HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESOLUTIONS - 01012000 - 2000-351 The Board of Supervisors
of Contra Costa County
In the Matter of Resolution No. 2000/351
A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE NEED
TO IMPROVE THE WATER QUALITY OF
SAN FRANCISCO BAY
WHEREAS, the San Francisco Bay is recognized world-wide as an unique natural
treasure that supports a thriving and multi-faceted economy and provides Bay Area residents and
visitors immeasurable scenic,ecological, recreational and other benefits; and
WHEREAS, the Sail Francisco Bay is also recognized, pursuant to the Federal dean
Water Act("CWA", 33 U.S.C. Section 1251 et seq.)and pursuant to tite California Porter-Cologne
Water Quality Control Act("Porter-Cologne Act", Water Code Section 13000 et seq.)as a high
value waterbody with many identified beneficial uses; and
WHEREAS, CWA Section 303 requires the United States Environmental Protection
Agency(BPA)and the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board(Regional
Board) to identify waterbodics than do not,after the imposition of technology-based treatment
controls, meet waiter quality standards and beneficial uses;and
WHEREAS, the EPA and the Regional Board have identified San Francisco Bay as
impaired for particular beneficial uses(life to file presence of specific pollutants; and
WHEREAS, the Regional Board is now required, under CWA Section 303, to
determine appropriate levels of specific pollutants which can be received by San Francisco Bay
and still achieve water quality standards, which determination is intended to result in specific
allocations and required reductions of specific pollutants to San Francisco Bay,commonly known
as a "Total Maximum Daily Load" (TMDL);and
WHEREAS, it is widely recognized that the greatest threat to water quality in San
Francisco Bay is pollution from non-point sources;and that the complete elimination of point
source discharges of specific pollutants will not result in achieving water quality standards or
restoring the identified beneficial uses without also addressing the non-point source pollution
problem; and
WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the residents and visitors of tile Sail Francisco
Bay Area that a plan for improving the water quality of San Francisco Bay be based on sound
science and objective data; avid
WHEREAS, the Regional Board,along with the San Francisco Bay discharger
community, has devoted considerable financial and other resources in the past several years to
develop the objective data upon which sound environmental policy decisions should be nulde; and
WHEREAS, prior to the final completion and development of the TMDL plans to
cleanup and improve water quality in San Francisco Bay, US EPA Region 9 has now demanded
that the Regional Board include harmful and overly restrictive provisions for new and re-issued
discharge permits;and
WHEREAS, these harmful provisions include:(I)-performance-based "mass limits"to
be applied immediately,and(2) "zero discharge" limits immediately if the TMDL plans are not
completed and implemented within a limited period of time by the federal and state agencies; and
WHEREAS, municipal and industrial dischargers throughout the San Francisco Bay
Area have formally indicated that these permit provisions will directly and indirectly impact their
operational and economic performance, and will likely impact ratepayers directly through
increased service costs;and
WHEREAS, the permit provisions insisted on by US EPA Region 9 will, based oil the
methodology being employed by the Regional Board, unfairly penalize past good performers who
have committed substantial resources to reduce the amount of specific pollutants that are
discharged to San Francisco Bay; and
Resolution No. 2000/351
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WHEREAS, no agency has evaluated the presumed environmental benefits of such
permit provisions insisted on by US EPA Region 9,nor performed an economic analysis of the
potential impacts to point source dischargers and ratepayers throughout the Bay Area;and
WHEREAS, a logical and expected result of the permit provisions being insisted on by
US EPA Region 9 would have a significant and detrimental impact on the economy and social
well-being of the entire San Francisco Bay Area,and may result in "building bans" in urban
communities attempting to employ "smart growth" development;and
WHEREAS, there is no other known state or region in the country where US EPA has
insisted on the harmful permit provisions,under similar circumstances;and
WHEREAS, on June 2,2000,US EPA, in Washington D.C.,called on all Regional
offices to refrain from revising permitting policies as Region 9 has done; and
WHEREAS, on June 21, 2000,the U.S. House of Representatives adopted H.R. 4635,
which included Committee on Appropriations Report language calling on US EPA to revoke any
regulatory mandates such as has been imposed by Region 9;and
WHEREAS, this Resolution is intended to illustrate a high level of interest in obtaining
high quality TMDL information in advance of any NPDES permit modifications; and
WHEREAS, this Resolution is also intended to illustrate a high level of concern that
the permit provisions being insisted on by US EPA and imposed by the Regional Board,prior to
final completion of the TMDL program,may have irreversible and deleterious impacts on the
quality of life in the San Francisco Bay Area.
NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors of the
County of Contra Costa,California, does hereby strongly support the need to improve the water
quality of the San Francisco Bay and to restore the designated beneficial uses thereof: They also
recognizes that continued success in reducing pollutant loading to San Francisco Bay requires a
comprehensive watershed management approach which includes all sources of pollutants. The
Board also believes that significant improvement to water quality of the San Francisco Bay has
resulted from continued improvements in point source waste water technology. The Board is
concerned about the potential economic and societal impacts to the entire San Francisco Bay Area
of imposing certain point source discharge limits,particularly in the absence of any analysis of the
presumed environmental benefits and the likely economic impacts.
PASSED by unanimous vote of the Board Members present on this 18`h day of July,
2000.
Vote of Supervisors: Witness my hand and the Seal of the Board of
Supervisors affixed on this 18th day of July,
- _ -t.Jmnirnvuus�Absent- - - - - - } 2000.
PHIL BATCHELOR,Clerk of the Board of
��a. Ayes Noes Supervisors and County Administrator
#1 Absent Abstain
By.
Deputy
Inced � �
Supervisor Joseph Canciamilla,District'V
Resolution 2000/351