Draft California 2012 Integrated Report( 303(d) List/305(b) Report)

Supporting Information

Regional Board 6 - Lahontan Region

Water Body Name:	Bear Creek (Placer County)
Water Body ID:	CAR6352001019980803153420
Water Body Type:	River & Stream


DECISION ID	20341	Region 6
Bear Creek (Placer County)

Pollutant:	Sedimentation/Siltation
Final Listing Decision:	Delist from 303(d) list (TMDL required list)
Last Listing Cycle's Final Listing Decision:	Delist from 303(d) list (TMDL required list)(2010)
Revision Status	Original
Reason for Delisting:	Applicable WQS attained; reason for recovery unspecified
Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution:	Pollutant

Regional Board Staff Conclusion:	Regional Board Conclusion: This pollutant was considered for removal from the section 303(d) list in a previous assessment cycle. No new information was reviewed for this current assessment cycle. Therefore, the previous conclusion remains unchanged, and is as follows: This pollutant is being considered for removal from the section 303(d) list under sections 4.2 and 4.9 of the Listing Policy. Four lines of evidence are available in the administrative record to assess this pollutant. Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is sufficient justification in favor of removing this water segment-pollutant combination from 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. The mean of monthly means for turbidity did not exceed the Basin Plan's Water Quality Objective in either location and none of the individual monthly means were in exceedance. Of the 122 individual measurements, there was one sample that exceeded 3 NTU and this sample was taken in the year 1986. The bioassessment data (TRAM) available for this water body shows conflicting water quality conditions; however, there is no clear evidence that sediment is the cause of the impacts seen in one set of bioassessment data. 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 Staff Decision Recommendation:	No new data were assessed for this assessment cycle. The conclusion reached in the previous cycle remains in same. The Regional Board will update this decision when new data and information become available in a future assessment cycle.

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 20341, Sedimentation/Siltation	Region 6
Bear Creek (Placer County)

LOE ID:

2865

Pollutant:

Sedimentation/Siltation

LOE Subgroup:

Population/Community Degradation

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

None

Beneficial Use:

Cold Freshwater Habitat

Number of Samples:

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

Not Specified

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Dr. David Herbst with the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory (SNARL) performed an assessment in both the 2000 and 2001 seasons, in the lower portion of Bear Creek above the confluence with the Truckee River, and downstream of the ski area parking lot. The biologic data were assessed using an Index of Biologic Integrity (IBI) developed specifically for streams in the Truckee River watershed. The IBI analysis results in a numeric value called a biologic condition score, which can be used to compare streams of similar types to a desired "reference" condition. For the Truckee River watershed, the range of biologic condition scores exhibited by reference streams is 25 to 35 (a higher score indicates better biologic integrity). Bear Creek's scores were 33 (2000) and 29 (2001), indicating that the biologic health in the creek below the ski area (where any impacts would most likely be manifested) is well within the desired conditions exhibited by regional reference streams (Herbst, 2002b).

Data Reference:

Placeholder reference 2006 303(d)

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

Lahontan RWQCB Basin Plan: The suspended sediment load and suspended sediment discharge rate of surface waters shall not be altered in such a manner as to cause nuisance or adversely affect the water for beneficial uses.

Objective/Criterion Reference:

Placeholder reference 2006 303(d)

Evaluation Guideline:

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

Bear Creek below Alpine Meadow's ski area.

Temporal Representation:

August 2000 and July of 2001.

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

Herbst, D.B. 2001. Quality Assurance Project Plan: Aquatic invertebrate bioasessment monitoring in the Eastern Sierra Nevada [California State Water Resources Control Board, Lahontan Region]. Download: http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/rwqcb6/files.htm

QAPP Information Reference(s):

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 20341, Sedimentation/Siltation	Region 6
Bear Creek (Placer County)

LOE ID:

2868

Pollutant:

Sedimentation/Siltation

LOE Subgroup:

Pollutant-Water

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

Total

Beneficial Use:

Cold Freshwater Habitat

Number of Samples:

122

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

Not Specified

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

There were a total of 122 individual measurements of turbidity and 39 monthly means taken from two locations in the Alpine Meadows Ski Area. The mean of monthly means did not exceed the Basin Plan's Water Quality Objective in either location and none of the individual monthly means were in exceedance. Of the 122 individual measurements, there was one sample that exceeded 3 NTU and this sample was taken in the year 1986 (Lahontan RWQCB, 2005b).

Data Reference:

Placeholder reference 2006 303(d)

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

Lahontan RWQCB Basin Plan: The turbidity shall not be raised above 3 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) mean of monthly means.

Objective/Criterion Reference:

Placeholder reference 2006 303(d)

Evaluation Guideline:

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

Samples were taken at Alpine Meadows Ski Area near the Lodge and the Ginzton Chalet.

Temporal Representation:

Samples were taken from July of 1985 through May of 2004.

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

Waste Discharge Requirement (WDR) Monitoring for Alpine Ski Resort.

QAPP Information Reference(s):

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 20341, Sedimentation/Siltation	Region 6
Bear Creek (Placer County)

LOE ID:

2866

Pollutant:

Sedimentation/Siltation

LOE Subgroup:

Population/Community Degradation

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

None

Beneficial Use:

Cold Freshwater Habitat

Number of Samples:

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

Not Specified

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

A private aquatic ecologist from Tahoe City was contracted by Alpine Meadows Ski Corporation to sample the upper, middle and lower reaches of Bear Creek. Field sampling was conducted in July 2001 following the Department of Fish and Game's California Stream Bioassessment Procedure (CSBP). The sampling results showed that a robust benthic community exists in Bear Creek, and no evidence of acute impairment from ski resort operations was detectable (Chan, 2001).

Data Reference:

Placeholder reference 2006 303(d)

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

Objective/Criterion Reference:

Placeholder reference 2006 303(d)

Evaluation Guideline:

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

Alpine Meadows Ski Area: Upstream of main lodge and parking area in the southern fork of the Bear Creek headwaters adjacent to the Meadow chairlift; downstream of the parking area below the Ginzton Bridge just above the subdivision: and immediately upstream of the Truckee River confluence.

Temporal Representation:

July 2001.

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

California Department of Fish and Game. 1999. California Stream Bioassessment Procedure: Protocol Brief for Biological and Physical/ Habitat Assessment in Wadeable Streams. CDFG Pollution Control Laboratory. 10 pp.

QAPP Information Reference(s):

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 20341, Sedimentation/Siltation	Region 6
Bear Creek (Placer County)

LOE ID:

2867

Pollutant:

Sedimentation/Siltation

LOE Subgroup:

Narrative Description Data

Matrix:

-N/A

Fraction:

None

Beneficial Use:

Cold Freshwater Habitat

Number of Samples:

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

Not Specified

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Biological Condition Scores in Bear Creek between 2000 and 2003 show that water is greater than 50% impaired. However the data shows improving water quality in 2004 (TRWC, 2006).

Data Reference:

Placeholder reference 2006 303(d)

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

Objective/Criterion Reference:

Placeholder reference 2006 303(d)

Evaluation Guideline:

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

Samples collected in Bear Creek just upstream from the confluence with the Truckee River.

Temporal Representation:

Data collected between 2002 and 2004.

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

QA Info Missing

QAPP Information Reference(s):