LEGISLATORS AND 150+ Organizations Urge Expedited Updates to Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan
The State of California has not substantively updated water quality standards for the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary since 1995. The State Water Resources Control Board has a delegated responsibility under the federal Clean Water Act to update the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary every three years. The urgent need for an adequately updated plan has been noted multiple times: in the Delta Reform Act of 2009, in the August 2012 “Action Plan” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and in many other public documents.
Yet, despite starting the current review process in 2009, despite the clear scientific evidence that the 1995 standards are not adequate to protect the estuary and that more freshwater flow is required, despite the fact that native fish and wildlife species are at record or near-record levels, and despite the emergence of new threats to human health like toxic algae blooms, the State Water Resources Control Board has again delayed the completion of the updated plan to late 2018. The State Water Board’s track record to date doesn’t inspire confidence that it will even comply with that deadline: it has yet to complete Phase 1 of the four-phase update process.
The estuary can’t wait any longer for new standards that improve flows, protect our water quality and restore healthy populations of our native fish and wildlife. If the State Water Board cannot complete the job in a timely manner, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to take over the update process.
Yet, despite starting the current review process in 2009, despite the clear scientific evidence that the 1995 standards are not adequate to protect the estuary and that more freshwater flow is required, despite the fact that native fish and wildlife species are at record or near-record levels, and despite the emergence of new threats to human health like toxic algae blooms, the State Water Resources Control Board has again delayed the completion of the updated plan to late 2018. The State Water Board’s track record to date doesn’t inspire confidence that it will even comply with that deadline: it has yet to complete Phase 1 of the four-phase update process.
The estuary can’t wait any longer for new standards that improve flows, protect our water quality and restore healthy populations of our native fish and wildlife. If the State Water Board cannot complete the job in a timely manner, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to take over the update process.
In 2016, led by Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis), Bay and Delta legislators called on the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) to expedite its updates to the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan, which sets water quality standards for the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary. “The Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan is the guiding document for managing water in our Bay-Delta Estuary. Without updated regulatory standards, we are using a patchwork of scientific findings and 20-year-old standards to inform water management decisions to the detriment of endangered fish, wildlife, and the people that depend on the Bay and Delta for their livelihood,” said Wolk.
Signatories to the letter were: Senators Loni Hancock (D-Oakland), Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), and Mark Leno (D-San Francisco); Assemblymembers David Chiu (D-San Francisco), Kansen Chu (D-San Jose), Bill Dodd (D-Napa), Rich Gordon (D-Menlo Park), Marc Levine (D-Marin County), Kevin Mullin (D-South San Francisco), and Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond). Assemblymember Catharine Baker (R-San Ramon) also called for expedited updates with her own letter to the State Water Board.
The letter echoed the demands of a letter sent to the State Water Board by over 150 California businesses and conservation organizations (more below). Read the legislators' letter here.
Signatories to the letter were: Senators Loni Hancock (D-Oakland), Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), and Mark Leno (D-San Francisco); Assemblymembers David Chiu (D-San Francisco), Kansen Chu (D-San Jose), Bill Dodd (D-Napa), Rich Gordon (D-Menlo Park), Marc Levine (D-Marin County), Kevin Mullin (D-South San Francisco), and Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond). Assemblymember Catharine Baker (R-San Ramon) also called for expedited updates with her own letter to the State Water Board.
The letter echoed the demands of a letter sent to the State Water Board by over 150 California businesses and conservation organizations (more below). Read the legislators' letter here.
In 2016, over 150 organizations sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the State Water Resources Control Board, urging them to expedite the long overdue update to the 2006 Water Quality Control Plan (WQCP) for the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary. Friends of the San Francisco Estuary was one of the signatories in this effort to better protect our resources. Read the letters below.