UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION IX 75 Hawthorne Street San Francisco, CA 94105·3901

Celeste Cantu Executive Director California State Water Resources Control Board P.O. Box 100 Sacramento, CA 95812-0100

Re: Application for Permission to Prohibit Sewage Discharges from Vessels in California's Waters Pursuantto Clean WaterAct (Act) Section 312 (f)(4)(A)

Dear Ms. Cantu:

We received your application dated April 5, 2006 pursuant to section 31l(f)(4)(A) ofthe Clean Water Act, requesting USEPA issue a regulation to prohibit sewage discharges from large passenger vessels and other oceangoing ships wherever they may occur in State waters. The application provides a significant amount ofinformationregarding the value ofmarine resources in Californiastate coastal waters and their degraded condition. However, for us to proceed in ourreview,we need additional information to clarify what water bodies would be covered, and thejustification for deviating from the statutory language related to geographic scope and vessel coverage.

EPA's regulation at 40 CFR 140.4(b), which implements Section 312(f)(4)(A) ofthe Act, states that a State's application "shall specify with particularitythe waters, or portions thereof, for which a complete prohibition is desired." However, the State's application proposes to prohibit sewage discharges in all State waters, and only from large passenger vessels and other oceangoing ships. All existing no-discharge zones thathave been designated under Section 312 ofthe CWAcontain prohibitions that apply to specific geographic locations and apply to all vessels. Additionaljustification and documentation is needed to supportthe full geographic extent as well as the absence ofapplication for smallervessels in the State's request. The application is unclear why a prohibition is necessary for all waters, and why/how a prohibition addressing onlylarge vessels would be most effective. Furthermore, "all State waters" include inland and estuarine waters, even though the application focuses on coastal waters. Therefore, we request that the applicationbe clarified to indicate the particular waters included inthe request.
Our staffs have discussed this application, including the types ofinformation we recommend be provided, for example information relative to quantification ofbacterial pollution from different sources (e.g.,yessel versus stationary), and expected dispersal patterns by source type including concentrations and loading patterns. In particular, it is critical thatthe State include comparisons ofthe contributions oftotal bacterial loadings and concentrations from the types oflarge vessels (subject to the prohibition) to other

Printed on Recycled Papertypes ofvessels and stationary sources (not subject to the prohibition) to supportthe contention that prohibition ofsewage only from large vessels will provide adequate protection. Furthermore, additional documentationshouldbe provided to demonstrate the value ofestablishing the prohibitionthroughout all State marine waters.

We look forward to working with you on this effort and appreciate the commitmentby the State to protect valuable marine resources. Ifyou have any questions concerningthe information requested, please call Allan Ota at 415-972-3476

. Sincerely yours,

## ~d'~Y:i Alexis Strauss

### ;:<.~ 'Z

### ~b Director, Water Division

Cc: Darrin**Polhemus~** Chief, DWQ