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

Supporting Information

Regional Board 3 - Central Coast Region

Water Body Name: Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County)
Water Body ID: CAX3153301020021002211858
Water Body Type: Coastal & Bay Shoreline
 
DECISION ID
6569
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
Pollutant: Fecal Coliform
Final Listing Decision: Do Not Delist from 303(d) list (TMDL required list)
Last Listing Cycle's Final Listing Decision: List on 303(d) list (TMDL required list)(2006)
Revision Status Revised
Sources: Source Unknown
Expected TMDL Completion Date: 2011
Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution: Pollutant
 
Regional Board Conclusion: This pollutant is being considered for removal from the section 303(d) list under section 4.3 of the Listing Policy. Under this section a single line of evidence is necessary to assess listing status.

Two lines of evidence are available in the administrative record to assess Fecal Coliform consistent with Listing Policy, Section 4.3. These lines of evidence contain weekly data collected from January 2004 to December 2006 and demonstrate that applicable water quality standards for Fecal Coliform are not being exceeded in this water segment during this time period. However, this data is not Fecal Coliform, as it is identified in the data file, but instead is E. coli data. Staff assessed these data relative to the Ocean Plan objective for Fecal Coliform. Staff is not aware of any marine objective or criteria for E. coli and State Board staff support assessment of E. coli data using the Ocean Plan Objective for Fecal Coliform. The original assessment resulted in the following recommendations to change the 2006 List of Impaired Waterbodies: five recommendations to de-list and one recommendation to List. However, staff no longer supports these decisions and instead recommends that no beach be de-listed due to the flawed assessment of Fecal Coliform data. Staff plans to conduct a comprehensive assessment of beach E. coli data as part of the 2010 Integrated Report, in coordination with the State Water Board and USEPA.

When compared to the Ocean Plan criteria for Water Contact Recreation, three of 150 samples exceeded the single sample maximum Objective for Water Contact Recreation and zero of 32 geomean assessments exceeded the geomean Objective for Water Contact Recreation. Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is sufficient justification for removing this water segment-pollutant combination from the section 303(d) list.

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. Three of 150 samples exceeded the single sample maximum Objective for Water Contact Recreation and zero of 32 geomean assessments exceeded the geomean Objective for Water Contact Recreation. Neither of these exceed the allowable frequency listed in Table 4.2 of the Listing Policy. However, staff does not support de-listing until the errors in the data and the assessment method has been resolved with State Water Board Staff.
4. Pursuant to section 4.11 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 be not removed from the section 303(d) list because of errors in the data and unresolved data assessment methods
 
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): 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 6569, Fecal Coliform
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
LOE ID: 3985
 
Pollutant: Fecal Coliform
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: Not Recorded
 
Beneficial Use: Water Contact Recreation
 
Number of Samples: 0
Number of Exceedances: 0
 
Data and Information Type: Not Specified
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Unspecified--This LOE is a placeholder to support a 303(d) listing decision made prior to 2006.
Data Reference: Placeholder reference pre-2006 303(d)
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: Unspecified
Objective/Criterion Reference: Placeholder reference pre-2006 303(d)
 
Evaluation Guideline: Unspecified
Guideline Reference: Placeholder reference pre-2006 303(d)
 
Spatial Representation: Unspecified
Temporal Representation: Unspecified
Environmental Conditions: Unspecified
QAPP Information: Unspecified
QAPP Information Reference(s):
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 6569, Fecal Coliform
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
LOE ID: 19246
 
Pollutant: Fecal Coliform
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Water Contact Recreation
 
Number of Samples: 32
Number of Exceedances: 0
 
Data and Information Type: PATHOGEN MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Central Coast Regional Board Staff assessed data for Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County) to determine beneficial use support and results are as follows: 0 of 32 samples exceed the criterion for Coliform, Fecal.
Data Reference: AB 411 Data for 2004
  AB 411 Data for 2005
  AB 411 Data for 2006
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: California Ocean Plan (SWRCB 2005) states that the 30-day geometric mean for fecal coliform shall not exceed 200 MPN/100 mL.
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan Ocean Waters of California. California Ocean Plan 2005. Sacramento, CA: State Water Resources Control Board, California Environmental Protection Agency
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: Data for this line of evidence for Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County) was collected at one AB411 monitoring site (Hammonds)
Temporal Representation: Data was collected over the time period 1/5/2004 - 12/27/2006. This includes weekly AB411 monitoring between April 1 and October 31 of each year.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: QA information not available
QAPP Information Reference(s):
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 6569, Fecal Coliform
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
LOE ID: 19247
 
Pollutant: Fecal Coliform
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Water Contact Recreation
 
Number of Samples: 150
Number of Exceedances: 3
 
Data and Information Type: PATHOGEN MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Central Coast Regional Board Staff assessed data for Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County) to determine beneficial use support and results are as follows: 3 of 150 samples exceed the criterion for Coliform, Fecal.
Data Reference: AB 411 Data for 2004
  AB 411 Data for 2005
  AB 411 Data for 2006
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: California Ocean Plan (SWRCB 2005) states that the single sample maximum for fecal coliform shall not exceed 400 MPN/100 mL.
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan Ocean Waters of California. California Ocean Plan 2005. Sacramento, CA: State Water Resources Control Board, California Environmental Protection Agency
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: Data for this line of evidence for Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County) was collected at one AB411 monitoring site (Hammonds)
Temporal Representation: Data was collected over the time period 1/5/2004 - 12/27/2006. This includes weekly AB411 monitoring between April 1 and October 31 of each year.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: QA information not available
QAPP Information Reference(s):
 
 
DECISION ID
10780
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
Pollutant: Enterococcus
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 water segment-pollutant combination is being considered for placement on the section 303(d) list under section 3.3 of the Listing Policy. Under section 3.3 a single line of evidence is necessary to assess listing status.

Two lines of evidence are available in the administrative record to assess this water segment-pollutant combination. Water Board staff assessed one data set against two different evaluation criteria (i.e. single sample maximum and geomean). Ten of 151 samples exceeded the single sample maximum Objective for Water Contact Recreation and four of 32 geomean assessments exceeded the geomean Objective for Water Contact Recreation.

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. Ten of 151 samples exceeded the single sample maximum Objective for Water Contact Recreation and four of 32 geomean assessments exceeded the geomean Objective for Water Contact Recreation. Neither of these exceed the allowable frequency listed in Table 3.2 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 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 10780, Enterococcus
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
LOE ID: 19248
 
Pollutant: Enterococcus
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Water Contact Recreation
 
Number of Samples: 32
Number of Exceedances: 4
 
Data and Information Type: PATHOGEN MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Central Coast Regional Board Staff assessed data for Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County) to determine beneficial use support and results are as follows: 4 of 32 samples exceed the criterion for Enterococci.
Data Reference: AB 411 Data for 2004
  AB 411 Data for 2005
  AB 411 Data for 2006
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: California Ocean Plan (SWRCB 2005) states that the geometric mean for Enterococcus shall not exceed 35 MPN/100 mL.
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan Ocean Waters of California. California Ocean Plan 2005. Sacramento, CA: State Water Resources Control Board, California Environmental Protection Agency
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: Data for this line of evidence for Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County) was collected at one AB411 monitoring site (Hammonds)
Temporal Representation: Data was collected over the time period 1/5/2004 - 12/27/2006. This includes weekly AB411 monitoring between April 1 and October 31 of each year.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: QA information not available
QAPP Information Reference(s):
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 10780, Enterococcus
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
LOE ID: 19249
 
Pollutant: Enterococcus
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Water Contact Recreation
 
Number of Samples: 151
Number of Exceedances: 10
 
Data and Information Type: PATHOGEN MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Central Coast Regional Board Staff assessed data for Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County) to determine beneficial use support and results are as follows: 10 of 151 samples exceed the criterion for Enterococci.
Data Reference: AB 411 Data for 2004
  AB 411 Data for 2005
  AB 411 Data for 2006
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: California Ocean Plan (SWRCB 2005) states that the single sample maximum for Enterococcus shall not exceed 104 MPN/100 mL.
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan Ocean Waters of California. California Ocean Plan 2005. Sacramento, CA: State Water Resources Control Board, California Environmental Protection Agency
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: Data for this line of evidence for Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County) was collected at one AB411 monitoring site (Hammonds)
Temporal Representation: Data was collected over the time period 1/5/2004 - 12/27/2006. This includes weekly AB411 monitoring between April 1 and October 31 of each year.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: QA information not available
QAPP Information Reference(s):
 
 
DECISION ID
10781
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
Pollutant: Total Coliform
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: 2013
Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution: Pollutant
 
Regional Board Conclusion: This water segment-pollutant combination is being considered for placement on the section 303(d) list under section 3.3 of the Listing Policy. Under section 3.3 a single line of evidence is necessary to assess listing status.

Three lines of evidence are available in the administrative record to assess this water segment-pollutant combination. Water Board staff assessed one data set against three different water quality objective set to protect for Water Contact Recreation (i.e. single sample maximum, geomean, and total to fecal ratio). Nine of 150 samples exceeded the single sample maximum Objective for Water Contact Recreation, two of 32 geomean assessments exceeded the geomean Objective for Water Contact Recreation, and zero of 149 sample ratio exceeded the total to fecal ratio Objective for Water Contact Recreation.

However, Water Board staff also assessed this same data compared to the Ocean Plan Objective for Shellfish Harvesting and 48 of 150 samples exceeded this water quality objective.

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 due to exceedances of the Ocean Plan Objective for Shellfish Harvesting.

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. Forty-eight of 150 samples exceeded the Ocean Plan Objective for Shellfish Harvesting and this exceeds the allowable frequency listed in Table 3.2 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 be placed on the section 303(d) list because applicable water quality standards are exceeded and a pollutant contributes to or causes the problem.
 
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): 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 10781, Total Coliform
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
LOE ID: 25356
 
Pollutant: Total Coliform
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Commercial or recreational collection of fish, shellfish, or organisms
 
Number of Samples: 150
Number of Exceedances: 48
 
Data and Information Type: Not Specified
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Data for this line of evidence was collected at Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County) at one AB 411 site (Hammonds Beach) weekly between January 2004 and December 2006. Forty-eight of 150 samples exceed the Ocean Plan Objective for Shellfish Harvesting.
Data Reference: AB 411 Data for 2004
  AB 411 Data for 2005
  AB 411 Data for 2006
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: California Ocean Plan (SWRCB 2005) states that not more than 10 percent of the total coliform samples shall exceed 230 per 100 ml.
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan (Basin Plan) - Central Coast Region (Region 3)
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: Data for this line of evidence was collected at Pacific Ocean at Hammonds Beach (Santa Barbara County) at one AB 411 site (Hammonds Beach)
Temporal Representation: Data was collected over the time period 1/5/2004 - 12/27/2006
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: No QA information available
QAPP Information Reference(s):