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San Gabriel River may receive less protection
under a revised water quality policy proposed
by
the State Water Resources Control Board. |
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The State's proposed 303(d) listing policy would
reduce water quality protection and clean-up
of impaired waterbodies
Heal
the Bay recently joined forces with 14 other
environmental groups to send a clear message
to the State Water Resources Control Board about
protecting and cleaning up
California's
impaired waters. The
reason for this combined effort is the
State is re-writing their policy on how waterbodies
are
placed on
to
the official “clean-up list.”
The
"cleanup-up list" is required by section 303(d)
of the federal Clean Water Act. Under
section 303(d), each state in the country must
develop a list of every lake, river, beach and
bay that
is impaired
by any kind of pollutant. This "clean-up
list" of polluted waterbodies is known as the
303d
list. In addition,
the law requires new pollution regulations,
called
total
maximum
daily loads (or TMDL's...see sidebar on
right), to be written for all waterbodies
that are included on a state's 303d list.
The
changes that California is proposing in its draft
303(d) listing policy would
make it much harder to put waterbodies on the
State's
303d list, and
easier to take them off, even before they
are cleaned up.
That’s why Heal the Bay and the 14 other
environmental groups wrote a strong letter to the
State, explaining
the scientific and legal flaws in the proposed
new policy.
The
letter leaves no question about the right way
to decide on listing impaired waterbodies
in California. Specifically, Heal the Bay critiqued
the State’s
statistical methods for determining if there
is too much pollution in a waterbody because
they
were too lenient. Heal the Bay also suggested
better ways for the State to deal with useful
data such
as
the Stream Team’s invertebrate surveys
in Malibu Creek (see top sidebar on right for
a summary of our technical critique of the policy). The
303d list, also known as the Clean Water Act's
"safety net", must ensure clean up of waters
that are already degraded
and protect
water
quality
from future degradation. This is the mission of
the California State Water Resources Control Board,
and a strong coalition of environmental groups
is
making
sure they carry it out.
For
more information, send e-mail,
or 800-HEAL-BAY. |
