Statewide Toxicity Provisions

The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) is developing statewide numeric water quality objectives for both acute and chronic toxicity and a program of implementation to control toxicity, which are collectively known as the Toxicity Provisions. The Provisions would provide consistent protection of aquatic life beneficial uses in inland surface waters, enclosed bays, and estuaries throughout the state, and protect aquatic habitats and life from the effects of known and unknown toxicants.
This project also includes the establishment of the Water Quality Control Plan for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California.

UPDATE: In response to requests from stakeholders, the State Water Board extended the public comment period to 12:00 noon on December 21, 2018. A Revised Notice of Opportunity for Public Comment, Public Staff Workshops, Public Board Hearing, and Notice of Filing for the Proposed Establishment of the Water Quality Control Plan for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California; and Toxicity Provisions (PDF) is now available.

Project Timeline

Dates are tentative and subject to change.

April 2017	October 19, 2018	October 2018 (During Public Comment Period)	November 28, 2018	December 21, 2018	Early 2019
Focused Public Outreach	Public Comment Period Begins	Staff Public Workshop, October 29, Costa Mesa Staff Public Workshop, October 31, Sacramento	State Water Board Hearing	Public Comment Period Ends	State Water Board Consideration

2018 Draft Toxicity Provisions Documents

• October 19, 2018 – Draft Water Quality Control Plan for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries; and Toxicity Provisions (PDF)
• October 19, 2018 – Draft Staff Report, Including Substitute Environmental Documentation for the Proposed Establishment of the Water Quality Control Plan for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California; and Toxicity Provisions (PDF)
  • Revised Appendix G. Flow Chart (PDF). Appendix G contains a flow chart that illustrates the proposed Toxicity Reduction Evaluation Process. The Draft Staff Report that was released on October 19, 2018 contained an incorrect version of this flow chart. This PDF is the correct version.


• November 11, 2018 – Agenda for the State Water Board Hearing on Wednesday, November 28, 2018 (PDF; see Item 6).
• November 21, 2018 – Summary of Changes from Draft June 2012 Toxicity Policy to Draft October 2018 Toxicity Provisions (PDF). In response to requests from stakeholders at the October 2018 Staff Workshops, this document provides a comparison of the 2012 Draft Toxicity Policy to the 2018 Draft Toxicity Provisions.
• October 31, 2018 – Toxicity Workshop Presentation (PDF).
• October 1, 2018 – Notice of Opportunity for Public Comment, Public Staff Workshops, Public Board Hearing, and Notice of Filing for the Proposed Establishment of the Water Quality Control Plan for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California; and Toxicity Provisions (PDF)
  • UPDATE: A Revised Notice of Opportunity for Public Comment, Public Staff Workshops, Public Board Hearing, and Notice of Filing for the Proposed Establishment of the Water Quality Control Plan for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California; and Toxicity Provisions (PDF) is now available.
• October 26, 2018 – Response to Comments on the 2012 Draft Policy for Toxicity Assessment and Control (PDF)
  • 2012 Comment Letters with Numbered Comments
• July 2018 – Economic Considerations of Proposed Whole Effluent Toxicity Control Provisions for California (posted October 19, 2018) (PDF)
• April 2017 Outreach Document (Posted 10/03/17) (PDF)
• April 2017 Outreach Presentation (Posted 10/03/17) (PDF)

2012 Draft Toxicity Policy

In 2012, the State Water Board released a draft Policy for Toxicity Assessment and Control for public comment.

• Draft Policy for Toxicity Assessment and Control - Public Review Draft, June 2012
• Draft Staff Report for Toxicity Assessment and Control - Public Review Draft, June 2012
• Notice of Opportunity for Public Comment, Public Hearing, and Filing for the Policy for Toxicity Assessment and Control - Public Review Draft, June 2012 (posted 06/27/12)
• Comments Received
August 21, 2012 Public Hearing Documents:
• Staff Presentation (posted 10/01/12)
• Policy for Toxicity Assessment and Control Brochure (posted 10/01/12)
• Policy for Toxicity Assessment and Control - Public Review Draft, June 2012
• Staff Report for Toxicity Assessment and Control - Public Review Draft, June 2012

External Peer Review

• Dr. Gerald A. LeBlanc Review
• Dr. Michael C. Newman Review
• Responses to draft Policy Peer Review
• External Peer Review Documents for the Draft Policy for Toxicity Assessment and Control<
• External Peer Review Documents for the Test of Significant Toxicity (TST)

The following journal articles are referenced in the TST peer review synopsis.

• Response to TST Peer Review
• Tests for Bioequivalence of Control Media and Test Media in Studies of Toxicity
• Test of Significant Toxicity: a statistical application for assessing whether an effluent or site water is truly toxic
• It is Time for Changes in the Analysis of Whole Effluent Toxicity Data

Test of Significant Toxicity (TST)

• NEW! Data used for the Final Whole Effluent Toxicity Test Drive Analysis of the TST in Microsoft Excel format
• Final Whole Effluent Toxicity Test Drive Analysis of the TST - updated December 2011
• Toxicity Assessment and Control in California’s Surface Waters (Fact Sheet) - issued August 2011
• TST Spreadsheet Tool - BETA VERSION 1.8 (updated 12/31/13) This spreadsheet tool is being provided to assist interested stakeholders in evaluating their current data using the TST. The user should note that this spreadsheet tool is a developmental beta release. It is subject to change without notice and should not be used for official data interpretation.

2010 Draft Policy for Toxicity Assessment and Control and 2011 Workshops

• Notice of Staff Workshop for 2010 Draft Policy for Toxicity Assessment and Control  - August 22, 2011

2011 Staff Workshop Presentations:

• Policy Presentation (Staff)
• Test Drive Analysis Presentation (Tetra Tech Inc.)
• Prevailing Comments on the 2010 Draft Policy for Toxicity Assessment and Control
• Alternatives to Select Provisions of the 2010 Draft Policy for Toxicity Assessment and Control
• Whole Effluent Toxicity Test Drive Analysis of the TST - issued July 2011
• Public Notice of Opportunity to Comment:  Extended Deadline and Cancellation of Adoption Hearing for the 2010 Draft Policy for Toxicity Assessment and Control
• Public Notice and Public Comment Period for the 2010 Draft Policy for Toxicity Assessment and Control
• 2010 Draft Policy for Toxicity Assessment and Control
• 2010 Draft Staff Report for Draft Policy for Toxicity Assessment and Control

2006 Public Scoping Meeting

• Notice of 2006 Public Scoping Meeting
• 2006 Public Scoping Meeting Information Packet
  

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