In California, water quality standards consist of beneficial uses, narrative water quality objectives, numeric water quality objectives, and the statewide antidegradation policy. In the San Francisco Bay Region, every named water body and stream segment and unnamed tributary supports specific beneficial uses. These are designated in the Basin Plan . Adding, deleting, or modifying beneficial use designations must be done through a formal rulemaking process that includes public notice, hearings, and responses to comments. In addition, federal law and regulations place conditions on making changes to beneficial uses and require that the state rulemaking process include a use attainability analysis.
Numeric objectives apply to broad classes of beneficial uses.
Identifying which objectives apply to which waters is a complex process. The US EPA is expected to promulgate final standards for California in the summer of 1998. The State Water Resources Control Board is scheduled to begin developing statewide objectives after the draft implementation plans are complete and formally approved.