San Francisco Bay PCBs TMDL Project

U.S. EPA approves a TMDL for PCBs in San Francisco Bay

U.S. EPA gives final approval to TMDL for PCBs in San Francisco Bay
On March 29, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved a TMDL for PCBs in San Francisco Bay. The Basin Plan amendment incorporating this TMDL and an implementation plan to achieve the TMDL was formerly adopted or approved by the San Francisco Bay Water Board (2/13/08), the State Water Resources Control Board (10/19/09), and the state Office of Administrative Law (2/15/10). It is now officially incorporated into the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay Basin (Basin Plan), the region's master planning document for protecting water quality.

• State Water Board Resolution No. 2009-0076
• Regional Water Board Resolution No. R2-2008-0012, with adopted Basin Plan amendment
• Adopted Basin Plan Amendment
• Staff Report

Background:

In 1994, California issued a sport fish consumption advisory cautioning people to limit their consumption of fish caught in San Francisco Bay. The advisory, which is still in effect, is due to concerns about high levels of several pollutants in San Francisco Bay fish. Some of the more serious of these pollutants are polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). PCBs were manufactured in the United States and widely used from the late 1920s through the 1970s. They are of particular concern because they are toxic, persist in the environment, and accumulate in the tissue of fish, wildlife and humans. Addressing the PCBs problem illustrates the challenges of dealing with "legacy" pollutants. A significant proportion of PCBs pollution in San Francisco Bay happened decades ago, before the potential health effects of PCBs were widely known. Because PCBs degrade very slowly in the environment, their toxic effects are still with us today. Another challenge of addressing PCBs pollution in San Francisco Bay is the potentially costly cleanup of sediment hot spots, localized areas in the Bay with particularly high levels of PCBs in sediments. Recognizing these challenges, the San Francisco Bay PCBs TMDL Project will most likely pursue a phased approach to pollutant reduction and cleanup to restore the beneficial uses of the Bay.

TMDL Implementation

Watershed Permit - permit for municipal and industrial wastewater sources of PCBs
On March 9, 2011, the Water Board adopted a Watershed Permit (Order No. R2-2011-0012, hearing materials – see Item 6) for industrial wastewater and municipal wastewater discharges identified in the SF Bay PCB TMDL implementation plan. This Watershed Permit implements the wasteload allocations for these two source categories. This permit amended the permit adopted by the Water Board in 2007 to implement the mercury TMDL to ensure consistent and coordinated implementation of both permits. It also implements other provisions of the TMDL requiring pollution prevention, special studies, and risk reduction actions to be conducted by the permittees. The Watershed Permit became effective April 1, 2011.

Municipal Regional Permit – permit for municipal stormwater sources of PCBs
The NPDES Municipal Regional Permit, adopted October 14, 2009, requires municipalities in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties and the cities of Fairfield-Suisun and Vallejo to take steps to reduce controllable sources of PCBs that can migrate to water bodies in stormwater runoff. This permit implements PCB-related control measures and wasteload allocations required by the TMDL for stormwater sources.

Fish Consumption Risk Reduction Activities
Both the Watershed Permit and Municipal Regional Permit require dischargers to undertake a program to reduce public health impacts of exposure to PCBs and mercury in San Francisco Bay/Delta fish. The dischargers are jointly funding the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to lead efforts to engage stakeholders, such as local agencies, tribes, and community groups, in improving communication to the public about how to reduce their exposure to PCBs and mercury from consuming SF Bay fish while we work to reduce the levels of PCBs and mercury in those fish. Further information can be found here: San Francisco Bay Fish Project

Links:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

• USEPA Region 9 PCBs Program
• USEPA PCBs Program and guidance materials
•  USEPA TMDL Program
  

Health Information and Fish Consumption Advisories

• PCBs Toxicological Profile for PCBs (ATSDR)
• Guide to Eating San Francisco Bay Fish & Shellfish (CA Office of Environmental Health Hazard Analysis)
• Full report describing the San Francisco Bay advisory and safe eating guidelines OEHHA May 2011
• Non-technical fact sheet for San Francisco Bay fish and shellfish OEHHA May 2011

Studies Funded by the Proposition 13 Grant, Regional Stormwater Monitoring and Urban BMP Evaluation: A Stakeholder-Driven Partnership to Reduce Contaminant Loadings

• http://www.sfei.org/urbanstormwaterBMPS (Studies conducted 2006-2010)

 

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For more information contact:
Jan O'Hara
Water Resources Control Engineer
San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board
1515 Clay St., Suite 1400
Phone: (510) 622-5681
Fax: (510) 622-2460
E-mail: JOHara@waterboards.ca.gov