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National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)

CWA Section 316(b) Regulation

Power Plant Once-Through Cooling Regulation

On December 1, 2009, the State Water Board held a public Workshop in Sacramento to receive comments on proposed revisions to the June 30, 2009 Draft Policy on the Use of Coastal and Estuarine Waters for Power Plant Cooling. The fact sheet for the workshop with the draft resolution and the revised policy has been posted below.

At the workshop, the State Water Board extended the deadline for the public to submit written comments on Policy revisions to December 8, 2009.  The public comments received within this timeframe have been posted below.  The June 30, 2009 Draft Policy, the supporting Substitute Environmental Document, earlier public comments and other relevant documents may also be viewed below

The proposed Policy establishes technology-based standards to implement federal Clean Water Act section 316(b) and reduce the harmful effects associated with cooling water intake structures on marine and estuarine life. The proposed policy would apply to the 19 existing power plants (including two nuclear plants) that currently have the ability to withdraw over 15 billion gallons per day from the State’s coastal and estuarine waters using a single-pass system, also known as once-through cooling.

Cooling water withdrawals cause adverse impacts when larger aquatic organisms, such as fish and mammals, are trapped against a facility’s intake screens (impingement) and when smaller organisms, such as larvae and eggs, are drawn through the cooling system (entrainment) and killed. In California, millions of fish are impinged and billions of larvae and eggs are entrained, annually.

Section 316(b) is implemented through NPDES permits, issued by the Regional Water Boards. Because there currently are no federal or state standards for implementing section 316(b) for existing power plants, permit writers must use their best professional judgment when re-issuing NPDES permits. Due to the resources required to evaluate the complex technical and biological issues related to intake structures, this approach puts a significant permitting burden on the Regional Water Boards and provides the potential for inconsistency in regulation of power plants that contribute to the statewide power grid. The proposed Policy would provide clear standards and consistency in implementation of section 316(b) in the State’s NPDES permit program, and ultimately make better use of both stakeholder and Water Board resources.

The intent of the proposed Policy is to protect marine and estuarine life from the impacts of once-through cooling without disrupting the critical needs of the State’s electrical generation and transmission system. In developing this policy, State Water Board staff has met regularly with representatives from the California Energy Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Coastal Commission, the California State Lands Commission, the California Air Resources Board, and the California Independent System Operator to develop realistic implementation plans and schedules that will ensure electric grid reliability.

Available Documents

State Water Board Public Workshop - December 1, 2009, Sacramento, CA

State Water Board Public Hearing on September 16, 2009 in Sacramento

Expert Review Panel Findings (August 2008)

The Expert Review Panel reviewed the scientific aspects of the proposed policy and provided final findings in August 2008 on questions related to the March 2008 Scoping Document.

State Water Board CEQA Scoping Meetings on May 8, 2008 in San Pedro and May 13, 2008 in Sacramento

Symposium "Understanding the Environmental Effects of Once Through Cooling" on January 15 & 16, 2008, UC Davis University Club

State Water Board CEQA Scoping Meeting on July 31, 2006 in Sacramento

State Water Board Workshop on December 7, 2005 in Oakland

State Water Board Workshop on September 26, 2005 in Laguna Beach

Relevant Documents

Questions or Comments?

 

(Updated 12/23/09 )