Final California 2010 Integrated Report (303(d) List/305(b) Report)

Supporting Information

Regional Board 9 - San Diego Region

Water Body Name: Paradise Creek, HSA 908.320
Water Body ID: CAR9091200019991117092131
Water Body Type: River & Stream
 
DECISION ID
16949
Region 9     
Paradise Creek, HSA 908.320
 
Pollutant: Phosphorus
Final Listing Decision: Do Not List on 303(d) list (TMDL required list)
Last Listing Cycle's Final Listing Decision: New Decision
Revision Status Revised
Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution: Pollutant
 
Regional Board Conclusion: This pollutant is being considered for placement on the section 303(d) list under section 3.2 of the Listing Policy. Under section 3.2 one line of evidence is necessary to assess listing status.

One line of evidence are available in the administrative record to assess this pollutant. Four of the samples exceed the water quality objective for phosphorus.

Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is sufficient justification against placing this water segment-pollutant combination on the section 303(d) list in the Water Quality Limited Segments category.

This conclusion is based on the staff findings that:
1. The data used satisfies the data quality requirements of section 6.1.4 of the Policy.
2. The data used satisfies the data quantity requirements of section 6.1.5 of the Policy.
3. All four samples exceeded the phosphorus water quality objective and this sample size is insufficient to determine with the power and confidence of the Listing Policy if standards are not met. A minimum of five samples is needed for application of table 3.2.
4. Pursuant to SECTION 3.11of the Listing Policy, no additional data and information are available indicating that standards are not met.
 
Regional Board Decision Recommendation: After review of the available data and information, RWQCB staff concludes that the water body-pollutant combination should not be placed on the section 303(d) list because it cannot be determined if applicable water quality standards are not being exceeded.
 
State Board Review of Regional Board Conclusion and Recommendation:
 
State Board Decision Recommendation: After review of this Regional Board decision, SWRCB staff recommend the decision be approved by the State Board.
 
USEPA Action (if applicable):
 
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 16949, Phosphorus
Region 9     
Paradise Creek, HSA 908.320
 
LOE ID: 8496
 
Pollutant: Phosphorus
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: Dissolved
 
Beneficial Use: Warm Freshwater Habitat
 
Number of Samples: 4
Number of Exceedances: 4
 
Data and Information Type: Fixed station physical/chemical (conventional plus toxic pollutants)
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Four water samples were collected at Paradise Creek station 908PPAR04 on May 2005, September 2005, January 2006 and April 2006. All four samples showed excessive phosphorus concentrations according to results in California's Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program Report, 2007.
Data Reference: Monitoring data for Region 9
 
SWAMP Data: SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: From the Basin Plan: For inland surface waters-streams and other flowing waters, with all beneficial uses, the water quality objective for total phosphorus is 0.1 mg/L (RWQCB, 2007).
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan for the San Diego Basin
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: Water samples were collected at Paradise Creek station 908PPAR04; (Latitude 32.67115, Longitude -117.10303).
Temporal Representation: Samples were collected on May 2005, September 2005, January 2006, April 2006.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: Quality control for the chemical analysis portion of this study was conducted in accordance with the California's Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program.
QAPP Information Reference(s): 2002. Quality Assurance Management Plan for the State of California's Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program. California Department of Fish and Game, Monterey, CA
 
 
DECISION ID
16950
Region 9     
Paradise Creek, HSA 908.320
 
Pollutant: Selenium
Final Listing Decision: List on 303(d) list (TMDL required list)
Last Listing Cycle's Final Listing Decision: New Decision
Revision Status Revised
Sources: Source Unknown
Expected TMDL Completion Date: 2021
Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution: Pollutant
 
Regional Board Conclusion: Regional Board Conclusion:
This pollutant is being considered for placement on the section 303(d) list under section 3.2 of the Listing Policy. Under section 3.2 one line of evidence is necessary to assess listing status.

One line of evidence is available in the administrative record to assess this pollutant. Four of the samples exceed the water quality objective for Selenium.

Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is sufficient justification against placing this water segment-pollutant combination on the section 303(d) list in the Water Quality Limited Segments category.

This conclusion is based on the staff findings that:
1. The data used satisfies the data quality requirements of section 6.1.4 of the Policy.
2. The data used satisfies the data quantity requirements of section 6.1.5 of the Policy.
3. All four samples exceeded the selenium water quality objective and this sample size is insufficient to determine with the power and confidence of the Listing Policy if standards are not met. A minimum of five samples is needed for application of table 3.2.
4. Pursuant to SECTION 3.11 of the Listing Policy, no additional data and information are available indicating that standards are not met.


State Board Review and Conclusion:
The Regional Board staff incorrectly assessed selenium as a conventional pollutant and applied table 3.2 of the listing Policy. Selenium is a toxicant and should be assessed using Table 3.1 . State Water Board staff has corrected this error and revised the recommendation to List for selenium. The revised recommendation is as follows:

This pollutant is being considered for placement on the section 303(d) list under section 3.1 of the Listing Policy. Under section 3.1 a single line of evidence is necessary to assess listing status.

One line of evidence is available in the administrative record to assess this pollutant. Four of the four samples exceed the water quality objective for selenium.

Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is sufficient justification for placing this water segment-pollutant combination on the section 303(d) list in the Water Quality Limited Segments category.

This conclusion is based on the staff findings that:
1. The data used satisfies the data quality requirements of section 6.1.4 of the Policy.
2. The data used satisfies the data quantity requirements of section 6.1.5 of the Policy.
3. Four of four samples exceeded the water quality objective for selenium and this exceeds the allowable frequency under Section 3.1 of the Listing Policy.
4. Pursuant to Section 3.11 of the Listing Policy, no additional data and information are available indicating that standards are not met.
 
Regional Board Decision Recommendation: After review of the available data and information, RWQCB staff concludes that the water body-pollutant combination should not be placed on the section 303(d) list because it cannot be determined if applicable water quality standards are not being exceeded.
 
State Board Review of Regional Board Conclusion and Recommendation:
 
State Board Decision Recommendation: After review of this Regional Board decision, SWRCB staff recommend the following changes to the decision:


This decision incorrectly identified the pollutant as conventional. Selenium is categorized as a toxicant, and table 3.1 of the Listing Policy should be applied. This will result in the decision to LIST.
 
USEPA Action (if applicable): USEPA approved the listing of this water body as a water quality limited segment requiring a TMDL for this pollutant.
 
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 16950, Selenium
Region 9     
Paradise Creek, HSA 908.320
 
LOE ID: 8495
 
Pollutant: Selenium
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: Dissolved
 
Beneficial Use: Warm Freshwater Habitat
 
Number of Samples: 4
Number of Exceedances: 4
 
Data and Information Type: Fixed station physical/chemical (conventional plus toxic pollutants)
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Four water samples were collected at Paradise Creek station 908PPAR04 on May 2005, September 2005, January 2006 and April 2006. All four samples showed excessive selenium concentrations according to results in California's Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program Report, 2007.
Data Reference: Monitoring data for Region 9
 
SWAMP Data: SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: CTR Freshwater Chronic (CCC) 5 ug/L; (U.S. EPA, 2000).
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Standards; Establishment of Numeric Criteria for Priority Toxic Pollutants for the State of California; Rule. 40 CFR Part 131. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, Water Division, San Francisco, CA
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference: Water Quality Control Plan for the San Diego Basin
 
Spatial Representation: Water samples were collected at Paradise Creek station 908PPAR04; (Latitude 32.67115, Longitude -117.10303).
Temporal Representation: Samples were collected on May 2005, September 2005, January 2006, April 2006.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: Quality control for the chemical analysis portion of this study was conducted in accordance with the California's Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program.
QAPP Information Reference(s): 2002. Quality Assurance Management Plan for the State of California's Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program. California Department of Fish and Game, Monterey, CA