California Code of Regulations › Title 23 - Waters › Division 3 - State Water Resources Control Board and Regional Water Quality Control Boards › Chapter 22 - State Policy for Water Quality Control › Section 2914 - Policy for Implementation of Toxics Standards for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
On March 2, 2000, the State Water Resources Control Board
				  (SWRCB) adopted Resolution No. 2000-015, creating the Policy for Implementation
				  of Toxics Standards for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of
				  California (Policy). On April 26, 2000, the SWRCB adopted Resolution No.
				  2000-030, which amended Resolution No. 2000-015 by modifying the conditions for
				  the effective date of the Policy with respect to its application to certain
				  standards. The goal of the Policy is to establish a standardized approach for
				  permitting discharges of toxic pollutants to non-ocean surface waters in a
				  manner that promotes statewide consistency. The Policy applies to discharges of
				  toxic pollutants into the inland surface waters, enclosed bays, and estuaries
				  of California subject to regulation under the State's Porter-Cologne Water
				  Quality Control Act (Division 7 of the Water Code) and the federal Clean Water
				  Act. Such regulation may occur through the issuance of National Pollutant
				  Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, the issuance or waiver of waste
				  discharge requirements, or other relevant regulatory approaches. The Policy
				  does not apply to discharges of toxic pollutants from combined sewer systems or
				  to the regulation of storm water discharges.
The Policy establishes:
(1) implementation provisions for priority
				pollutant criteria promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
				(U.S. EPA) through the National Toxics Rule (NTR) (40 C.F.R. §
										131.36) and through the California Toxics
				Rule (CTR) (40 C.F.R. §
										131.38), and for priority pollutant
				objectives established by Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCBs) in
				their water quality control plans (basin plans);
(2) monitoring requirements for 2,3,7,8-TCDD
				equivalents; and
(3) chronic
				toxicity control provisions. In addition, the Policy includes a description of
				the State's existing nonpoint source management approach, procedures for
				initiating site-specific objective development, and exceptions provisions.
				Terms are defined in Appendix 1 of the Policy. The specific, regulatory Policy
				provisions are summarized as follows:
(a)
Establishing Water Quality-Based Effluent Limitations for Priority
				Pollutant Criteria/Objectives
(1)
				Specifies the priority pollutant criteria and objectives, and their general
				application to beneficial uses designated in basin plans, to which the Policy
				applies.
(2) Addresses data
				requirements and adjustments; specifies that the RWQCBs shall issue letters to
				all NPDES permittees requesting the data necessary to determine whether water
				quality-based effluent limitations are needed and to calculate the limits;
				authorizes a time schedule of not to exceed three years from the Policy's
				effective date for submittal of data; states that it is the discharger's
				responsibility to provide the necessary data; requires that
				criteria/objectives, and pollutant and flow data, are properly adjusted,
				applied, and expressed for the purposes of establishing water quality-based
				effluent limitations pursuant to the Policy.
(3) Establishes provisions to determine
				whether a water quality-based effluent limitation for a priority pollutant is
				required in a discharger's permit (flowchart is provided in Appendix 2 of the
				Policy).
(4) Establishes four
				methods for calculating water quality-based effluent limitations for priority
				pollutants to be included in permits: derive from a Total Maximum Daily Load
				(TMDL); use a steady-state model; apply a dynamic model, and consider intake
				water pollutants; detailed procedures are established for the steady-state
				model method; specifies that more restrictive water quality-based effluent
				limitations (e.g., discharge prohibition) are required if necessary to protect
				beneficial uses or are otherwise required by law; establishes method for
				calculating effluent limitations where pollutants are so diluted by cooling
				water as to make monitoring impractical.
(5) Establishes procedures for applying
				translators to metals and selenium criteria/objectives; requires that the U.S.
				EPA conversion factor (listed in Appendix 3 of the Policy) be used as
				translators unless the discharger completes a site-specific translator study
				and proposes a site-specific translator within two years of permit issuance or
				reissuance; establishes general procedures for conducting the study and
				specifies interim permit requirements.
(6) Authorizes RWQCBs to consider granting
				mixing zones and dilution credits to be used in calculating water quality-based
				effluent limitations; establishes procedures for deriving a dilution credit;
				establishes conditions to be met in allowing a mixing zone and factors to be
				considered in determining whether to deny or significantly limit a mixing zone
				and dilution credit.
(7)
				Establishes procedures for determining the ambient background concentration of
				a priority pollutant for use in determining whether a water quality-based
				effluent limitation is required and in calculating a limit; specifies that the
				observed maximum of individual reported values be used, except that an
				arithmetic mean shall be used in the case of calculating a water quality-based
				effluent limitation for a priority pollutant that is intended to protect human
				health from carcinogenic effects.
(8) Establishes conditions under which a
				credit for intake water pollutants may be considered in calculating a water
				quality-based effluent limitation for a priority pollutant.