The Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board adopted Resolution No. R8-2022-0017, on June 3, 2022, amending the Water Quality Control Plan for the Santa Ana River Basin (Basin Plan). The State Water Resources Control Board approved the amendment under Resolution No. 2022-0047 on November 15, 2022.
The amendment revises the schedule for attaining the Fecal Coliform Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for shellfish harvesting (SHEL) in Newport Bay to extend the deadline from December 31, 2022, to December 31, 2030, and makes other non-substantive editorial changes. The amendment also updates the implementation plan schedule Table 6-1g of the Basin Plan to reference dry and wet weather studies being conducted to evaluate whether the fecal coliform water quality objectives currently established in the Basin Plan and used in the TMDLs correlate with fecal indicator bacteria and pathogens in shellfish and are protective of the SHEL beneficial use. The results of these studies may indicate that the Santa Ana Water Board should consider revision of the SHEL fecal coliform water quality objectives and the TMDLs.
Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 23, § 3979.14