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DECISION ID |
16381 |
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| Pollutant: |
Benthic Community Effects |
| 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: |
Pollution |
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| Weight of Evidence: |
Benthic Community Effects is being considered for placement on the section 303(d) list under sections 3.9 and 3.2 of the Listing Policy. Under section 3.9, an additional line of evidence associating the Benthic Community Effects with a water or sediment concentration of pollutants is necessary to assess listing status.
One line of evidence is available in the administrative record to assess this indicator. 6 of 6 samples exceeded the water quality objective.
Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is sufficient justification against placing Benthic Community Effects in this water segment 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. 6 of 6 samples exceeded the Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) value of "poor" water quality for this area and this exceeds the allowable frequency listed in Table 3.2 of the Listing Policy, however as required under section 3.9 of the Listing Policy, pollutant(s) could not be directly associated with the Benthic Community Effects.
4. Pursuant to section 3.11 of the Listing Policy, no additional data and information are available indicating that standards are not met. |
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| RWQCB Board Decision / Staff 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. |
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| SWRCB Board Decision / Staff Recommendation: |
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| USEPA Decision: |
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| LOE ID: |
26377 |
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| Pollutant: |
Benthic Community Effects |
| LOE Subgroup: |
Adverse Biological Responses |
| Matrix: |
Water |
| Fraction: |
None |
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| Beneficial Use: |
Warm Freshwater Habitat |
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| Number of Samples: |
6 |
| Number of Exceedances: |
6 |
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| Data and Information Type: |
Benthic macroinvertebrate surveys |
| Data Used to Assess Water Quality: |
Six samples of IBI data were taken from May 2000 to 2007 at two sampling sites. Of the total number of samples, all six samples exceeded the IBI impairment threshold. |
| Data Reference: |
Fish and Game IBI Data |
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2007 SDRWQCB Bioassessment Data |
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Southern California Postfire Study. IBI. 2007. |
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| Water Quality Objective/Criterion: |
From the San Diego Basin Plan the objective is: All waters shall be maintained free of toxic substances in concentrations that are toxic to, or that produce detrimental physiological responses in human, plant, animal, or aquatic life. Compliance with this objective will be determined by use of indicator organisms, analyses of species diversity, population density, growth anomalies, bioassays of appropriate duration, or other appropriate methods as specified by the Regional Board. (SDRWQCB, 1995) |
| Objective/Criterion Reference: |
Water Quality Control Plan for the San Diego Basin (9). |
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| Evaluation Guideline: |
The Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) is an analytical tool that can be used to assess the biological and physical condition of streams and rivers within a zero to one hundred scoring range: Very Poor 0-19, Poor 20-39, Fair 40-59, Good 60- 79, Very Good 80-100. The IBI score of 39 was set as an impairment threshold because it is a statistical criterion of two standard deviations below the mean reference site score which defines the boundary between 'fair' and 'poor' IBI creek conditions. (Ode, p. 9) |
| Guideline Reference: |
"A Quantitative Tool for Assessing the Integrity of Southern Coastal California Streams". Environmental Management. Volume 35, number 1 (2005): 1-13.
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| Spatial Representation: |
Samples were collected at two sites: 906CCECRx and 906LPCRC2 on Chicarita Creek. |
| Temporal Representation: |
Sampling occurred during one event annually over a four year period from May 2004 to 2007 and two events in May and November of the year 2000. |
| Environmental Conditions: |
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| QAPP Information: |
Quality Control for collection and identification was conducted in accordance with the Quality Assurance Project Plan for the California Stream Bioassessment Procedure and the State of California, California Monitoring an Assessment Program: "CMAP", Quality Assurance Project Plan. |
| QAPP Information Reference(s): |
State of California, California Monitoring and Assessment Program: "CMAP". |
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Quality Assurance Project Plan for the California Stream Bioassessment Procedure |
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The San Diego Stream Team Quality Assurance Project Plan |