CV-SALTS Basin Plan Amendment Update May 3, 2018 Stephanie Tillman
Agenda • Mystery Word Game • Terminology you should know • Programs • Nitrate Control Program • Salt Control Program • Supporting Policies • Decisions You Have to Make • Recommendations on Basin Plan Amendment Language
Mystery Word Game 10 questions about CV-SALTS 10 numeric answers in presentation Each number corresponds to letter Put the letters in order to find the 12- letter mystery word Win the mystery prize!
Terminology You Should Know
Terminology You Should Know • Program Basics – Program Goals – there are 3 biggies • Provide safe drinking water • Achieve mass balance • Restoration – Basin Plan • The regulator’s policy on water quality – Salt and Nitrate Management Plan (SNMP) • The guidance document (it’s huge) for the Basin Plan
Terminology You Need to Know • Groundwater – Assimilative Capacity • How much wiggle room you have to stay under the drinking water threshold – 10 mg/l nitrogen as nitrate – Shallow Zone • Roughly, the average depth of “top” 10% (shallowest) of the domestic wells – Upper Zone • Roughly, where the domestic wells go down to – Production Zone • Where the ag/production wells go down to • Where majority of groundwater production is
(Handout)
Terminology You Need to Know • Regulatory tools – Exception • When the regulators give you permission to NOT comply with a water quality objective (threshold) • You have to have a really good reason • They aren’t forever – you have to have a plan – Offset • Something you can do somewhere else to compensate for the pollution you are causing by discharging.
Overview of Nitrate and Salinity Control Programs (handout)
Nitrate Control Program
Nitrate Permitting Strategy • Priority based • Permit based • Effective immediately • Directly impacts ILRP
Nitrate Management Strategy • Priority 1 Area (Red) – Notice to Comply within one year of Basin Plan amendments becoming effective • Priority 2 Area (Orange) – Notice to Comply within 2- 4 years of Basin Plan amendments adoption (June 2018?) • Remaining Areas (Green) – Implementation to be phased in at a later date
Nitrate Permitting Options (see handout) Management Zone Path Traditional Permitting Path • Similar to managing surface water • Going it on your own by a watershed instead of a single • Discharge with an water body individual permit • Each MZ cannot be bigger than a • Initial assessment single groundwater basin • Submit Notice of Intent • Several dischargers collaborate to and Early Action Plan – if manage groundwater needed • Submit and implement regulatory • Identify discharge category requirements in a group • Less management and • More management, less strict “red tape”, stricter regulations regulations
Management Zones • General Idea: Whole or portion of sub-basin that serves as discrete compliance unit – Participation is optional but incentivized – No bigger than DWR sub-basin – Consistent with Recycled Water Policy – Cannot be bigger than 1 basin • Rationale: Better together • Main difference from current Basin Plan – Current Basin Plan has no provision for collaborative management for any constituent
Management Zone “Discrete Regulatory Compliance Unit within Collaborative Nitrate a Groundwater Basin/Subbasin” Management in an Area within a Groundwater Basin/Subbasin 15
Management Zone Characteristics Proposed by Stakeholders Promotes Facilitate Coordinated Water Stakeholder Discrete Resource Cooperation Regulatory Management Compliance Unit within a Assure Safe Groundwater Promotes Drinking Water for Basin/Subbasin Prioritization of Adversely Affected Resources Allocation Residents 6/8/2018 16
Management Zone Nitrate Permitting Preliminary Management Zone Proposal – Submit to Regional board no later than 12 months year after receiving the Notice to Comply – Propose boundaries and participants – Determine groundwater quality conditions – Identify public supply and/or domestic wells that exceed nitrate water quality objective – Develop an Early Action Plan to address immediate drinking water concerns • Provide safe drinking water to those who don’t have it within the Management Zone
Management Zone Nitrate Permitting Notice of Intent – Permittee must submit after a 2-month review period for the Preliminary Management Proposal • 425 days after Notice to Comply • 60 days after Preliminary Management Zone Proposal is submitted – Select permitting approach
Management Zone Nitrate Permitting Early Action Plan – Must start implementation 2 months after Preliminary Management Proposal is submitted – Must include: • Process to identify affected residents and outreach • Process for coordinating with non-permittees • Specific actions to address immediate needs of those drinking groundwater that exceeds nitrate objective and schedule of implementation • Funding mechanism
Management Zone Nitrate Permitting • Final Management Zone Proposal – Submit 6 months after receiving comments from Regional Board on Preliminary Management Proposal – Must include: • Final list of permittees/participants and governance structure • Timeline for development of implementation plan and Additional evaluation of groundwater conditions • Proposed approach for compliance • Documentation of Early Action Plan implementation
Management Zone Nitrate Permitting Implementation Plan Components Schedule • Drinking water needs • Submit 6 • Nitrate loading balance months after the Final • Restoration, Management • Collaboration with community, Zone Proposal • Funding, is accepted by • Nitrate management activities, the Regional • Water quality characterization, Board • Responsibilities of dischargers, information for Exception or Assimilative Capacity
Management Zone Nitrate Permitting Requirement Earliest Latest Notice to Comply from Regional Board (2-4 years June 2020 June 2022 from Basin Plan Adoption) Preliminary Management Zone Proposal (1 year after June 2021 June 2023 Notice to Comply) Notice of Intent (2 months after Preliminary August 2021 August 2023 Management Zone Proposal submittal) Early Action Plan implementation August 2021 August 2023 Final Management Zone Proposal (6 months after ~2022 ~2024 receiving approval of Preliminary Proposal) Management Zone Implementation Plan (6 months ~2023 ~2025 after receiving approval of Final Management Zone Proposal)
Timeline Management zone proposals Notice to Comply available for public review 365 Days 60 Days Submit Preliminary Management Zone All dischargers Submit Proposals Notice of Intent (NOI) – • Proposed zone boundary Select compliance • Initial zone participants pathway • Initial groundwater condition and drinking water well assessment • Submit Early Action Plan (EAP) Cumulative Timeline 12 months 14 months
Salt Control Program
Salt Control Program Strategy • Phase based – 3 phases over the next 30-45 years • Regionally based – no local solutions yet • Adaptive management approach • See handout with diagram • See handout with table
Salt Permitting Options • Conservative permitting approach – Permitted individually according to previous, unchanged requirements Permittees – Strict requirements – lack the flexibility of have 6 months to any new regulations choose option after • Alternative permitting approach receiving Notice to – Requires that you participate in and help Comply fund Phase 1 – Get a break for a while – no new permitting or new requirements will be implemented for at least 10-15 years
Salt Management Strategy Permittees choosing Alternative Pathway have 6 months to collectively prepare an Implementation Schedule for P&O study
Alternative Salinity Permitting Continue to Implement Comply with Interim Pollution Prevention, Permit Limits, if Watershed, and Salt applicable Reduction Plans Maintain Current Salinity Participate in Phase I Discharge Levels to Extent Study and Phase II & III, Feasible, Reasonable, as appropriate Interim Practicable Permit Implement Salinity Provisions Management Practices Conduct Required & Source Control Monitoring Activities 28
Interim Permitting • What to do in the interim –after Basin Plan Amendments are adopted but before permits are changed to reflect new regulations? – Conditional prohibition – scary word, not so scary concept – Regional board is giving itself 18 months to amend the Waste Discharger Requirements (Order, under the ILRP) for ag permittees – During this time, no discharger will be out of compliance if complying with old rules
Groundwater Assessment - Results 30
Comparison of Salt and Nitrate Strategies Salt Management Nitrate Management Strategy Strategy Long term Near and long term Less urgent More urgent Further study No further study Valley-wide approach Local approach
Supporting Policies
Recommend
More recommend
