Programs
Basin Plan
Contact person: Thomas Mumley (510) 622-2395The Regional
Board is required to develop, adopt (after public
hearing), and implement a Water Quality Control
Plan (Basin Plan) for the San Francisco Bay region.
The Basin Plan is the master policy document that
contains descriptions of the legal, technical,
and programmatic bases of water quality regulation
in the San Francisco Bay region. The plan must
include:
• A statement of beneficial water uses that the Regional Board will protect;The Regional Board first adopted a plan for waters inland from the Golden Gate in 1968. After several revisions, the first comprehensive Water Quality Control Plan for the region was adopted by the Regional Board and approved by the State Board in April 1975. Subsequently, major revisions were adopted in 1982, 1986, 1992, and 1995. Each proposed amendment to the Basin Plan is subject to an extensive public review process. The Regional Board must then adopt the amendment, which is then subject to approval by the State Board. In most cases, the Office of Administrative Law and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) must approve the amendment as well. For more information click here
• The water quality objectives needed to protect the designated beneficial water uses; and
• The implementation plans for achieving the water quality objectives through its regulatory programs.
Construction/Erosion and Stormwater Runoff
Contact person: Voicemail line (510) 622-2329 (This line is checked regularly each business day)For over five years Board staff have been working to reduce the impacts from construction activities on local waterways. This has been done through a vigorous inspection and enforcement program. Staff have also set up an on-going education program for the construction industry and local governments. For more information click here
DOD/DOE
Contact person: John Kaiser(DOD) (510) 622-2368, Gina Kathuria(DOE) (510) 622-2378The Board has a special section devoted to cleanups at federal facilities, including former military facilities (e.g. closed Navy and Army bases), active bases (e.g. Travis AFB), and Department of Energy laboratories (e.g. LLBL or LLNL). Working with other State and federal agencies, staff oversee cleanups at these sites. Areas of concern include groundwater contamination, surface water discharges, and contaminated sediments. For more information click here
Enforcement
Contact: Alan Friedman (510) 622-2347The Regional Board has the authority to enforce all its requirements, orders, and standards. The primary goal of enforcement is to stop on-going problems and cleanup as necessary to preserve the beneficial uses of the Bay Area’s water resources. Enforcement options include issuing letters or orders requiring certain activities, assessing administrative fines directly, or referring the case to local, state or federal prosecutors. Administrative fines imposed by the Board have total millions of dollars since 1985. Approximately 70% of the fine money is used for local environmental enhancement projects, the rest goes to a statewide cleanup fund.
LandFills
Contact person: Terry Seward (510) 622-2416The Board regulates landfills, waste ponds, and other waste disposal to land operations. This includes both active and closed facilities. The primary concern is to assure that wastes contained in these facilities do not escape to either surface or groundwaters. Regulation consists of design standards for liners, covers, etc., environmental monitoring, and cleanup when necessary.
NPDES
Contact person: Lila Tang (510) 622-2425The NPDES program is a federal permit program under the Clean Water Act that is administered in the Bay Area by the Regional Board. The program requires that any discharge of wastewaters to surface water needs a permit. The permits set limits on the quality of the wastewater and require monitoring. All permits are adopted in public hearings and are designed to protect the beneficial uses of the receiving waters. All sewage treatment plants and large industries have permits. Smaller industries that discharge to sewer systems are regulated by the local systems. The discharge of contaminated groundwater is also regulated by NPDES permits. Stormwater is also covered by NPDES permits, but that is discussed separately below.
EPA Permit Application Forms
EPA forms 1 and 2D (2C for existing dischargers) may be obtained from USEPA site at:
- http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/form_1.pdf
- http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/3510-2D.pdf
- Form 1 (pdf)
- Form 3510-2C (pdf)
Nonpoint Source
Contact person: Dale Hopkins (510) 622-2362Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution is the result of land runoff, rainfall, drainage or seepage from diffuse sources such as agricultural fields, urban streets, confined animal facilities, and streambank erosion. NPS pollution is one of the major impacts on the water quality of San Francisco Bay, its tributary streams, and the Region's coastal waters. Region 2 is implementing NPS management measures through the California NPS Program Plan and NPS Policy, with a focus on confined animal facilities, urban runoff, and hydromodification. For more information click here
Site Clean-Up Program
Contact person: Anders Lundgren (510) 622-2385The SLIC (Spills, Leaks, Investigations, and Cleanups) program
is designed to cleanup the impacts of current
or historic unauthorized discharges, primarily
to groundwater, but in some cases also to surface
waters or sediments. The program issues cleanup
orders that require investigations, source removals,
set final cleanup standards, treatment and monitoring. For more information
and documents, click here
CAL/EPA Request for Oversight of a Brownfield Site
Stormwater
Contact persons: Dale Bowyer, (510) 622-2323; Rico Duazo (510) 622-2340 and Vic Pal (510) 622-2403Stormwater pollution is now the major source of pollutants to surface water bodies in the Bay Area. To deal with this the State and Regional Boards have issued NPDES permits that require implementation of certain actions (BMPs or Best Management Practices) to control the pollutants in stormwater. The State Board has issued two general stormwater permits, one to industrial facilities and another to construction sites. Both these general permits require notification, implementation of BMPs and monitoring. The Regional Board has issued municipal stormwater permits to urbanized areas. These permits require local governments to implement certain practices, for example public education (e.g. storm drain stenciling), municipal activities (e.g. street sweeping), monitoring, local commercial/industrial inspections, and new development review. For more information and documents, click here
TMDL
Contact: tmdlinfo@waterboards.ca.gov (510) 622-4592Total Maximum Daily Loads(TMDLs) are actions to restore clean water. Section 303(d)of the federal Clean Water Act requires that states identify water bodies that do not meet water quality standards. TMDLs examine these water quality problems, identify sources of pollutants, and specify actions that create solutions. For more information and documents, click here
UST
Contact person: Chuck Headlee (510) 622-2433Underground Storage Tanks are the primary source of pollutants for groundwater. Most UST hold or held fuel, which is the main emphasis of this program (other pollutants are covered by the SLIC program). Under State law USTs need to be monitored for leaks (monitoring is administered by local agencies). If leaks are discovered, Regional Board staff, usually working with local agencies, require that investigations be done, pollutant sources be removed, necessary cleanup be done, and that groundwater be monitored. For more information and documents, click here
Watershed Management
Contact: Dale Hopkins (510) 622-2362Watershed management is a strategy for managing resources by integrating water quality monitoring and assessment, planning, nonpoint source and point source discharge regulation, planning, groundwater protection, and other programs at the State and Regional Boards. The Watershed Management Initiative (WMI) was designed to integrate these various programs while promoting cooperative, collaborative efforts with other partners within watersheds.
Water Quality Certifications
Contact: Liz Morrison (510) 622-2330Under the federal Clean Water Act either dredging or wetland fill activities require permits from the Army Corps of Engineers. The Regional Board needs to certify that these federal permits meet State water quality standards. Thus, dredging and fill projects need to be reviewed and approved by the Board. The Board’s concerns are that the projects minimize their impacts on water quality.