Clean Water Action Clean Water Fund

1
Clean Water Action/Clean Water Fund
2
CLEAN WATER ACT, 1972Beneficial Uses
3
California687 known impaired water bodies
4
DELTA

• Impaired by
• Mercury
• Chlorpyrifos
• Group A Pesticides
• DDT
• Diazinon
• Organic enrichment
• Unknown Toxicity

5
What is a TMDL?

• Amount of a pollutant a water body can receive
  everyday and still meet the water quality
  standards.

6
California Review and Adoption Process

• Regional Board
• State Water Quality Control Board
• Office of Administrative Law
• United States Environmental Protection Agency

7
Mercury

• Legacy of Gold Rush historical problem

8
Mercury

• Modern Sources
• Refineries and other industrial facilities
• Current mine leaching
• Waste Water
• Storm Water

9
Key Mercury TMDLs

• The Delta
• San Francisco Bay
• Cache Creek
• Guadalupe River
• Clear Lake

10
Delta Mercury TMDLCurrent Status

• Draft TMDL (Basin Plan Amendment) with
  Implementation Plan
• Currently being revised in response to public
  comment
• Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control
  Board Workshop, March 15-16, 2007

11
Delta Mercury TMDL Issues

• Methylmercury focus
• Fish Tissue goals based on 1 meal a week
• Wetlands restoration
• Offsets
• Risk Reduction

12
Delta Mercury TMDL Issues

• Methylmercury focus --- Good
• Most toxic form of mercury
• Bioaccumulative

13
Delta Mercury TMDL Issues

• Fish Tissue Goals, 1 meal/wk Not good
• People eating more than that?
• Not bringing water back to beneficial uses.

14
Delta Mercury TMDL Issues

• Wetlands Restoration -
• Need to act with caution

15
Delta Mercury TMDL Issues

• Offsets
• Community protection must
• come first!

16
Delta Mercury TMDL Issues

• RISK REDUCTION
• address public health impacts of mercury in San
  Francisco Bay/Delta fish, including activities
  that reduce actual and potential exposure of and
  mitigate health impacts to those people and
  communities most likely to be effected by mercury
  in San Francisco Bay-Delta caught fish, such as
  subsistence fishers and their families.

17
Environmental Justice Issue

• Highest exposures to multiple contaminants the
  need to do everything possible to address mercury

18
Next Steps

• Write a letter to the Regional Board (examples
  provided by EHIB).
• Attend the Regional Board workshop on March 15/16
  
• (Transportation available)