Draft California 2020 Integrated Report (303(d) List/305(b) Report)

Supporting Information

Regional Board 1 - North Coast Region

Water Body Name: Glass Beach
Water Body ID: CAC1132004020181220038191
Water Body Type: Coastal & Bay Shoreline
 
DECISION ID
121604
Region 1     
Glass Beach
 
Pollutant: Trash
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 CWA section 303(d) List under section 3.7 of the Listing Policy.

One line of evidence is available to assess this pollutant. For trash data, there is no appropriate interpretive evaluation guideline that meets the requirements set forth in Section 6.1.3 of the Listing Policy for ocean beaches in the North Coast Region. Without an appropriate evaluation guideline, it is not possible to determine if the quantity of trash collected on the beach constitutes an exceedance of the trash water quality objective.

Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is insufficient information to place this water segment-pollutant combination on the CWA section 303(d) List.

This conclusion is based on the staff findings that:

1. It is unknown if the data used satisfies the data quality requirements of section 6.1.4 of the Policy.
2. It is unknown if the data used satisfies the data quantity requirements of section 6.1.5 of the Policy.
3. An evaluation guideline meeting the requirements of Section 6.1.3 of the Listing Policy was unavailable.
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: This decision was made by SWRCB staff.
 
State Board Review of Regional Board Conclusion and Recommendation:
 
State Board Decision Recommendation: After review of the available data and information, SWCRB staff conclude that there is insufficient information to place this waterbody-pollutant combination on the 303(d) list.
 
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 121604, Trash
Region 1     
Glass Beach
 
LOE ID: 198733
 
Pollutant: Trash
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Nuisance
Matrix: -N/A
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Non-Contact Recreation
 
Number of Samples: 0
Number of Exceedances: 0
 
Data and Information Type: Not Specified
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Volunteers collected trash, categorized the types, and provided the total weight of all trash in pounds, during one-day cleanup events on 09/25/2010, 11/17/2011, and 09/20/2014, with totals of 100, 100, and 200 lbs., respectively. There were counts of numbers of pieces of 41 separate categories of trash (e.g., cigarette butts, bottles, grocery bags).
Data Reference: Dataset provided by the Center for Biological Diversity. Contains trash data from California Coastal Comission-sponsored beach cleanup days in the North Coast Region at nine sites: Clam Beach County Park, North Jetty/Samoa Dunes Recreation Area, South Jetty/South Spit, Trinidad State Beach, Glass Beach, MacKerricher State Park, Ten Mile Beach, North Salmon Creek Beach, and South Salmon Creek Beach.
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: Trash shall not be present in ocean waters, along shorelines or adjacent areas in amounts that adversely affect beneficial uses or cause nuisance. (California Ocean Plan, 2019).
Objective/Criterion Reference: SWRCB. 2005. Water Quality Control Plan, Ocean Waters of California (Ocean Plan). California Environmental Protection Agency, State Water Resources Control Board. February 2, 2019
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: A single set of coordinates were provided, representing an unspecified area of Glass Beach: Latitude, 39.45489; longitude, -123.811.
Temporal Representation: Samples were taken on three different one-day cleanup events on 09/25/2010, 11/17/2011, and 09/20/2014.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: A "Site Captain Guide" document was provided, which included instructions to volunteers for a trash clean-up day. The document does not meet Listing Policy guidelines as a QAPP document.
QAPP Information Reference(s): Site Captain Guide 2017
 
 
DECISION ID
105124
Region 1     
Glass Beach
 
Pollutant: Indicator Bacteria
Final Listing Decision: Do Not List on 303(d) list (TMDL required list)
Last Listing Cycle's Final Listing Decision: New Decision
Revision Status Original
Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution: Pollutant
 
Regional Board Conclusion: Fecal indicator bacteria (which includes enterococcus, fecal coliform, and total coliform) are being considered for listing in the CWA Section 303(d) list under Section 3.3 of the Listing Policy. Under this section a single line of evidence (LOE) is necessary to assess listing status. One LOE is available in the administrative record to assess indicator bacteria in this water body for the attainment of water contact recreation (REC-1) standards.

The data assessed in this decision are ocean beach bacteria data collected in accordance with AB411 (Chapter 765, Statutes of 1997) requirements. In accordance with Section 3.3 of the Listing Policy, a 4% exceedance rate shall be used to add waters to the List "if water quality monitoring was conducted April 1 through October 31 only". Therefore, this pollutant is being considered for addition to the section 303(d) list under section 3.3 of the Listing Policy at a 4% exceedance rate.

The following summary presents the total number of exceedances and total sample count: 0 of 1 samples exceed the Statistical Threshold Value (STV) objective for enterococcus.


Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is insufficient information to consider adding this water segment-pollutant combination to 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) Zero of 1 samples exceeds the objective for the protection of MUN and this sample size is insufficient to determine, with the power and confidence of the Listing Policy, the applicable beneficial use support rating. A minimum of 22 samples is needed to determine if a beneficial use is fully supported using Section 3.3 of the Listing Policy and a 4% exceedance frequency. (4) Pursuant to Section 3.11 of the Listing Policy, no additional data and information are available indicating that standards are met. Therefore, a decision assessing this water body cannot be made due to insufficient data.
 
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. The readily available data and information is insufficient to determine, with the power and confidence of the Listing Policy, the applicable beneficial use support rating.
 
State Board Review of Regional Board Conclusion and Recommendation:
 
State Board Decision Recommendation:
 
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 105124, Indicator Bacteria
Region 1     
Glass Beach
 
LOE ID: 133653
 
Pollutant: Enterococcus
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Water Contact Recreation
 
Number of Samples: 1
Number of Exceedances: 0
 
Data and Information Type: PATHOGEN MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Water Board staff assessed Beachwatch_Mendocino County data for Glass Beach to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 0 of the 1 samples exceeded the Statistical Threshold Value (STV) water quality standard for Enterococcus. The STV is based on a 10% exceedance rate that is calculated monthly.
Data Reference: Mendocino County Beachwatch data reformatted and renamed to match CEDEN fields.
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: The bacteria water quality objective to protect the REC-1 beneficial for all waters where the salinity is equal to or greater than 10 ppth 95 percent or more of the time, is a Statistical Threshold Value (STV) of 110 cfu/100 mL not to be exceeded more than 10 percent of the time (calculated monthly).
Objective/Criterion Reference: Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries Plan. Part 1: Trash Provisions; Part 2: Tribal Subsistence Beneficial Uses and Mercury Provisions; Part 3: Bacteria Provisions and Variance Policy
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site(s), station(s): Glass Beach
Temporal Representation: The samples were collected between the days of 2003-03-18 and 2003-03-18 .
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: Data exempt from QAPP requirement. Draft QAPP for Mendocino County Beachwatch data used instead. Represents data collection procedure prior to development of a formal QAPP.
QAPP Information Reference(s): Draft QAPP for Mendocino County Beachwatch. Represents data collection procedure prior to development of a formal QAPP.