San Francisco Bay PCBs TMDL Project
Water Board adopts PCBs TMDLOn February 13, 2008, the Regional Water Board adopted an amendment incorporating a TMDL and associated implementation plan for PCBs in San Francisco Bay into the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay Basin (Basin Plan). The amendment must be approved by the State Water Resources Control Board, the state Office of Administrative Law, and U.S. EPA. Check back here for updates.
Signed Water Board resolution no. R2-2008-12
Board hearing materials:
Staff Summary Report (pdf)
Appendix A: Tentative Resolution with Exhibit A, Proposed Basin Plan Amendment (pdf)
Appendix B: Proposed Basin Plan Amendment showing changes (pdf)
Appendix C: Supporting Staff Report (pdf, 3.2MB)
Appendix D: Responses to Comments (pdf, 1.7MB)
Appendix E: Comment Letters (pdf, 19 MB)
Appendix F: September 12, 2007, Hearing Transcript (pdf)
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. |
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Links:
PCBs Toxicological Profiles (ATSDR)
USEPARegion 9 PCBs Program
Sport Fish Consumption Advisories in California (OEHHA)
USEPA TMDL Program
USEPA Fish Advisories
For more information contact:
Fred Hetzel
Environmental Scientist
San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board
1515 Clay St., Suite 1400
Phone: (510) 622-2357
Fax: (510) 622-2460
E-mail: FHetzel@waterboards.ca.gov