state match funded from
the General Fund.
(b) Neither the Controller nor the Department of Finance may
impose any hiring freeze or personal services limitations, including
any position reductions, upon any direct or indirect position of the
state board that provides oversight and related support of
remediation at a military base, including a closed military base,
that is funded through an agreement with a state agency or party
responsible for paying the state board's costs, or on any direct or
indirect position that is funded by a federal grant that does not
require a state match funded from the General Fund.
(c) The Controller and the Department of Finance shall exclude,
from the state board's base for purposes of calculating any budget or
position reductions required by any state agency or any state law,
the specific amounts and direct or indirect positions that provide
oversight and related support of remediation at a military base,
including a closed military base, that are funded through an
agreement with a state agency or party responsible for paying the
state board's costs, and shall exclude the specific amounts and any
direct or indirect positions that are funded by a federal grant that
does not require a state match funded from the General Fund.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, neither the
Controller nor the Department of Finance may require the state board
to reduce authorized positions or other appropriations for other
state board programs, including personal services, to replace the
reductions precluded by subdivisions (a), (b), and (c).
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon the request
of the state board, and upon review and approval of the Department of
Finance, the Controller shall augment any Budget Act appropriations,
except for appropriations from the General Fund, necessary to
implement this section.
(f) (1) This section does not apply to any state board
appropriation or expenditure of General Fund moneys.
(2) This section does not limit the authority of the Department of
Finance to eliminate a position when funding for the position,
through an agreement with a party or by a federal grant, is no longer
available.
13178. (a) (1) On or before June 30, 2001, the state board, in
conjunction with the State Department of Health Services and a panel
of experts established by the state board, shall develop source
investigation protocols for use in conducting source investigations
of storm drains that produce exceedences of bacteriological standards
established pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 115880 of the
Health and Safety Code. The protocols shall be based upon the
experiences drawn from previous source investigations performed by
the state board, regional boards, or other agencies, and other
available data. The protocols shall include methods for identifying
the location and biological origins of sources of bacteriological
contamination, and, at a minimum, shall require source investigations
if bacteriological standards are exceeded in any three weeks of a
four-week period, or, for areas where testing is done more than once
a week, 75 percent of testing days that produce an exceedence of
those standards.
(2) The development of source investigation protocols pursuant to
paragraph (1) is not subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(b) On or before December 1, 2001, the state board, in conjunction
with the State Department of Health Services, shall report to the
Legislature on the methods by which it intends to conduct source
investigations of storm drains that produce exceedences of
bacteriological standards established pursuant to subdivision (c) of
Section 115880 of the Health and Safety Code. Factors to be addressed
in the report shall include the approximate number of public beaches
expected to be affected by the exceedence of bacteriological
standards established pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 115880
of the Health and Safety Code, as well as the costs expected for
source investigation of the storm drains affecting those public
beaches. The report shall include a timeline for completion of source
investigations.
13181. (a) (1) On or before December 1, 2007, the California
Environmental Protection Agency and the Resources Agency shall enter
into a memorandum of understanding for the purposes of establishing
the California Water Quality Monitoring Council, which shall be
administered by the state board.
(2) As used in this section, "monitoring council" means the
California Water Quality Monitoring Council established pursuant to
this section.
(3) The monitoring council may include representatives from state
entities and nonstate entities. The representatives from nonstate
entities may include, but need not be limited to, representatives
from federal and local government, institutions of higher education,
the regulated community, citizen monitoring groups, and other
interested parties.
(4) The monitoring council shall review existing water quality
monitoring, assessment, and reporting efforts, and shall recommend
specific actions and funding needs necessary to coordinate and
enhance those efforts.
(5) (A) The recommendations shall be prepared for the ultimate
development of a cost-effective, coordinated, integrated, and
comprehensive statewide network for collecting and disseminating
water quality information and ongoing assessments of the health of
the state's waters and the effectiveness of programs to protect and
improve the quality of those waters.
(B) For purposes of developing recommendations pursuant to this
section, the monitoring council shall initially focus on the water
quality monitoring efforts of state agencies, including, but not
limited to, the state board, the regional boards, the department, the
Department of Fish and Game, the California Coastal Commission, the
State Lands Commission, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Department of
Pesticide Regulation, and the State Department of Health Services.
(C) In developing the recommendations, the monitoring council
shall seek to build upon existing programs rather than create new
programs.
(6) Among other things, the memorandum of understanding shall
describe the means by which the monitoring council shall formulate
recommendations to accomplish both of the following:
(A) Reduce redundancies, inefficiencies, and inadequacies in
existing water quality monitoring and data management programs in
order to improve the effective delivery of sound, comprehensive water
quality information to the public and decisionmakers.
(B) Ensure that water quality improvement projects financed by the
state provide specific information necessary to track project
effectiveness with regard to achieving clean water and healthy
ecosystems.
(b) The monitoring council shall report, on or before December 1,
2008, to the California Environmental Protection Agency and the
Resources Agency with regard to its recommendations for maximizing
the efficiency and effectiveness of existing water quality data
collection and dissemination, and for ensuring that collected data
are maintained and available for use by decisionmakers and the
public. The monitoring council shall consult with the United States
Environmental Protection Agency in preparing these recommendations.
The monitoring council's recommendations, and any responses submitted
by the California Environmental Protection Agency or the Resources
Agency to those recommendations, shall be made available to
decisionmakers and the public by means of the Internet.
(c) The monitoring council shall undertake and complete, on or
before April 1, 2008, a survey of its members to develop an inventory
of their existing water quality monitoring and data collection
efforts statewide and shall make that information available to the
public.
(d) All state agencies, including institutions of higher education
to the extent permitted by law, that collect water quality data or
information shall cooperate with the California Environmental
Protection Agency and the Resources Agency in achieving the goals of
the monitoring council as described in this section.
(e) In accordance with the requirements of the Clean Water Act (33
U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.) and implementing guidance, the state board
shall develop, in coordination with the monitoring council, all of
the following:
(1) A comprehensive monitoring program strategy that utilizes and
expands upon the state's existing statewide, regional, and other
monitoring capabilities and describes how the state will develop an
integrated monitoring program that will serve all of the state's
water quality monitoring needs and address all of the state's waters
over time. The strategy shall include a timeline not to exceed 10
years to complete implementation. The strategy shall be comprehensive
in scope and identify specific technical, integration, and resource
needs, and shall recommend solutions for those needs so that the
strategy may be implemented within the 10-year timeframe.
(2) Agreement, including agreement on a schedule, with regard to
the comprehensive monitoring of statewide water quality protection
indicators that provide a basic minimum understanding of the health
of the state's waters. Indicators already developed pursuant to
environmental protection indicators for statewide initiatives shall
be given high priority as core indicators for purposes of the network
described in subdivision (a).
(3) Quality management plans and quality assurance plans that
ensure the validity and utility of the data collected.
(4) Methodology for compiling, analyzing, and integrating readily
available information, to the maximum extent feasible, including, but
not limited to, data acquired from discharge reports, volunteer
monitoring groups, local, state, and federal agencies, and recipients
of state-funded or federally funded water quality improvement or
restoration projects.
(5) An accessible and user-friendly electronic data system with
timely data entry and ready public access via the Internet. To the
maximum extent possible, the geographic location of the areas
monitored shall be included in the data system.
(6) Production of timely and complete water quality reports and
lists that are required under Sections 303(d), 305(b), 314, and 319
of the Clean Water Act and Section 406 of the Beaches Environmental
Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000, that include all available
information from discharge reports, volunteer monitoring groups, and
local, state, and federal agencies.
(7) An update of the state board's surface water ambient
monitoring program needs assessment in light of the benefits of
increased coordination and integration of information from other
agencies and information sources. This update shall include
identification of current and future resource needs required to fully
implement the coordinated, comprehensive monitoring network,
including, but not limited to, funding, staff, training, laboratory
and other resources, and projected improvements in the network.
(f) The state board shall identify the full costs of
implementation of the comprehensive monitoring program strategy
developed pursuant to subdivision (e), and shall identify proposed
sources of funding for the implementation of the strategy, including
federal funds that may be expended for this purpose. Fees collected
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 13260 may be
used as a funding source for implementation of the strategy to the
extent that the funding is consistent with subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 13260.
(g) Data, summary information, and reports prepared pursuant to
this section shall be made available to appropriate public agencies
and the public by means of the Internet.
(h) (1) Commencing December 1, 2008, the Secretary of the
California Environmental Protection Agency shall conduct a triennial
audit of the effectiveness of the monitoring program strategy
developed pursuant to subdivision (e). The audit shall include, but
need not be limited to, an assessment of the following matters:
(A) The extent to which the strategy has been implemented.
(B) The effectiveness of the monitoring and assessment program and
the monitoring council with regard to both of the following:
(i) Tracking improvements in water quality.
(ii) Evaluating the overall effectiveness of programs administered
by the state board or a regional board and of state and federally
funded water quality improvement projects.
(2) The Secretary of the California Environmental Protection
Agency shall consult with the Secretary of the Resources Agency in
preparing the audit, consistent with the memorandum of understanding
entered into pursuant to subdivision (a).
(i) The state board shall prioritize the use of federal funding
that may be applied to monitoring, including, but not limited to,
funding under Section 106 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act,
for the purpose of implementing this section.
(j) The state board shall not use more than 5 percent of the funds
made available to implement this section for the administrative
costs of any contracts entered into for the purpose of implementing
this section.
13191. The state board shall convene an advisory group or groups to
assist in the evaluation of program structure and effectiveness as
it relates to the implementation of the requirements of Section 303
(d) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1313(d)), and applicable
federal regulations and monitoring and assessment programs. The
advisory group or groups shall be comprised of persons concerned with
the requirements of Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. The state
board shall provide public notice on its website of any meetings of
the advisory group or groups and, upon the request of any party shall
mail notice of the time and location of any meeting of the group or
groups. The board shall also ensure that the advisory group or groups
meet in a manner that facilitates the effective participation of the
public and the stakeholder participants.
13191.3. (a) The state board, on or before July 1, 2003, shall
prepare guidelines to be used by the state board and the regional
boards for the purpose of listing and delisting waters and developing
and implementing the total maximum daily load (TMDL) program and
total maximum daily loads pursuant to Section 303(d) of the federal
Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1313(d)).
(b) For the purposes of preparing the guidelines, the state board
shall consider the consensus recommendations adopted by the public
advisory group convened pursuant to Section 13191.
(c) The guidelines shall be finalized not later than January 1,
2004.
13193. (a) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Collection system owner or operator" means the public or
private entity having legal authority over the operation and
maintenance of, or capital improvements to, the sewer collection
system.
(2) "GIS" means Geographic Information System.
(b) On or before January 1 of a year in which the Legislature has
appropriated sufficient funds for this purpose, the state board, in
consultation with representatives of cities, counties, cities and
counties, special districts, public interest groups, the State
Department of Public Health, and the regional boards shall develop a
uniform overflow event report form to be used for reporting of
sanitary sewer system overflows as required in subdivision (c). This
event report form shall include, but not be limited to, all of the
following:
(1) The cause of the overflow. The cause shall be specifically
identified, unless there is an ongoing investigation, in which case
it shall be identified immediately after completion of the
investigation. The cause shall be identified, at a minimum, as
blockage, infrastructure failure, pump station failure, significant
wet weather event, natural disaster, or other cause, which shall be
specifically identified. If the cause is identified as a blockage,
the type of blockage shall be identified, at a minimum, as roots,
grease, debris, vandalism, or multiple causes of which each should be
identified. If the cause is identified as infrastructure, it shall
be determined, at a minimum, whether the infrastructure failure was
due to leaks, damage to, or breakage of, collection system piping or
insufficient capacity. If the cause is identified as a significant
wet weather event or natural disaster, the report shall describe both
the event and how it resulted in the overflow. If the precise cause
cannot be identified after investigation, the report shall include a
narrative explanation describing the investigation conducted and
providing the information known about the possible causes of the
overflow.
(2) An estimate of the volume of the overflow event.
(3) Location of the overflow event. Sufficient information shall
be provided to determine location for purposes of GIS mapping, such
as specific street address or the latitude and longitude of the
event.
(4) Date, time, and duration of the overflow event.
(5) Whether or not the overflow reached or may have reached waters
of the state.
(6) Whether or not a beach closure occurred or may have occurred
as a result of the overflow.
(7) The response and corrective action taken.
(8) Whether or not there is an ongoing investigation, the reasons
for it and expected date of completion.
(9) The name, address, and telephone number of the reporting
collection system owner or operator and a specific contact name.
(c) Commencing on July 1 of a year in which the Legislature has
appropriated sufficient funds for this purpose, in the event of a
spill or overflow from a sanitary sewer system that is subject to the
notification requirements set forth in Section 13271, the applicable
collection system owner or operator, in addition to immediate
reporting duties pursuant to Section 13271, shall submit to the
appropriate regional board, within 30 days of the date of becoming
aware of the overflow event, a report using the form described in
subdivision (b). The report shall be filed electronically, if
possible, or by fax or mail if electronic submission is not possible.
(d) (1) Commencing on July 1 of a year in which the Legislature
has appropriated sufficient funds for this purpose, in the event of a
spill or overflow from a sanitary sewer system that is not subject
to the reporting requirements set forth in Section 13271 that is
either found by the State Department of Public Health or any local
health officer to result in contamination pursuant to Section 5412 of
the Health and Safety Code, or is found by the State Department of
Public Health to result in pollution or nuisance pursuant to Section
5413 of the Health and Safety Code, the agency making the
determination shall submit to the appropriate regional board, within
30 days of making the determination, a report that shall include, at
a minimum, the following information:
(A) Date, time, and approximate duration of the overflow event.
(B) An estimate of the volume of the overflow event.
(C) Location of the overflow event.
(D) A description of the response or corrective action taken by
the agency making the determination.
(E) The name, address, and telephone number of the reporting
collection system owner or operator, and a specific contact name.
(2) The report shall be filed electronically, if possible, or by
fax or mail if electronic submission is not possible.
(e) Before January 1 of a year in which the Legislature has
appropriated sufficient funds for this purpose, the state board, in
consultation with representatives of cities, counties, cities and
counties, and special districts, public interest groups, the State
Department of Public Health, and regional boards, shall develop and
maintain a sanitary sewer system overflow database that, at a
minimum, contains the parameters described in subdivisions (b) and
(d).
(f) Commencing on July 1 of a year in which the Legislature has
appropriated sufficient funds for this purpose, each regional board
shall coordinate with collection system owners or operators, the
State Department of Public Health, and local health officers to
compile the reports submitted pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d).
Each regional board shall report that information to the state board
on a quarterly basis, to be included in the sanitary sewer system
overflow database.
(g) The state board shall make available to the public, by
Internet and other cost-effective means, as determined by the state
board, information that is generated pursuant to this section. In a
year in which the Legislature has appropriated sufficient funds for
the purposes described in this subdivision, the state board shall
prepare a summary report of the information collected in the sanitary
sewer system overflow database, and make it available to the general
public through the Internet and other cost-effective means, as
determined by the state board. To the extent resources and the data
allow, this report shall include GIS maps compiling coastal overflow
events.
13193.9. (a) The state board, to the extent permitted by law, shall
take all of the following actions for the purpose of allocating
funds on behalf of a wastewater collection, treatment, or disposal
project, if the recipient of financial assistance is a small,
disadvantaged community:
(1) If the state board determines that an advance is needed for
the project to proceed in an efficient manner, allocate to the
recipient up to 25 percent of the financial assistance amount, not
exceeding one million dollars ($1,000,000), in advance of actual
expenditures. The recipient shall repay to the state board any funds
advanced pursuant to this section, including any interest earned on
the advance funds, if the funds are unused upon expiration of the
funding agreement or if the funds are not expended in accordance with
the financial assistance agreement.
(2) Establish a payment process pursuant to which the recipient of
financial assistance receives funds within 30 days of the date on
which the state board receives a project payment request unless the
state board, within that 30-day period, determines that the project
payment would not be in accordance with the terms of the program
guidelines.
(3) Utilize wire transfers or other appropriate payment procedures
to expedite project payments.
(b) The amount of financial assistance received by a recipient,
including any funds advanced pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision
(a), shall not exceed the total amount of the financial assistance
that the state board agrees to provide for a project. If financial
assistance is advanced to a recipient pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a), the state board shall reduce subsequent
disbursements of financial assistance by the amount advanced.
(c) For the purposes of this section, "small disadvantaged
community" means a municipality with a population of 20,000 persons
or less, or a reasonably isolated and divisible segment of a larger
municipality encompassing 20,000 persons or less, with an annual
median household income that is less than 80 percent of the statewide
annual median household income.
13160. The state board is designated as the state water pollution
control agency for all purposes stated in the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act and any other federal act, heretofore or hereafter
enacted, and is (a) authorized to give any certificate or statement
required by any federal agency pursuant to any such federal act that
there is reasonable assurance that an activity of any person subject
to the jurisdiction of the state board will not reduce water quality
below applicable standards, and (b) authorized to exercise any powers
delegated to the state by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq.) and acts amendatory thereto.
13160.1. (a) The state board may establish a reasonable fee
schedule to cover the costs incurred by the state board and the
regional boards in connection with any certificate that is required
or authorized by any federal law with respect to the effect of any
existing or proposed facility, project, or construction work upon the
quality of waters of the state, including certificates requested by
applicants for a federal permit or license pursuant to Section 401 of
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, and
certificates requested pursuant to Section 169 of the Internal
Revenue Code, as amended, with respect to water pollution control
facilities.
(b) In providing for the recovery of costs incurred by the state
board and regional board pursuant to this section, the state board
may include in the fee schedule, but is not limited to including, the
costs incurred in reviewing applications for certificates,
prescribing terms of certificates and monitoring requirements,
enforcing and evaluating compliance with certificates and monitoring
requirements, conducting monitoring and modeling, analyzing
laboratory samples, reviewing documents prepared for the purpose of
regulating activities subject to certificates, and administrative
costs incurred in connection with carrying out these actions. The
costs of reviewing applications for certificates include, but are not
limited to, the costs incurred in anticipation of the filing of an
application for a certificate, including participation in any
prefiling consultation, and investigation or studies to evaluate the
impacts of the proposed activity.
(c) (1) The fee schedule may provide for payment of a single fee
in connection with the filing of an application, or for periodic or
annual fees, as appropriate to the type of certificate issued and the
activity authorized by the certificate.
(2) The fee schedule authorized by this section may impose a fee
upon any of the following:
(A) Any person who files an application for a certificate.
(B) Any person who files with the state board or a regional board
a notice of intent to file an application for a certificate, or who
files with a federal agency a notice of intent to apply for a federal
permit or license for which a certificate will be required under
Section 401 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
(C) Any person holding a federal permit or license for which a
certificate has been issued.
(D) Any person required to send a notice of intent to the state
board or a regional board to proceed with an activity permitted by a
general permit subject to certification under Section 13160.
(d) (1) If the state board establishes a fee schedule pursuant to
this section, the state board shall adopt the fee schedule by
emergency regulation. The state board shall set the amount of total
revenues collected each year through the fee authorized by this
section at an amount equal to the revenue levels set forth in the
annual Budget Act for this activity. The state board shall review and
revise the fee each fiscal year as necessary to conform with the
revenue levels set forth in the annual Budget Act. If the state board
determines that the revenue collected during the preceding year was
greater than, or less than, the revenue levels set forth in the
annual Budget Act, the state board may further adjust the annual fees
to compensate for the over or under collection of revenue.
(2) The emergency regulations adopted pursuant to this
subdivision, any amendment thereto, or subsequent adjustments to the
annual fees, shall be adopted by the state board in accordance with
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code. The adoption of these regulations
is an emergency and shall be considered by the Office of
Administrative Law as necessary for the immediate preservation of the
public peace, health, safety, and general welfare. Notwithstanding
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code, any emergency regulations adopted
by the state board, or adjustments to the annual fees made by the
state board pursuant to this section, shall remain in effect until
revised by the state board.
(e) Any fees collected pursuant to this section in connection with
certificates for activities involving hydroelectric power projects
subject to licensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
shall be deposited in the Water Rights Fund.
13161. The state board shall annually determine state needs for
water quality research and recommend projects to be conducted.
13162. The state board shall administer any statewide program of
research in the technical phases of water quality control which may
be delegated to it by law and may accept funds from the United States
or any person to that end. The state board may conduct such a
program independently, or by contract or in cooperation with any
federal or state agency, including any political subdivision of the
state, or any person or public or private organization.
13163. (a) The state board shall coordinate water-quality-related
investigations of state agencies, recognizing that other state
agencies have primary statutory authority for such investigations,
and shall consult with the concerned regional boards in implementing
this section.
(b) The state board from time to time shall evaluate the need for
water-quality-related investigations to effectively develop and
implement statewide policy for water quality control and shall
transmit its recommendations for investigations to affected or
concerned federal, state, and local agencies. The affected state
agencies shall comply with the recommendations or shall advise the
state board in writing why they do not comply with such
recommendations.
(c) State agencies shall submit to the state board plans for and
results of all investigations that relate to or have an effect upon
water quality for review and comment.
13164. The state board shall formulate, adopt and revise general
procedures for the formulation, adoption and implementation by
regional boards of water quality control plans. During the process of
formulating or revising such procedures, the state board shall
consult with and evaluate the recommendations of any affected
regional boards.
13165. The state board may require any state or local agency to
investigate and report on any technical factors involved in water
quality control; provided that the burden, including costs, of such
reports shall bear a reasonable relationship to the need for the
reports and the benefits to be obtained therefrom.
13166. The state board, with the assistance of the regional boards,
shall prepare and implement a statewide water quality information
storage and retrieval program. Such program shall be coordinated and
integrated to the maximum extent practicable with data storage and
retrieval programs of other agencies.
13167. (a) The state board shall implement, with the assistance of
the regional boards, a public information program on matters
involving water quality, and shall place and maintain on its Internet
Web site, in a format accessible to the general public, an
information file on water quality monitoring, assessment, research,
standards, regulation, enforcement, and other pertinent matters.
(b) The information file described in subdivision (a) shall
include, but need not be limited to, copies of permits, waste
discharge requirements, waivers, enforcement actions, and petitions
for review of these actions pursuant to this division. The file shall
include copies of water quality control plans and policies,
including any relevant management agency agreements pursuant to this
chapter and Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 13200), and monitoring
data and assessment information, or shall identify Internet links to
that information. The state board, in consultation with the regional
boards, shall ensure that the information is available in single
locations, rather than separately by region, and that the information
is presented in a manner easily understandable by the general
public.
13167.5. (a) The state board or the regional board, as applicable,
shall provide notice and a period of at least 30 days for public
comment prior to the adoption of any of the following:
(1) Waste discharge requirements prescribed pursuant to Sections
13263 or 13377.
(2) Water reclamation requirements prescribed pursuant to Section
13523.
(3) An order issued pursuant to Section 13320.
(4) A time schedule order adopted pursuant to Section 13300 that
sets forth a schedule of compliance and required actions relating to
waste discharge requirements prescribed pursuant to Section 13263 or
13377.
(b) The notification required by subdivision (a) may be provided
by mailing a draft of the waste discharge requirements, water
reclamation requirements, time schedule order, or order issued
pursuant to Section 13320 to each person who has requested notice of
the specific item, or by posting a draft of the respective
requirements or order on the official Internet site maintained by the
state board or regional board, and providing notice of that posting
by electronic mail to each person who has requested notice.
(c) This section does not require the state board or the regional
board to provide more than one notice or more than one public comment
period prior to the adoption of waste discharge requirements, water
reclamation requirements, a time schedule order, or an order issued
pursuant to Section 13320.
13168. The state board shall allocate to the regional boards from
funds appropriated to the state board such part thereof as may be
necessary for the administrative expenses of such boards. The
regional boards shall submit annual budgets to the state board.
Subject to the provisions of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
13291) of Part 3, Division 3, Title 2 of the Government Code and any
other laws giving the Department of Finance fiscal and budgetary
control over state departments generally, the state board shall
prepare an annual budget concerning its activities and the activities
of the regional boards.
13169. (a) The state board is authorized to develop and implement a
groundwater protection program as provided under the Safe Drinking
Water Act, Section 300 and following of Title 42 of the United States
Code, and any federal act that amends or supplements the Safe
Drinking Water Act. The authority of the state board under this
section includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) To apply for and accept state groundwater protection grants
from the federal government.
(2) To take any additional action as may be necessary or
appropriate to assure that the state's groundwater protection program
complies with any federal regulations issued pursuant to the Safe
Drinking Water Act or any federal act that amends or supplements the
Safe Drinking Water Act.
(b) Nothing in this section is intended to expand the authority of
the state board as authorized under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality
Control Act (Div. 7 (commencing with Sec. 13000) Wat. C.).
13170. The state board may adopt water quality control plans in
accordance with the provisions of Sections 13240 to 13244, inclusive,
insofar as they are applicable, for waters for which water quality
standards are required by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and
acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto. Such plans, when
adopted, supersede any regional water quality control plans for the
same waters to the extent of any conflict.
13170.1. The state board shall consider all relevant management
agency agreements, which are intended to protect a specific
beneficial use of water, prior to adopting all water quality control
plans pursuant to Section 13170.
13170.2. (a) The state board shall formulate and adopt a water
quality control plan for ocean waters of the state which shall be
known as the California Ocean Plan.
(b) The plan shall be reviewed at least every three years to
guarantee that the current standards are adequate and are not
allowing degradation to indigenous marine species or posing a threat
to human health.
(c) In formulating the plan, the state board shall develop
bioassay protocols to evaluate the effect of municipal and industrial
waste discharges on the marine environment.
(d) The state board shall adopt the bioassay protocols and
complementary chemical testing methods and shall require their use in
the monitoring of complex effluent ocean discharges. For purposes of
this section, "complex effluent" means an effluent in which all
chemical constituents are not known or monitored. The state board
shall adopt bioassay protocols and complementary chemical testing
methods for complex effluent ocean monitoring by January 1, 1990, and
shall require their use in monitoring complex effluent ocean
discharges by entities discharging 100 million gallons per day or
more by January 1, 1991. The state board shall also adopt a schedule
for requiring the use of these protocols for complex effluent ocean
discharges of under 100 million gallons per day by January 1, 1992.
13170.5. Notwithstanding any provision of law, any plan provided in
Section 13170, 13240, or 13245, and any approval thereof, and any
certification or approval of an areawide waste treatment management
plan prepared pursuant to Section 208 of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act shall be subject to the provisions of Article 5.5
(commencing with Section 53098) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2
of Title 5 of the Government Code.
13171. The state board may establish a Water Quality Coordinating
Committee, consisting of at least one member of each of the nine
regional boards, to assist the state board in carrying out its
responsibilities in water quality control.
13172. To ensure adequate protection of water quality and statewide
uniformity in the siting, operation, and closure of waste disposal
sites, except for sewage treatment plants or those sites which
primarily contain fertilizer or radioactive material, the state board
shall do all of the following:
(a) Classify wastes according to the risk of impairment to water
quality, taking into account toxicity, persistence, degradability,
solubility, and other biological, chemical, and physical properties
of the wastes.
(b) Classify the types of disposal sites according to the level of
protection provided for water quality, taking into account the
geology, hydrology, topography, climatology, and other factors
relating to ability of the site to protect water quality.
(c) Adopt standards and regulations to implement Sections 13226
and 13227.
(d) Adopt standards and regulations for hazardous waste disposal
sites which apply and ensure compliance with all applicable
groundwater protection and monitoring requirements of the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended (42 U.S.C. Sec.
6901 et seq.), any federal act, enacted before or after January 1,
1989, which amends or supplements the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act of 1976, any federal regulations adopted before or after
January 1, 1989, pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act of 1976, as amended, together with any more stringent
requirements necessary to implement this division or Article 9.5
(commencing with Section 25208) of Chapter 6.5 of Division 20 of the
Health and Safety Code.
(e) Adopt policies, standards, and regulations for discharges of
mining waste which apply, and ensure compliance with, all surface
water and groundwater protection and monitoring requirements of this
division, Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 25208) of Chapter 6.5
of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, and Subchapter IV
(commencing with Section 6941) of Chapter 82 of Title 42 of the
United States Code, which are applicable to discharges of mining
waste. These policies, standards, and regulations shall include, but
are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) A statewide policy for monitoring surface water and
groundwater that may be affected by discharges of mining waste. The
policy shall establish the principles the regional boards shall use
in developing monitoring plans for discharges of mining waste,
including the methods the regional boards shall use in determining
the location, number, and type of monitoring sites.
(2) Regulations requiring that waste discharge requirements issued
for discharges of mining waste by regional boards include monitoring
requirements consistent with the statewide policy adopted pursuant
to paragraph (1).
(3) Standards for reporting the results of surface water and
groundwater monitoring to the regional board. The standards shall
establish a reporting format that graphs monitoring data over an
appropriate time period and compares the values found for each
measured parameter against the standard for that parameter
established in the waste discharge requirements.
13173. "Designated waste" means either of the following:
(a) Hazardous waste that has been granted a variance from
hazardous waste management requirements pursuant to Section 25143 of
the Health and Safety Code.
(b) Nonhazardous waste that consists of, or contains, pollutants
that, under ambient environmental conditions at a waste management
unit, could be released in concentrations exceeding applicable water
quality objectives or that could reasonably be expected to affect
beneficial uses of the waters of the state as contained in the
appropriate state water quality control plan.
13173.2. The state board, after consultation with the California
Integrated Waste Management Board and the Department of Toxic
Substances Control, may, as available resources permit, adopt
policies with regard to designated wastes to include, but not be
limited to, both of the following:
(a) Policies that provide for the means by which a regional board
shall identify designated waste and the waters of the state that the
waste may potentially impact.
(b) Policies for regional boards with regard to the granting of
waivers to make inapplicable the designated waste classification.
13176. (a) The analysis of any material required by this division
shall be performed by a laboratory that has accreditation or
certification pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 100825)
of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 101 of the Health and Safety Code.
(b) A person or public entity of the state shall not contract with
a laboratory for environmental analyses for which the State
Department of Public Health requires accreditation or certification
pursuant to this chapter, unless the laboratory holds a valid
certification or accreditation.
13177. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the state board
continue to implement the California State Mussel Watch Program.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares that the California State
Mussel Watch Program provides the following benefits to the people of
the state:
(1) An effective method for monitoring the long-term effects of
certain toxic substances in selected fresh, estuarine, and marine
waters.
(2) An important element in the state board's comprehensive water
quality monitoring strategy.
(3) Identification, on an annual basis of specific areas where
concentrations of toxic substances are higher than normal.
(4) Valuable information to guide the state and regional boards
and other public and private agencies in efforts to protect water
quality.
(c) To the extent funding is appropriated for this purpose, the
state board, in conjunction with the Department of Fish and Game,
shall continue to implement the long-term coastal monitoring program
known as the California State Mussel Watch Program. The program may
consist of, but is not limited to, the following elements:
(1) Removal of mussels, clams, and other aquatic organisms from
relatively clean coastal sites and placing them in sampling sites.
For purposes of this section, "sampling sites" means selected waters
of concern to the state board and the Department of Fish and Game.
(2) After specified exposure periods at the sampling sites,
removal of the aquatic organisms for analysis.
(3) Laboratory analysis of the removed aquatic organisms to
determine the amounts of various toxic substances that may have
accumulated in the bodies of the aquatic organisms.
(4) Making available both the short- and long-term results of the
laboratory analysis to appropriate public and private agencies and
the public.
13177.5. (a) The state board, in consultation with the Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, shall develop a comprehensive
coastal monitoring and assessment program for sport fish and
shellfish, to be known as the Coastal Fish Contamination Program. The
program shall identify and monitor chemical contamination in coastal
fish and shellfish and assess the health risks of consumption of
sport fish and shellfish caught by consumers.
(b) The state board shall consult with the Department of Fish and
Game, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and
regional water quality control boards with jurisdiction over
territory along the coast, to determine chemicals, sampling
locations, and the species to be collected under the program. The
program developed by the state board shall include all of the
following:
(1) Screening studies to identify coastal fishing areas where fish
species have the potential for accumulating chemicals that pose
significant health risks to human consumers of sport fish and
shellfish.
(2) The assessment of at least 60 screening study monitoring sites
and 120 samples in the first five years of the program and an
assessment of additional screening study sites as time and resources
permit.
(3) Comprehensive monitoring and assessment of fishing areas
determined through screening studies to have a potential for
significant human health risk and a reassessment of these areas every
five years.
(c) Based on existing fish contamination data, the state board
shall designate a minimum of 40 sites as fixed sampling locations for
the ongoing monitoring effort.
(d) The state board shall contract with the Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to prepare comprehensive
health risk assessments for sport fish and shellfish monitored in the
program. The assessments shall be based on the data collected by the
program and information on fish consumption and food preparation.
The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, within 18
months of the completion of a comprehensive study for each area by
the state board, shall submit to the board a draft health risk
assessment report for that area. Those health risk assessments shall
be updated following the reassessment of areas by the board.
(e) The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall
issue health advisories when the office determines that consuming
certain fish or shellfish presents a significant health risk. The
advisories shall contain information for the public, and particularly
the population at risk, concerning health risks from the consumption
of the fish or shellfish. The office shall notify the appropriate
county health officers, the State Department of Health Services, and
the Department of Fish and Game, prior to the issuance of a health
advisory. The notification shall provide sufficient information for
the purpose of posting signage. The office shall urge county health
officers to conspicuously post health warnings in areas where
contaminated fish or shellfish may be caught including piers,
commercial passenger fishing vessels, and shore areas where fishing
occurs. The Department of Fish and Game shall publish the office's
health warnings in its Sport Fishing Regulations Booklet.
13177.6. To the extent funding is appropriated for this purpose,
the state board, in consultation with the Department of Fish and Game
and Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, shall perform
a monitoring study to reassess the geographic boundaries of the
commercial fish closure off the Palos Verdes Shelf. The reassessment
shall include collection and analysis of white croaker caught on the
Palos Verdes Shelf, within three miles south of the Shelf, and within
San Pedro Bay. Based on the results of the reassessment, the
Department of Fish and Game, with guidance from the Office of the
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, shall redelineate, if
necessary, the commercial fish closure area to protect the health of
consumers of commercially caught white croaker. The sample collection
and analysis shall be conducted within 18 months of the enactment of
this section and the reassessment of the health risk shall be
conducted within 18 months of the completion of the analysis of the
samples.
13177.7. (a) (1) Notwithstanding Section 12439 of the Government
Code, the Controller may not eliminate any direct or indirect
position that provides oversight and related support of remediation
at a military base, including a closed military base, that is funded
without General Fund moneys through an agreement with a state agency,
or that is funded through an agreement with a party responsible for
paying the state board's costs, and may not eliminate any direct or
indirect position that is funded by a federal grant that does not
require a state match funded from the General Fund.
(2) An agreement with a state agency subject to this section may
not require the use of a state matching fund from the General Fund by
that agency.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including Section
4.10 of the Budget Act of 2003, the Director of Finance may not
eliminate any direct or indirect position that provides oversight and
related support of remediation at a military base, including a
closed military base, that is funded through an agreement with a
state agency or party responsible for paying the state board's costs,
and may not eliminate any direct or indirect position that is funded
by a federal grant that does not require a state match funded from
the General Fund.
(b) Neither the Controller nor the Department of Finance may
impose any hiring freeze or personal services limitations, including
any position reductions, upon any direct or indirect position of the
state board that provides oversight and related support of
remediation at a military base, including a closed military base,
that is funded through an agreement with a state agency or party
responsible for paying the state board's costs, or on any direct or
indirect position that is funded by a federal grant that does not
require a state match funded from the General Fund.
(c) The Controller and the Department of Finance shall exclude,
from the state board's base for purposes of calculating any budget or
position reductions required by any state agency or any state law,
the specific amounts and direct or indirect positions that provide
oversight and related support of remediation at a military base,
including a closed military base, that are funded through an
agreement with a state agency or party responsible for paying the
state board's costs, and shall exclude the specific amounts and any
direct or indirect positions that are funded by a federal grant that
does not require a state match funded from the General Fund.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, neither the
Controller nor the Department of Finance may require the state board
to reduce authorized positions or other appropriations for other
state board programs, including personal services, to replace the
reductions precluded by subdivisions (a), (b), and (c).
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon the request
of the state board, and upon review and approval of the Department of
Finance, the Controller shall augment any Budget Act appropriations,
except for appropriations from the General Fund, necessary to
implement this section.
(f) (1) This section does not apply to any state board
appropriation or expenditure of General Fund moneys.
(2) This section does not limit the authority of the Department of
Finance to eliminate a position when funding for the position,
through an agreement with a party or by a federal grant, is no longer
available.
13178. (a) (1) On or before June 30, 2001, the state board, in
conjunction with the State Department of Health Services and a panel
of experts established by the state board, shall develop source
investigation protocols for use in conducting source investigations
of storm drains that produce exceedences of bacteriological standards
established pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 115880 of the
Health and Safety Code. The protocols shall be based upon the
experiences drawn from previous source investigations performed by
the state board, regional boards, or other agencies, and other
available data. The protocols shall include methods for identifying
the location and biological origins of sources of bacteriological
contamination, and, at a minimum, shall require source investigations
if bacteriological standards are exceeded in any three weeks of a
four-week period, or, for areas where testing is done more than once
a week, 75 percent of testing days that produce an exceedence of
those standards.
(2) The development of source investigation protocols pursuant to
paragraph (1) is not subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(b) On or before December 1, 2001, the state board, in conjunction
with the State Department of Health Services, shall report to the
Legislature on the methods by which it intends to conduct source
investigations of storm drains that produce exceedences of
bacteriological standards established pursuant to subdivision (c) of
Section 115880 of the Health and Safety Code. Factors to be addressed
in the report shall include the approximate number of public beaches
expected to be affected by the exceedence of bacteriological
standards established pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 115880
of the Health and Safety Code, as well as the costs expected for
source investigation of the storm drains affecting those public
beaches. The report shall include a timeline for completion of source
investigations.
13181. (a) (1) On or before December 1, 2007, the California
Environmental Protection Agency and the Resources Agency shall enter
into a memorandum of understanding for the purposes of establishing
the California Water Quality Monitoring Council, which shall be
administered by the state board.
(2) As used in this section, "monitoring council" means the
California Water Quality Monitoring Council established pursuant to
this section.
(3) The monitoring council may include representatives from state
entities and nonstate entities. The representatives from nonstate
entities may include, but need not be limited to, representatives
from federal and local government, institutions of higher education,
the regulated community, citizen monitoring groups, and other
interested parties.
(4) The monitoring council shall review existing water quality
monitoring, assessment, and reporting efforts, and shall recommend
specific actions and funding needs necessary to coordinate and
enhance those efforts.
(5) (A) The recommendations shall be prepared for the ultimate
development of a cost-effective, coordinated, integrated, and
comprehensive statewide network for collecting and disseminating
water quality information and ongoing assessments of the health of
the state's waters and the effectiveness of programs to protect and
improve the quality of those waters.
(B) For purposes of developing recommendations pursuant to this
section, the monitoring council shall initially focus on the water
quality monitoring efforts of state agencies, including, but not
limited to, the state board, the regional boards, the department, the
Department of Fish and Game, the California Coastal Commission, the
State Lands Commission, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Department of
Pesticide Regulation, and the State Department of Health Services.
(C) In developing the recommendations, the monitoring council
shall seek to build upon existing programs rather than create new
programs.
(6) Among other things, the memorandum of understanding shall
describe the means by which the monitoring council shall formulate
recommendations to accomplish both of the following:
(A) Reduce redundancies, inefficiencies, and inadequacies in
existing water quality monitoring and data management programs in
order to improve the effective delivery of sound, comprehensive water
quality information to the public and decisionmakers.
(B) Ensure that water quality improvement projects financed by the
state provide specific information necessary to track project
effectiveness with regard to achieving clean water and healthy
ecosystems.
(b) The monitoring council shall report, on or before December 1,
2008, to the California Environmental Protection Agency and the
Resources Agency with regard to its recommendations for maximizing
the efficiency and effectiveness of existing water quality data
collection and dissemination, and for ensuring that collected data
are maintained and available for use by decisionmakers and the
public. The monitoring council shall consult with the United States
Environmental Protection Agency in preparing these recommendations.
The monitoring council's recommendations, and any responses submitted
by the California Environmental Protection Agency or the Resources
Agency to those recommendations, shall be made available to
decisionmakers and the public by means of the Internet.
(c) The monitoring council shall undertake and complete, on or
before April 1, 2008, a survey of its members to develop an inventory
of their existing water quality monitoring and data collection
efforts statewide and shall make that information available to the
public.
(d) All state agencies, including institutions of higher education
to the extent permitted by law, that collect water quality data or
information shall cooperate with the California Environmental
Protection Agency and the Resources Agency in achieving the goals of
the monitoring council as described in this section.
(e) In accordance with the requirements of the Clean Water Act (33
U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.) and implementing guidance, the state board
shall develop, in coordination with the monitoring council, all of
the following:
(1) A comprehensive monitoring program strategy that utilizes and
expands upon the state's existing statewide, regional, and other
monitoring capabilities and describes how the state will develop an
integrated monitoring program that will serve all of the state's
water quality monitoring needs and address all of the state's waters
over time. The strategy shall include a timeline not to exceed 10
years to complete implementation. The strategy shall be comprehensive
in scope and identify specific technical, integration, and resource
needs, and shall recommend solutions for those needs so that the
strategy may be implemented within the 10-year timeframe.
(2) Agreement, including agreement on a schedule, with regard to
the comprehensive monitoring of statewide water quality protection
indicators that provide a basic minimum understanding of the health
of the state's waters. Indicators already developed pursuant to
environmental protection indicators for statewide initiatives shall
be given high priority as core indicators for purposes of the network
described in subdivision (a).
(3) Quality management plans and quality assurance plans that
ensure the validity and utility of the data collected.
(4) Methodology for compiling, analyzing, and integrating readily
available information, to the maximum extent feasible, including, but
not limited to, data acquired from discharge reports, volunteer
monitoring groups, local, state, and federal agencies, and recipients
of state-funded or federally funded water quality improvement or
restoration projects.
(5) An accessible and user-friendly electronic data system with
timely data entry and ready public access via the Internet. To the
maximum extent possible, the geographic location of the areas
monitored shall be included in the data system.
(6) Production of timely and complete water quality reports and
lists that are required under Sections 303(d), 305(b), 314, and 319
of the Clean Water Act and Section 406 of the Beaches Environmental
Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000, that include all available
information from discharge reports, volunteer monitoring groups, and
local, state, and federal agencies.
(7) An update of the state board's surface water ambient
monitoring program needs assessment in light of the benefits of
increased coordination and integration of information from other
agencies and information sources. This update shall include
identification of current and future resource needs required to fully
implement the coordinated, comprehensive monitoring network,
including, but not limited to, funding, staff, training, laboratory
and other resources, and projected improvements in the network.
(f) The state board shall identify the full costs of
implementation of the comprehensive monitoring program strategy
developed pursuant to subdivision (e), and shall identify proposed
sources of funding for the implementation of the strategy, including
federal funds that may be expended for this purpose. Fees collected
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 13260 may be
used as a funding source for implementation of the strategy to the
extent that the funding is consistent with subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 13260.
(g) Data, summary information, and reports prepared pursuant to
this section shall be made available to appropriate public agencies
and the public by means of the Internet.
(h) (1) Commencing December 1, 2008, the Secretary of the
California Environmental Protection Agency shall conduct a triennial
audit of the effectiveness of the monitoring program strategy
developed pursuant to subdivision (e). The audit shall include, but
need not be limited to, an assessment of the following matters:
(A) The extent to which the strategy has been implemented.
(B) The effectiveness of the monitoring and assessment program and
the monitoring council with regard to both of the following:
(i) Tracking improvements in water quality.
(ii) Evaluating the overall effectiveness of programs administered
by the state board or a regional board and of state and federally
funded water quality improvement projects.
(2) The Secretary of the California Environmental Protection
Agency shall consult with the Secretary of the Resources Agency in
preparing the audit, consistent with the memorandum of understanding
entered into pursuant to subdivision (a).
(i) The state board shall prioritize the use of federal funding
that may be applied to monitoring, including, but not limited to,
funding under Section 106 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act,
for the purpose of implementing this section.
(j) The state board shall not use more than 5 percent of the funds
made available to implement this section for the administrative
costs of any contracts entered into for the purpose of implementing
this section.
13191. The state board shall convene an advisory group or groups to
assist in the evaluation of program structure and effectiveness as
it relates to the implementation of the requirements of Section 303
(d) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1313(d)), and applicable
federal regulations and monitoring and assessment programs. The
advisory group or groups shall be comprised of persons concerned with
the requirements of Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. The state
board shall provide public notice on its website of any meetings of
the advisory group or groups and, upon the request of any party shall
mail notice of the time and location of any meeting of the group or
groups. The board shall also ensure that the advisory group or groups
meet in a manner that facilitates the effective participation of the
public and the stakeholder participants.
13191.3. (a) The state board, on or before July 1, 2003, shall
prepare guidelines to be used by the state board and the regional
boards for the purpose of listing and delisting waters and developing
and implementing the total maximum daily load (TMDL) program and
total maximum daily loads pursuant to Section 303(d) of the federal
Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1313(d)).
(b) For the purposes of preparing the guidelines, the state board
shall consider the consensus recommendations adopted by the public
advisory group convened pursuant to Section 13191.
(c) The guidelines shall be finalized not later than January 1,
2004.
13193. (a) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Collection system owner or operator" means the public or
private entity having legal authority over the operation and
maintenance of, or capital improvements to, the sewer collection
system.
(2) "GIS" means Geographic Information System.
(b) On or before January 1 of a year in which the Legislature has
appropriated sufficient funds for this purpose, the state board, in
consultation with representatives of cities, counties, cities and
counties, special districts, public interest groups, the State
Department of Public Health, and the regional boards shall develop a
uniform overflow event report form to be used for reporting of
sanitary sewer system overflows as required in subdivision (c). This
event report form shall include, but not be limited to, all of the
following:
(1) The cause of the overflow. The cause shall be specifically
identified, unless there is an ongoing investigation, in which case
it shall be identified immediately after completion of the
investigation. The cause shall be identified, at a minimum, as
blockage, infrastructure failure, pump station failure, significant
wet weather event, natural disaster, or other cause, which shall be
specifically identified. If the cause is identified as a blockage,
the type of blockage shall be identified, at a minimum, as roots,
grease, debris, vandalism, or multiple causes of which each should be
identified. If the cause is identified as infrastructure, it shall
be determined, at a minimum, whether the infrastructure failure was
due to leaks, damage to, or breakage of, collection system piping or
insufficient capacity. If the cause is identified as a significant
wet weather event or natural disaster, the report shall describe both
the event and how it resulted in the overflow. If the precise cause
cannot be identified after investigation, the report shall include a
narrative explanation describing the investigation conducted and
providing the information known about the possible causes of the
overflow.
(2) An estimate of the volume of the overflow event.
(3) Location of the overflow event. Sufficient information shall
be provided to determine location for purposes of GIS mapping, such
as specific street address or the latitude and longitude of the
event.
(4) Date, time, and duration of the overflow event.
(5) Whether or not the overflow reached or may have reached waters
of the state.
(6) Whether or not a beach closure occurred or may have occurred
as a result of the overflow.
(7) The response and corrective action taken.
(8) Whether or not there is an ongoing investigation, the reasons
for it and expected date of completion.
(9) The name, address, and telephone number of the reporting
collection system owner or operator and a specific contact name.
(c) Commencing on July 1 of a year in which the Legislature has
appropriated sufficient funds for this purpose, in the event of a
spill or overflow from a sanitary sewer system that is subject to the
notification requirements set forth in Section 13271, the applicable
collection system owner or operator, in addition to immediate
reporting duties pursuant to Section 13271, shall submit to the
appropriate regional board, within 30 days of the date of becoming
aware of the overflow event, a report using the form described in
subdivision (b). The report shall be filed electronically, if
possible, or by fax or mail if electronic submission is not possible.
(d) (1) Commencing on July 1 of a year in which the Legislature
has appropriated sufficient funds for this purpose, in the event of a
spill or overflow from a sanitary sewer system that is not subject
to the reporting requirements set forth in Section 13271 that is
either found by the State Department of Public Health or any local
health officer to result in contamination pursuant to Section 5412 of
the Health and Safety Code, or is found by the State Department of
Public Health to result in pollution or nuisance pursuant to Section
5413 of the Health and Safety Code, the agency making the
determination shall submit to the appropriate regional board, within
30 days of making the determination, a report that shall include, at
a minimum, the following information:
(A) Date, time, and approximate duration of the overflow event.
(B) An estimate of the volume of the overflow event.
(C) Location of the overflow event.
(D) A description of the response or corrective action taken by
the agency making the determination.
(E) The name, address, and telephone number of the reporting
collection system owner or operator, and a specific contact name.
(2) The report shall be filed electronically, if possible, or by
fax or mail if electronic submission is not possible.
(e) Before January 1 of a year in which the Legislature has
appropriated sufficient funds for this purpose, the state board, in
consultation with representatives of cities, counties, cities and
counties, and special districts, public interest groups, the State
Department of Public Health, and regional boards, shall develop and
maintain a sanitary sewer system overflow database that, at a
minimum, contains the parameters described in subdivisions (b) and
(d).
(f) Commencing on July 1 of a year in which the Legislature has
appropriated sufficient funds for this purpose, each regional board
shall coordinate with collection system owners or operators, the
State Department of Public Health, and local health officers to
compile the reports submitted pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d).
Each regional board shall report that information to the state board
on a quarterly basis, to be included in the sanitary sewer system
overflow database.
(g) The state board shall make available to the public, by
Internet and other cost-effective means, as determined by the state
board, information that is generated pursuant to this section. In a
year in which the Legislature has appropriated sufficient funds for
the purposes described in this subdivision, the state board shall
prepare a summary report of the information collected in the sanitary
sewer system overflow database, and make it available to the general
public through the Internet and other cost-effective means, as
determined by the state board. To the extent resources and the data
allow, this report shall include GIS maps compiling coastal overflow
events.
13193.9. (a) The state board, to the extent permitted by law, shall
take all of the following actions for the purpose of allocating
funds on behalf of a wastewater collection, treatment, or disposal
project, if the recipient of financial assistance is a small,
disadvantaged community:
(1) If the state board determines that an advance is needed for
the project to proceed in an efficient manner, allocate to the
recipient up to 25 percent of the financial assistance amount, not
exceeding one million dollars ($1,000,000), in advance of actual
expenditures. The recipient shall repay to the state board any funds
advanced pursuant to this section, including any interest earned on
the advance funds, if the funds are unused upon expiration of the
funding agreement or if the funds are not expended in accordance with
the financial assistance agreement.
(2) Establish a payment process pursuant to which the recipient of
financial assistance receives funds within 30 days of the date on
which the state board receives a project payment request unless the
state board, within that 30-day period, determines that the project
payment would not be in accordance with the terms of the program
guidelines.
(3) Utilize wire transfers or other appropriate payment procedures
to expedite project payments.
(b) The amount of financial assistance received by a recipient,
including any funds advanced pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision
(a), shall not exceed the total amount of the financial assistance
that the state board agrees to provide for a project. If financial
assistance is advanced to a recipient pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a), the state board shall reduce subsequent
disbursements of financial assistance by the amount advanced.
(c) For the purposes of this section, "small disadvantaged
community" means a municipality with a population of 20,000 persons
or less, or a reasonably isolated and divisible segment of a larger
municipality encompassing 20,000 persons or less, with an annual
median household income that is less than 80 percent of the statewide
annual median household income.
13160. The state board is designated as the state water pollution
control agency for all purposes stated in the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act and any other federal act, heretofore or hereafter
enacted, and is (a) authorized to give any certificate or statement
required by any federal agency pursuant to any such federal act that
there is reasonable assurance that an activity of any person subject
to the jurisdiction of the state board will not reduce water quality
below applicable standards, and (b) authorized to exercise any powers
delegated to the state by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq.) and acts amendatory thereto.
13160.1. (a) The state board may establish a reasonable fee
schedule to cover the costs incurred by the state board and the
regional boards in connection with any certificate that is required
or authorized by any federal law with respect to the effect of any
existing or proposed facility, project, or construction work upon the
quality of waters of the state, including certificates requested by
applicants for a federal permit or license pursuant to Section 401 of
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, and
certificates requested pursuant to Section 169 of the Internal
Revenue Code, as amended, with respect to water pollution control
facilities.
(b) In providing for the recovery of costs incurred by the state
board and regional board pursuant to this section, the state board
may include in the fee schedule, but is not limited to including, the
costs incurred in reviewing applications for certificates,
prescribing terms of certificates and monitoring requirements,
enforcing and evaluating compliance with certificates and monitoring
requirements, conducting monitoring and modeling, analyzing
laboratory samples, reviewing documents prepared for the purpose of
regulating activities subject to certificates, and administrative
costs incurred in connection with carrying out these actions. The
costs of reviewing applications for certificates include, but are not
limited to, the costs incurred in anticipation of the filing of an
application for a certificate, including participation in any
prefiling consultation, and investigation or studies to evaluate the
impacts of the proposed activity.
(c) (1) The fee schedule may provide for payment of a single fee
in connection with the filing of an application, or for periodic or
annual fees, as appropriate to the type of certificate issued and the
activity authorized by the certificate.
(2) The fee schedule authorized by this section may impose a fee
upon any of the following:
(A) Any person who files an application for a certificate.
(B) Any person who files with the state board or a regional board
a notice of intent to file an application for a certificate, or who
files with a federal agency a notice of intent to apply for a federal
permit or license for which a certificate will be required under
Section 401 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
(C) Any person holding a federal permit or license for which a
certificate has been issued.
(D) Any person required to send a notice of intent to the state
board or a regional board to proceed with an activity permitted by a
general permit subject to certification under Section 13160.
(d) (1) If the state board establishes a fee schedule pursuant to
this section, the state board shall adopt the fee schedule by
emergency regulation. The state board shall set the amount of total
revenues collected each year through the fee authorized by this
section at an amount equal to the revenue levels set forth in the
annual Budget Act for this activity. The state board shall review and
revise the fee each fiscal year as necessary to conform with the
revenue levels set forth in the annual Budget Act. If the state board
determines that the revenue collected during the preceding year was
greater than, or less than, the revenue levels set forth in the
annual Budget Act, the state board may further adjust the annual fees
to compensate for the over or under collection of revenue.
(2) The emergency regulations adopted pursuant to this
subdivision, any amendment thereto, or subsequent adjustments to the
annual fees, shall be adopted by the state board in accordance with
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code. The adoption of these regulations
is an emergency and shall be considered by the Office of
Administrative Law as necessary for the immediate preservation of the
public peace, health, safety, and general welfare. Notwithstanding
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code, any emergency regulations adopted
by the state board, or adjustments to the annual fees made by the
state board pursuant to this section, shall remain in effect until
revised by the state board.
(e) Any fees collected pursuant to this section in connection with
certificates for activities involving hydroelectric power projects
subject to licensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
shall be deposited in the Water Rights Fund.
13161. The state board shall annually determine state needs for
water quality research and recommend projects to be conducted.
13162. The state board shall administer any statewide program of
research in the technical phases of water quality control which may
be delegated to it by law and may accept funds from the United States
or any person to that end. The state board may conduct such a
program independently, or by contract or in cooperation with any
federal or state agency, including any political subdivision of the
state, or any person or public or private organization.
13163. (a) The state board shall coordinate water-quality-related
investigations of state agencies, recognizing that other state
agencies have primary statutory authority for such investigations,
and shall consult with the concerned regional boards in implementing
this section.
(b) The state board from time to time shall evaluate the need for
water-quality-related investigations to effectively develop and
implement statewide policy for water quality control and shall
transmit its recommendations for investigations to affected or
concerned federal, state, and local agencies. The affected state
agencies shall comply with the recommendations or shall advise the
state board in writing why they do not comply with such
recommendations.
(c) State agencies shall submit to the state board plans for and
results of all investigations that relate to or have an effect upon
water quality for review and comment.
13164. The state board shall formulate, adopt and revise general
procedures for the formulation, adoption and implementation by
regional boards of water quality control plans. During the process of
formulating or revising such procedures, the state board shall
consult with and evaluate the recommendations of any affected
regional boards.
13165. The state board may require any state or local agency to
investigate and report on any technical factors involved in water
quality control; provided that the burden, including costs, of such
reports shall bear a reasonable relationship to the need for the
reports and the benefits to be obtained therefrom.
13166. The state board, with the assistance of the regional boards,
shall prepare and implement a statewide water quality information
storage and retrieval program. Such program shall be coordinated and
integrated to the maximum extent practicable with data storage and
retrieval programs of other agencies.
13167. (a) The state board shall implement, with the assistance of
the regional boards, a public information program on matters
involving water quality, and shall place and maintain on its Internet
Web site, in a format accessible to the general public, an
information file on water quality monitoring, assessment, research,
standards, regulation, enforcement, and other pertinent matters.
(b) The information file described in subdivision (a) shall
include, but need not be limited to, copies of permits, waste
discharge requirements, waivers, enforcement actions, and petitions
for review of these actions pursuant to this division. The file shall
include copies of water quality control plans and policies,
including any relevant management agency agreements pursuant to this
chapter and Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 13200), and monitoring
data and assessment information, or shall identify Internet links to
that information. The state board, in consultation with the regional
boards, shall ensure that the information is available in single
locations, rather than separately by region, and that the information
is presented in a manner easily understandable by the general
public.
13167.5. (a) The state board or the regional board, as applicable,
shall provide notice and a period of at least 30 days for public
comment prior to the adoption of any of the following:
(1) Waste discharge requirements prescribed pursuant to Sections
13263 or 13377.
(2) Water reclamation requirements prescribed pursuant to Section
13523.
(3) An order issued pursuant to Section 13320.
(4) A time schedule order adopted pursuant to Section 13300 that
sets forth a schedule of compliance and required actions relating to
waste discharge requirements prescribed pursuant to Section 13263 or
13377.
(b) The notification required by subdivision (a) may be provided
by mailing a draft of the waste discharge requirements, water
reclamation requirements, time schedule order, or order issued
pursuant to Section 13320 to each person who has requested notice of
the specific item, or by posting a draft of the respective
requirements or order on the official Internet site maintained by the
state board or regional board, and providing notice of that posting
by electronic mail to each person who has requested notice.
(c) This section does not require the state board or the regional
board to provide more than one notice or more than one public comment
period prior to the adoption of waste discharge requirements, water
reclamation requirements, a time schedule order, or an order issued
pursuant to Section 13320.
13168. The state board shall allocate to the regional boards from
funds appropriated to the state board such part thereof as may be
necessary for the administrative expenses of such boards. The
regional boards shall submit annual budgets to the state board.
Subject to the provisions of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
13291) of Part 3, Division 3, Title 2 of the Government Code and any
other laws giving the Department of Finance fiscal and budgetary
control over state departments generally, the state board shall
prepare an annual budget concerning its activities and the activities
of the regional boards.
13169. (a) The state board is authorized to develop and implement a
groundwater protection program as provided under the Safe Drinking
Water Act, Section 300 and following of Title 42 of the United States
Code, and any federal act that amends or supplements the Safe
Drinking Water Act. The authority of the state board under this
section includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) To apply for and accept state groundwater protection grants
from the federal government.
(2) To take any additional action as may be necessary or
appropriate to assure that the state's groundwater protection program
complies with any federal regulations issued pursuant to the Safe
Drinking Water Act or any federal act that amends or supplements the
Safe Drinking Water Act.
(b) Nothing in this section is intended to expand the authority of
the state board as authorized under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality
Control Act (Div. 7 (commencing with Sec. 13000) Wat. C.).
13170. The state board may adopt water quality control plans in
accordance with the provisions of Sections 13240 to 13244, inclusive,
insofar as they are applicable, for waters for which water quality
standards are required by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and
acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto. Such plans, when
adopted, supersede any regional water quality control plans for the
same waters to the extent of any conflict.
13170.1. The state board shall consider all relevant management
agency agreements, which are intended to protect a specific
beneficial use of water, prior to adopting all water quality control
plans pursuant to Section 13170.
13170.2. (a) The state board shall formulate and adopt a water
quality control plan for ocean waters of the state which shall be
known as the California Ocean Plan.
(b) The plan shall be reviewed at least every three years to
guarantee that the current standards are adequate and are not
allowing degradation to indigenous marine species or posing a threat
to human health.
(c) In formulating the plan, the state board shall develop
bioassay protocols to evaluate the effect of municipal and industrial
waste discharges on the marine environment.
(d) The state board shall adopt the bioassay protocols and
complementary chemical testing methods and shall require their use in
the monitoring of complex effluent ocean discharges. For purposes of
this section, "complex effluent" means an effluent in which all
chemical constituents are not known or monitored. The state board
shall adopt bioassay protocols and complementary chemical testing
methods for complex effluent ocean monitoring by January 1, 1990, and
shall require their use in monitoring complex effluent ocean
discharges by entities discharging 100 million gallons per day or
more by January 1, 1991. The state board shall also adopt a schedule
for requiring the use of these protocols for complex effluent ocean
discharges of under 100 million gallons per day by January 1, 1992.
13170.5. Notwithstanding any provision of law, any plan provided in
Section 13170, 13240, or 13245, and any approval thereof, and any
certification or approval of an areawide waste treatment management
plan prepared pursuant to Section 208 of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act shall be subject to the provisions of Article 5.5
(commencing with Section 53098) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2
of Title 5 of the Government Code.
13171. The state board may establish a Water Quality Coordinating
Committee, consisting of at least one member of each of the nine
regional boards, to assist the state board in carrying out its
responsibilities in water quality control.
13172. To ensure adequate protection of water quality and statewide
uniformity in the siting, operation, and closure of waste disposal
sites, except for sewage treatment plants or those sites which
primarily contain fertilizer or radioactive material, the state board
shall do all of the following:
(a) Classify wastes according to the risk of impairment to water
quality, taking into account toxicity, persistence, degradability,
solubility, and other biological, chemical, and physical properties
of the wastes.
(b) Classify the types of disposal sites according to the level of
protection provided for water quality, taking into account the
geology, hydrology, topography, climatology, and other factors
relating to ability of the site to protect water quality.
(c) Adopt standards and regulations to implement Sections 13226
and 13227.
(d) Adopt standards and regulations for hazardous waste disposal
sites which apply and ensure compliance with all applicable
groundwater protection and monitoring requirements of the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended (42 U.S.C. Sec.
6901 et seq.), any federal act, enacted before or after January 1,
1989, which amends or supplements the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act of 1976, any federal regulations adopted before or after
January 1, 1989, pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act of 1976, as amended, together with any more stringent
requirements necessary to implement this division or Article 9.5
(commencing with Section 25208) of Chapter 6.5 of Division 20 of the
Health and Safety Code.
(e) Adopt policies, standards, and regulations for discharges of
mining waste which apply, and ensure compliance with, all surface
water and groundwater protection and monitoring requirements of this
division, Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 25208) of Chapter 6.5
of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, and Subchapter IV
(commencing with Section 6941) of Chapter 82 of Title 42 of the
United States Code, which are applicable to discharges of mining
waste. These policies, standards, and regulations shall include, but
are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) A statewide policy for monitoring surface water and
groundwater that may be affected by discharges of mining waste. The
policy shall establish the principles the regional boards shall use
in developing monitoring plans for discharges of mining waste,
including the methods the regional boards shall use in determining
the location, number, and type of monitoring sites.
(2) Regulations requiring that waste discharge requirements issued
for discharges of mining waste by regional boards include monitoring
requirements consistent with the statewide policy adopted pursuant
to paragraph (1).
(3) Standards for reporting the results of surface water and
groundwater monitoring to the regional board. The standards shall
establish a reporting format that graphs monitoring data over an
appropriate time period and compares the values found for each
measured parameter against the standard for that parameter
established in the waste discharge requirements.
13173. "Designated waste" means either of the following:
(a) Hazardous waste that has been granted a variance from
hazardous waste management requirements pursuant to Section 25143 of
the Health and Safety Code.
(b) Nonhazardous waste that consists of, or contains, pollutants
that, under ambient environmental conditions at a waste management
unit, could be released in concentrations exceeding applicable water
quality objectives or that could reasonably be expected to affect
beneficial uses of the waters of the state as contained in the
appropriate state water quality control plan.
13173.2. The state board, after consultation with the California
Integrated Waste Management Board and the Department of Toxic
Substances Control, may, as available resources permit, adopt
policies with regard to designated wastes to include, but not be
limited to, both of the following:
(a) Policies that provide for the means by which a regional board
shall identify designated waste and the waters of the state that the
waste may potentially impact.
(b) Policies for regional boards with regard to the granting of
waivers to make inapplicable the designated waste classification.
13176. (a) The analysis of any material required by this division
shall be performed by a laboratory that has accreditation or
certification pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 100825)
of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 101 of the Health and Safety Code.
(b) A person or public entity of the state shall not contract with
a laboratory for environmental analyses for which the State
Department of Public Health requires accreditation or certification
pursuant to this chapter, unless the laboratory holds a valid
certification or accreditation.
13177. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the state board
continue to implement the California State Mussel Watch Program.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares that the California State
Mussel Watch Program provides the following benefits to the people of
the state:
(1) An effective method for monitoring the long-term effects of
certain toxic substances in selected fresh, estuarine, and marine
waters.
(2) An important element in the state board's comprehensive water
quality monitoring strategy.
(3) Identification, on an annual basis of specific areas where
concentrations of toxic substances are higher than normal.
(4) Valuable information to guide the state and regional boards
and other public and private agencies in efforts to protect water
quality.
(c) To the extent funding is appropriated for this purpose, the
state board, in conjunction with the Department of Fish and Game,
shall continue to implement the long-term coastal monitoring program
known as the California State Mussel Watch Program. The program may
consist of, but is not limited to, the following elements:
(1) Removal of mussels, clams, and other aquatic organisms from
relatively clean coastal sites and placing them in sampling sites.
For purposes of this section, "sampling sites" means selected waters
of concern to the state board and the Department of Fish and Game.
(2) After specified exposure periods at the sampling sites,
removal of the aquatic organisms for analysis.
(3) Laboratory analysis of the removed aquatic organisms to
determine the amounts of various toxic substances that may have
accumulated in the bodies of the aquatic organisms.
(4) Making available both the short- and long-term results of the
laboratory analysis to appropriate public and private agencies and
the public.
13177.5. (a) The state board, in consultation with the Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, shall develop a comprehensive
coastal monitoring and assessment program for sport fish and
shellfish, to be known as the Coastal Fish Contamination Program. The
program shall identify and monitor chemical contamination in coastal
fish and shellfish and assess the health risks of consumption of
sport fish and shellfish caught by consumers.
(b) The state board shall consult with the Department of Fish and
Game, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and
regional water quality control boards with jurisdiction over
territory along the coast, to determine chemicals, sampling
locations, and the species to be collected under the program. The
program developed by the state board shall include all of the
following:
(1) Screening studies to identify coastal fishing areas where fish
species have the potential for accumulating chemicals that pose
significant health risks to human consumers of sport fish and
shellfish.
(2) The assessment of at least 60 screening study monitoring sites
and 120 samples in the first five years of the program and an
assessment of additional screening study sites as time and resources
permit.
(3) Comprehensive monitoring and assessment of fishing areas
determined through screening studies to have a potential for
significant human health risk and a reassessment of these areas every
five years.
(c) Based on existing fish contamination data, the state board
shall designate a minimum of 40 sites as fixed sampling locations for
the ongoing monitoring effort.
(d) The state board shall contract with the Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to prepare comprehensive
health risk assessments for sport fish and shellfish monitored in the
program. The assessments shall be based on the data collected by the
program and information on fish consumption and food preparation.
The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, within 18
months of the completion of a comprehensive study for each area by
the state board, shall submit to the board a draft health risk
assessment report for that area. Those health risk assessments shall
be updated following the reassessment of areas by the board.
(e) The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall
issue health advisories when the office determines that consuming
certain fish or shellfish presents a significant health risk. The
advisories shall contain information for the public, and particularly
the population at risk, concerning health risks from the consumption
of the fish or shellfish. The office shall notify the appropriate
county health officers, the State Department of Health Services, and
the Department of Fish and Game, prior to the issuance of a health
advisory. The notification shall provide sufficient information for
the purpose of posting signage. The office shall urge county health
officers to conspicuously post health warnings in areas where
contaminated fish or shellfish may be caught including piers,
commercial passenger fishing vessels, and shore areas where fishing
occurs. The Department of Fish and Game shall publish the office's
health warnings in its Sport Fishing Regulations Booklet.
13177.6. To the extent funding is appropriated for this purpose,
the state board, in consultation with the Department of Fish and Game
and Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, shall perform
a monitoring study to reassess the geographic boundaries of the
commercial fish closure off the Palos Verdes Shelf. The reassessment
shall include collection and analysis of white croaker caught on the
Palos Verdes Shelf, within three miles south of the Shelf, and within
San Pedro Bay. Based on the results of the reassessment, the
Department of Fish and Game, with guidance from the Office of the
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, shall redelineate, if
necessary, the commercial fish closure area to protect the health of
consumers of commercially caught white croaker. The sample collection
and analysis shall be conducted within 18 months of the enactment of
this section and the reassessment of the health risk shall be
conducted within 18 months of the completion of the analysis of the
samples.
13177.7. (a) (1) Notwithstanding Section 12439 of the Government
Code, the Controller may not eliminate any direct or indirect
position that provides oversight and related support of remediation
at a military base, including a closed military base, that is funded
without General Fund moneys through an agreement with a state agency,
or that is funded through an agreement with a party responsible for
paying the state board's costs, and may not eliminate any direct or
indirect position that is funded by a federal grant that does not
require a state match funded from the General Fund.
(2) An agreement with a state agency subject to this section may
not require the use of a state matching fund from the General Fund by
that agency.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including Section
4.10 of the Budget Act of 2003, the Director of Finance may not
eliminate any direct or indirect position that provides oversight and
related support of remediation at a military base, including a
closed military base, that is funded through an agreement with a
state agency or party responsible for paying the state board's costs,
and may not eliminate any direct or indirect position that is funded
by a federal grant that does not require a state match funded from
the General Fund.
(b) Neither the Controller nor the Department of Finance may
impose any hiring freeze or personal services limitations, including
any position reductions, upon any direct or indirect position of the
state board that provides oversight and related support of
remediation at a military base, including a closed military base,
that is funded through an agreement with a state agency or party
responsible for paying the state board's costs, or on any direct or
indirect position that is funded by a federal grant that does not
require a state match funded from the General Fund.
(c) The Controller and the Department of Finance shall exclude,
from the state board's base for purposes of calculating any budget or
position reductions required by any state agency or any state law,
the specific amounts and direct or indirect positions that provide
oversight and related support of remediation at a military base,
including a closed military base, that are funded through an
agreement with a state agency or party responsible for paying the
state board's costs, and shall exclude the specific amounts and any
direct or indirect positions that are funded by a federal grant that
does not require a state match funded from the General Fund.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, neither the
Controller nor the Department of Finance may require the state board
to reduce authorized positions or other appropriations for other
state board programs, including personal services, to replace the
reductions precluded by subdivisions (a), (b), and (c).
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon the request
of the state board, and upon review and approval of the Department of
Finance, the Controller shall augment any Budget Act appropriations,
except for appropriations from the General Fund, necessary to
implement this section.
(f) (1) This section does not apply to any state board
appropriation or expenditure of General Fund moneys.
(2) This section does not limit the authority of the Department of
Finance to eliminate a position when funding for the position,
through an agreement with a party or by a federal grant, is no longer
available.
13178. (a) (1) On or before June 30, 2001, the state board, in
conjunction with the State Department of Health Services and a panel
of experts established by the state board, shall develop source
investigation protocols for use in conducting source investigations
of storm drains that produce exceedences of bacteriological standards
established pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 115880 of the
Health and Safety Code. The protocols shall be based upon the
experiences drawn from previous source investigations performed by
the state board, regional boards, or other agencies, and other
available data. The protocols shall include methods for identifying
the location and biological origins of sources of bacteriological
contamination, and, at a minimum, shall require source investigations
if bacteriological standards are exceeded in any three weeks of a
four-week period, or, for areas where testing is done more than once
a week, 75 percent of testing days that produce an exceedence of
those standards.
(2) The development of source investigation protocols pursuant to
paragraph (1) is not subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(b) On or before December 1, 2001, the state board, in conjunction
with the State Department of Health Services, shall report to the
Legislature on the methods by which it intends to conduct source
investigations of storm drains that produce exceedences of
bacteriological standards established pursuant to subdivision (c) of
Section 115880 of the Health and Safety Code. Factors to be addressed
in the report shall include the approximate number of public beaches
expected to be affected by the exceedence of bacteriological
standards established pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 115880
of the Health and Safety Code, as well as the costs expected for
source investigation of the storm drains affecting those public
beaches. The report shall include a timeline for completion of source
investigations.
13181. (a) (1) On or before December 1, 2007, the California
Environmental Protection Agency and the Resources Agency shall enter
into a memorandum of understanding for the purposes of establishing
the California Water Quality Monitoring Council, which shall be
administered by the state board.
(2) As used in this section, "monitoring council" means the
California Water Quality Monitoring Council established pursuant to
this section.
(3) The monitoring council may include representatives from state
entities and nonstate entities. The representatives from nonstate
entities may include, but need not be limited to, representatives
from federal and local government, institutions of higher education,
the regulated community, citizen monitoring groups, and other
interested parties.
(4) The monitoring council shall review existing water quality
monitoring, assessment, and reporting efforts, and shall recommend
specific actions and funding needs necessary to coordinate and
enhance those efforts.
(5) (A) The recommendations shall be prepared for the ultimate
development of a cost-effective, coordinated, integrated, and
comprehensive statewide network for collecting and disseminating
water quality information and ongoing assessments of the health of
the state's waters and the effectiveness of programs to protect and
improve the quality of those waters.
(B) For purposes of developing recommendations pursuant to this
section, the monitoring council shall initially focus on the water
quality monitoring efforts of state agencies, including, but not
limited to, the state board, the regional boards, the department, the
Department of Fish and Game, the California Coastal Commission, the
State Lands Commission, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Department of
Pesticide Regulation, and the State Department of Health Services.
(C) In developing the recommendations, the monitoring council
shall seek to build upon existing programs rather than create new
programs.
(6) Among other things, the memorandum of understanding shall
describe the means by which the monitoring council shall formulate
recommendations to accomplish both of the following:
(A) Reduce redundancies, inefficiencies, and inadequacies in
existing water quality monitoring and data management programs in
order to improve the effective delivery of sound, comprehensive water
quality information to the public and decisionmakers.
(B) Ensure that water quality improvement projects financed by the
state provide specific information necessary to track project
effectiveness with regard to achieving clean water and healthy
ecosystems.
(b) The monitoring council shall report, on or before December 1,
2008, to the California Environmental Protection Agency and the
Resources Agency with regard to its recommendations for maximizing
the efficiency and effectiveness of existing water quality data
collection and dissemination, and for ensuring that collected data
are maintained and available for use by decisionmakers and the
public. The monitoring council shall consult with the United States
Environmental Protection Agency in preparing these recommendations.
The monitoring council's recommendations, and any responses submitted
by the California Environmental Protection Agency or the Resources
Agency to those recommendations, shall be made available to
decisionmakers and the public by means of the Internet.
(c) The monitoring council shall undertake and complete, on or
before April 1, 2008, a survey of its members to develop an inventory
of their existing water quality monitoring and data collection
efforts statewide and shall make that information available to the
public.
(d) All state agencies, including institutions of higher education
to the extent permitted by law, that collect water quality data or
information shall cooperate with the California Environmental
Protection Agency and the Resources Agency in achieving the goals of
the monitoring council as described in this section.
(e) In accordance with the requirements of the Clean Water Act (33
U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.) and implementing guidance, the state board
shall develop, in coordination with the monitoring council, all of
the following:
(1) A comprehensive monitoring program strategy that utilizes and
expands upon the state's existing statewide, regional, and other
monitoring capabilities and describes how the state will develop an
integrated monitoring program that will serve all of the state's
water quality monitoring needs and address all of the state's waters
over time. The strategy shall include a timeline not to exceed 10
years to complete implementation. The strategy shall be comprehensive
in scope and identify specific technical, integration, and resource
needs, and shall recommend solutions for those needs so that the
strategy may be implemented within the 10-year timeframe.
(2) Agreement, including agreement on a schedule, with regard to
the comprehensive monitoring of statewide water quality protection
indicators that provide a basic minimum understanding of the health
of the state's waters. Indicators already developed pursuant to
environmental protection indicators for statewide initiatives shall
be given high priority as core indicators for purposes of the network
described in subdivision (a).
(3) Quality management plans and quality assurance plans that
ensure the validity and utility of the data collected.
(4) Methodology for compiling, analyzing, and integrating readily
available information, to the maximum extent feasible, including, but
not limited to, data acquired from discharge reports, volunteer
monitoring groups, local, state, and federal agencies, and recipients
of state-funded or federally funded water quality improvement or
restoration projects.
(5) An accessible and user-friendly electronic data system with
timely data entry and ready public access via the Internet. To the
maximum extent possible, the geographic location of the areas
monitored shall be included in the data system.
(6) Production of timely and complete water quality reports and
lists that are required under Sections 303(d), 305(b), 314, and 319
of the Clean Water Act and Section 406 of the Beaches Environmental
Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000, that include all available
information from discharge reports, volunteer monitoring groups, and
local, state, and federal agencies.
(7) An update of the state board's surface water ambient
monitoring program needs assessment in light of the benefits of
increased coordination and integration of information from other
agencies and information sources. This update shall include
identification of current and future resource needs required to fully
implement the coordinated, comprehensive monitoring network,
including, but not limited to, funding, staff, training, laboratory
and other resources, and projected improvements in the network.
(f) The state board shall identify the full costs of
implementation of the comprehensive monitoring program strategy
developed pursuant to subdivision (e), and shall identify proposed
sources of funding for the implementation of the strategy, including
federal funds that may be expended for this purpose. Fees collected
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 13260 may be
used as a funding source for implementation of the strategy to the
extent that the funding is consistent with subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 13260.
(g) Data, summary information, and reports prepared pursuant to
this section shall be made available to appropriate public agencies
and the public by means of the Internet.
(h) (1) Commencing December 1, 2008, the Secretary of the
California Environmental Protection Agency shall conduct a triennial
audit of the effectiveness of the monitoring program strategy
developed pursuant to subdivision (e). The audit shall include, but
need not be limited to, an assessment of the following matters:
(A) The extent to which the strategy has been implemented.
(B) The effectiveness of the monitoring and assessment program and
the monitoring council with regard to both of the following:
(i) Tracking improvements in water quality.
(ii) Evaluating the overall effectiveness of programs administered
by the state board or a regional board and of state and federally
funded water quality improvement projects.
(2) The Secretary of the California Environmental Protection
Agency shall consult with the Secretary of the Resources Agency in
preparing the audit, consistent with the memorandum of understanding
entered into pursuant to subdivision (a).
(i) The state board shall prioritize the use of federal funding
that may be applied to monitoring, including, but not limited to,
funding under Section 106 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act,
for the purpose of implementing this section.
(j) The state board shall not use more than 5 percent of the funds
made available to implement this section for the administrative
costs of any contracts entered into for the purpose of implementing
this section.
13191. The state board shall convene an advisory group or groups to
assist in the evaluation of program structure and effectiveness as
it relates to the implementation of the requirements of Section 303
(d) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1313(d)), and applicable
federal regulations and monitoring and assessment programs. The
advisory group or groups shall be comprised of persons concerned with
the requirements of Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. The state
board shall provide public notice on its website of any meetings of
the advisory group or groups and, upon the request of any party shall
mail notice of the time and location of any meeting of the group or
groups. The board shall also ensure that the advisory group or groups
meet in a manner that facilitates the effective participation of the
public and the stakeholder participants.
13191.3. (a) The state board, on or before July 1, 2003, shall
prepare guidelines to be used by the state board and the regional
boards for the purpose of listing and delisting waters and developing
and implementing the total maximum daily load (TMDL) program and
total maximum daily loads pursuant to Section 303(d) of the federal
Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1313(d)).
(b) For the purposes of preparing the guidelines, the state board
shall consider the consensus recommendations adopted by the public
advisory group convened pursuant to Section 13191.
(c) The guidelines shall be finalized not later than January 1,
2004.
13193. (a) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Collection system owner or operator" means the public or
private entity having legal authority over the operation and
maintenance of, or capital improvements to, the sewer collection
system.
(2) "GIS" means Geographic Information System.
(b) On or before January 1 of a year in which the Legislature has
appropriated sufficient funds for this purpose, the state board, in
consultation with representatives of cities, counties, cities and
counties, special districts, public interest groups, the State
Department of Public Health, and the regional boards shall develop a
uniform overflow event report form to be used for reporting of
sanitary sewer system overflows as required in subdivision (c). This
event report form shall include, but not be limited to, all of the
following:
(1) The cause of the overflow. The cause shall be specifically
identified, unless there is an ongoing investigation, in which case
it shall be identified immediately after completion of the
investigation. The cause shall be identified, at a minimum, as
blockage, infrastructure failure, pump station failure, significant
wet weather event, natural disaster, or other cause, which shall be
specifically identified. If the cause is identified as a blockage,
the type of blockage shall be identified, at a minimum, as roots,
grease, debris, vandalism, or multiple causes of which each should be
identified. If the cause is identified as infrastructure, it shall
be determined, at a minimum, whether the infrastructure failure was
due to leaks, damage to, or breakage of, collection system piping or
insufficient capacity. If the cause is identified as a significant
wet weather event or natural disaster, the report shall describe both
the event and how it resulted in the overflow. If the precise cause
cannot be identified after investigation, the report shall include a
narrative explanation describing the investigation conducted and
providing the information known about the possible causes of the
overflow.
(2) An estimate of the volume of the overflow event.
(3) Location of the overflow event. Sufficient information shall
be provided to determine location for purposes of GIS mapping, such
as specific street address or the latitude and longitude of the
event.
(4) Date, time, and duration of the overflow event.
(5) Whether or not the overflow reached or may have reached waters
of the state.
(6) Whether or not a beach closure occurred or may have occurred
as a result of the overflow.
(7) The response and corrective action taken.
(8) Whether or not there is an ongoing investigation, the reasons
for it and expected date of completion.
(9) The name, address, and telephone number of the reporting
collection system owner or operator and a specific contact name.
(c) Commencing on July 1 of a year in which the Legislature has
appropriated sufficient funds for this purpose, in the event of a
spill or overflow from a sanitary sewer system that is subject to the
notification requirements set forth in Section 13271, the applicable
collection system owner or operator, in addition to immediate
reporting duties pursuant to Section 13271, shall submit to the
appropriate regional board, within 30 days of the date of becoming
aware of the overflow event, a report using the form described in
subdivision (b). The report shall be filed electronically, if
possible, or by fax or mail if electronic submission is not possible.
(d) (1) Commencing on July 1 of a year in which the Legislature
has appropriated sufficient funds for this purpose, in the event of a
spill or overflow from a sanitary sewer system that is not subject
to the reporting requirements set forth in Section 13271 that is
either found by the State Department of Public Health or any local
health officer to result in contamination pursuant to Section 5412 of
the Health and Safety Code, or is found by the State Department of
Public Health to result in pollution or nuisance pursuant to Section
5413 of the Health and Safety Code, the agency making the
determination shall submit to the appropriate regional board, within
30 days of making the determination, a report that shall include, at
a minimum, the following information:
(A) Date, time, and approximate duration of the overflow event.
(B) An estimate of the volume of the overflow event.
(C) Location of the overflow event.
(D) A description of the response or corrective action taken by
the agency making the determination.
(E) The name, address, and telephone number of the reporting
collection system owner or operator, and a specific contact name.
(2) The report shall be filed electronically, if possible, or by
fax or mail if electronic submission is not possible.
(e) Before January 1 of a year in which the Legislature has
appropriated sufficient funds for this purpose, the state board, in
consultation with representatives of cities, counties, cities and
counties, and special districts, public interest groups, the State
Department of Public Health, and regional boards, shall develop and
maintain a sanitary sewer system overflow database that, at a
minimum, contains the parameters described in subdivisions (b) and
(d).
(f) Commencing on July 1 of a year in which the Legislature has
appropriated sufficient funds for this purpose, each regional board
shall coordinate with collection system owners or operators, the
State Department of Public Health, and local health officers to
compile the reports submitted pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d).
Each regional board shall report that information to the state board
on a quarterly basis, to be included in the sanitary sewer system
overflow database.
(g) The state board shall make available to the public, by
Internet and other cost-effective means, as determined by the state
board, information that is generated pursuant to this section. In a
year in which the Legislature has appropriated sufficient funds for
the purposes described in this subdivision, the state board shall
prepare a summary report of the information collected in the sanitary
sewer system overflow database, and make it available to the general
public through the Internet and other cost-effective means, as
determined by the state board. To the extent resources and the data
allow, this report shall include GIS maps compiling coastal overflow
events.
13193.9. (a) The state board, to the extent permitted by law, shall
take all of the following actions for the purpose of allocating
funds on behalf of a wastewater collection, treatment, or disposal
project, if the recipient of financial assistance is a small,
disadvantaged community:
(1) If the state board determines that an advance is needed for
the project to proceed in an efficient manner, allocate to the
recipient up to 25 percent of the financial assistance amount, not
exceeding one million dollars ($1,000,000), in advance of actual
expenditures. The recipient shall repay to the state board any funds
advanced pursuant to this section, including any interest earned on
the advance funds, if the funds are unused upon expiration of the
funding agreement or if the funds are not expended in accordance with
the financial assistance agreement.
(2) Establish a payment process pursuant to which the recipient of
financial assistance receives funds within 30 days of the date on
which the state board receives a project payment request unless the
state board, within that 30-day period, determines that the project
payment would not be in accordance with the terms of the program
guidelines.
(3) Utilize wire transfers or other appropriate payment procedures
to expedite project payments.
(b) The amount of financial assistance received by a recipient,
including any funds advanced pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision
(a), shall not exceed the total amount of the financial assistance
that the state board agrees to provide for a project. If financial
assistance is advanced to a recipient pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a), the state board shall reduce subsequent
disbursements of financial assistance by the amount advanced.
(c) For the purposes of this section, "small disadvantaged
community" means a municipality with a population of 20,000 persons
or less, or a reasonably isolated and divisible segment of a larger
municipality encompassing 20,000 persons or less, with an annual
median household income that is less than 80 percent of the statewide
annual median household income.
