Environmental Groups' Concerns Regarding Clean Water Act Data Solicitation.pdf

Dated June 14, 2004, various environmental, commercial fishing, sportfishing, and recreational water use groups (collectively, the "Environmental Caucus") submitted joint comments to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) regarding the "Notice of Public Solicitation of Water Quality Data and Information - 2004 Clean Water Act Section 303(d) List" (Solicitation Notice).

Key Concerns:

1. Legal Compliance: The Environmental Caucus expresses significant concern that the Solicitation Notice fails to comply with Clean Water Act Section 303(d) and its implementing regulations, specifically in its limited scope for gathering information.

2. Comprehensive Data Collection: The regulations mandate that SWRCB assemble and evaluate all existing and readily available water quality data and information. The groups argue the Solicitation Notice violates this by setting limitations on what data can be considered.

3. Inconsistent Criteria: The Notice defines the 303(d) list as including only waters with "deleterious impacts from a pollutant or pollutants," which is narrower than the legal requirement to include waters where water quality standards are not met despite effluent limitations.

4. Data Quality and Consideration: The Solicitation Notice indicates it will follow listing policy requirements for data quality, but the Environmental Caucus emphasizes that all available data and information must be considered, regardless of its quality.

Specific Issues:

- The Notice limits consideration to data since May 15, 2001, while the regulations require evaluation of all existing and readily available data.
- It does not explicitly require gathering information about waters identified as "partially meeting" or "not meeting" designated uses in the state's most recent section 305(b) report.
- It fails to solicit research from academic institutions, federal agencies, and other sources that could provide valuable field data.

Conclusion:

The Environmental Caucus urges SWRCB to ensure compliance with legal mandates by casting a wide net to gather all relevant information for the 2004 Clean Water Act Section 303(d) list.