San Francisco Bay Mercury TMDL
U.S. EPA gives final approval to TMDL for Mercury in San Francisco Bay
On February 11, 2008, the federal Environmental Protection Agency approved a Basin Plan amendment incorporating a TMDL for mercury in San Francisco Bay and an implementation plan to achieve the TMDL. The amendment was formerly adopted by the San Francisco Bay Water Board, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the state Office of Administrative Law. 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.Download State Board's Resolution 2007-0045.
Documents
The San Francisco Bay Mercury TMDL was considered and adopted by the Water Board at hearings in September 2004 and August 2006. Follow the links below to agendas for those hearings, which link in turn to all relevant materials including Water Board resolutions.
August 9, 2006 Water Board hearing, Item 7
Adopted resolution
Approved Basin Plan amendment with appendices, showing changes since September 2004 (pdf, 230 kb )
Final Staff Report (pdf, 1.3 mb )
September 15, 2004 Water Board hearing, Item 10
TMDL Implementation
Watershed Permit for municipal and industrial wastewater discharges of mercury to San Francisco BayFor more information, please see materials presented to the Water Board at the permit adoption hearing, November 1, 2007.
Request for Additional Information from Petroleum Refineries
As stated in the Mercury TMDL implementation plan, additional information is needed to assess the significance of petroleum refineries as sources of mercury to the Bay. Water Board staff estimate that about 1700 kg/yr of mercury enters the refineries in crude oil, but we have reliable data accountingfor the fate of less than 10 kg/yr of this amount, in automobile fuels, wastewater, and solid waste. Because it is possible that a very large amount of mercury is entering Bay Area petroleum refineries but that only a fraction of it can be accounted for in the pathways of automobile fuels, wastewater, and solid waste, we need further information both on the amount of mercury entering and leaving the refineries.
On May 7, 2007, the Executive Officer of the Water Board formally requested the Bay Area's petroleum refineries to submit technical reports quantifying both the amounts of mercury in crude oil that they process, and the "fate and transport" of that mercury. Section 13267 of the California Water Code gives the Water Board authority to require pollutant dischargers to provide monitoring data and other information relevant to known or suspected discharges. Download the Water Board's letter to the refineries.
Discharge permit for wastewater sources of mercury
On November 1, 2007, the Water Board adopted a Watershed Permit (Order No. R2-2007-0077) for industrial wastewater and municipal wastewater discharges identified in the SF Bay Mercury TMDL implementation plan. This Watershed Permit implements the wasteload allocations for these two source categories. 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 may become effective as soon as January 1, 2008, although the effective date may be delayed if the U.S. EPA does not approve the TMDL by this date.
Municipal Regional Permit
The NPDES Municipal Regional Permit is a permit for all municipal stormwater programs in the Bay Area. This permit will implement all mercury-related control measures and wasteload allocations required by the TMDL for stormwater sources. To find out more about the status and details of this permit, click here.
Methylmercury data from wastewater effluent
In June 2006 the Water Board issues a requirement letter to all municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities in the region. The letter required the facilities to conduct monthly measurements of methylmercury concentrations in wastewater effluent for one year, and submit the results to the Water Board. With this information we will be able to compare the amount of methylmercury coming from wastewater to data on other sources, as they become available. To see a copy of this letter, click here.
Background
| San Francisco Bay supports beneficial uses, such as sport fishing and habitat for wildlife and endangered species. Fish tissue collected from San Francisco Bay often contains relatively high concentrations of mercury. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has issued fish consumption advisories warning people to limit their consumption of San Francisco Bay fish. In addition, studies have shown that birds consuming fish and other organisms from San Francisco Bay pass mercury to their eggs, potentially contributing to reproductive failures. The San Francisco Bay Mercury TMDL Project examines this water quality problem and identifies sources of mercury. Sources of mercury include runoff from historic mines, urban runoff, wastewater discharges, atmospheric deposition, and resuspension of historic deposits of mercury-laden sediment already in San Francisco Bay. Most of the historic mercury deposits date back to the Gold Rush of the 1800's, when mercury was mined throughout the Coastal Range and used in the Sierra Nevada to extract gold. The single largest source is the Central Valley, where rivers carry mercury from remote regions of California to San Francisco Bay. |
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Other Documents
Information on the San Francisco Bay Mercury TMDL, September 2004 (PDF file)How TMDLs Are Adopted: The Basin Planning Process, February 2004 (PDF file)
Legacy Pollution: What Does it Mean for the Health of the Bay, Fact Sheet, March 2003, (PDF file)
Links
U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMercury Study Report to Congress
Wisconsin Mercury Sourcebook
Draft PBT National Action Plan for Mercury
U.S. Geological Survey
Mercury in the Environment fact sheet
Mercury Contamination of Aquatic Ecosystems fact sheet
Other
Delta Tributaries Mercury Council (Sacramento River Watershed Program)
California Sport Fishing Health Advisories (CA Office of Environmental Health Hazard Analysis)
City of Palo Alto Mercury Publications
For more information contact:
Carrie Austin
San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board
1515 Clay Street, Suite 1400
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: 510-622-1015
Fax: 510-622-2460
E-mail: CAustin@waterboards.ca.gov
Richard Looker
Water Resources Control Engineer
San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board
1515 Clay Street, Suite 1400
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: 510-622-2451
Fax: 510-622-2460
E-mail: RLooker@waterboards.ca.gov