California Code of Regulations › Title 23 - Waters › Division 4 - Regional Water Quality Control Boards › Chapter 1 - Water Quality Control Plans, Policies, and Guidelines › Article 5 - Central Valley Region › Section 3949.16 - Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plans for the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River Basins and the Tulare Lake Basin to Establish a Central Valley-Wide Salt and Nitrate Control Program

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
On May 31, 2018, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality
					 Control Board (Central Valley Water Board) adopted Resolution No. R5-2018-0034,
					 amending the Water Quality Control Plans for the Central Valley Region to
					 Incorporate a Central Valley-wide Salt and Nitrate Control Program.
The Amendments will:
1. Establish a phased Salt Control Program
				  for discharges to surface and groundwater;
2. Establish a prioritized Nitrate Control
				  Program for discharges to groundwater;
3. Identify alternative compliance pathways
				  that allow collaborative means of addressing salt and nitrate issues;
4. Include a Conditional Prohibition of
				  Discharge to establish enforceable conditions until the Central Valley Water
				  Board revises permits to incorporate applicable requirements from the Control
				  Program;
5. Establish a
				  Surveillance and Monitoring Program;
6. Revise the existing Salinity Variance
				  Policy;
7. Revise the existing
				  Exceptions Policy;
8. Incorporate a
				  Drought and Conservation Policy;
9.
				  Incorporate an Offsets Policy; and
10. Clarify intent and use of applying
				  secondary MCLs in permitting actions.
On December 10, 2020, the Central Valley Water Board
					 adopted Resolution No. R5-2020-0057, amending the Water Quality Control Plans
					 for the Central Valley Region to incorporate revisions to the Central
					 Valley-wide Salt and Nitrate Control Program established by Central Valley
					 Water Board Resolution No. R5-2018-0034.
These Revisions to the Amendments will:
1. Modify a Salt and Nitrate Control Program
				  goal to be cessation of causing or contributing to exceedances of water quality
				  objectives;
2. Clarify no new
				  standards are created for de-designating aquifer beneficial uses or adopting
				  less stringent site-specific water quality objectives;
3. Require a sampling program to identify
				  residents impacted by nitrate;
4.
				  Revise the Nitrate Control Program, including deadline requirements;
5. Revise the Exceptions Policy for the
				  Nitrate Control Program, including a maximum of 35 years for nitrate exceptions
				  and a goal of 50 years for basin restoration;
6. Revise the Offsets Policy for the Nitrate
				  Control Program;
7. Remove
				  authorizations of specified exceedances of Secondary Maximum Contaminant
				  Levels;
8. Revise Salt Control
				  Program to not rely on multi-discharger variances; and
9. Modify the Salt Control Program
				  Conservative Salinity Permitting Approach delineation values.
1. New
					 section summarizing amendments to Basin Plan filed 1-15-2020; amendments
					 approved by State Water Resources Control Board Resolution No. 2019-0057 on
					 10-16-2019; amendments approved by OAL pursuant to Government Code section
					 11353 on
					 1-15-2020 (Register 2020, No. 3).
2. Amendment of section
					 summarizing amendments to Basin Plan filed 11-10-2021; amendments approved by
					 State Water Resources Control Board Resolution No. 2021-0019 on 6-1-2021;
					 amendments approved by OAL pursuant to Government Code section
					 11353 on
					 11-10-2021 (Register 2021, No. 46).