Hot Topics for BACWA in
2008
Dave Williams
Chair of the Executive Board
January 2008
BACWA – Leading the way to protect our Bay
2007 – A Busy Year for BACWA
• Team Work, Communication and Coordination
•
across BACWA Members
Building Relationships
– Meetings with State Board, WB and EPA
• Collaboration with Clean H2O Summit
– SSO Training and Ops Certification Issue
• Regulatory Issues for Permits and Basin Plans
• Water Recycling
• Collection System Issues
• Climate Change
BACWA Provides a Return
On Investment
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Completion of the Hg TMDL
Watershed Permit for Hg
Active and engaged Committees
Cu and CN SSO Adoptions
Regional Collaboration on new issues
Meetings with WB and EPA Staff
Staff Development – Networking across the
Region and Professional Development
Focus on The Three C’s
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Cooperation
Active and Visible Advocacy for
Cleanwater Agencies
• All participants of BACWA have been
active over the last year
– Board and Committee Meetings
– Meetings with WB, EPA, SWRCB, NGOs
– Collaborating on Comment Letters
• To WB, SWRCB and EPA
– Providing Testimony
– Participation in IRWMP
– Regional Biosolids Collaboration
Success on Completion of Basin Plans
• Completing Basin Plan Amendments
– Cu Site Specific Objective
– CN Site Specific Objective
– Hg TMDL Adopted
• All three Basin Plans at EPA Region 9 for
Approval
• Hg Watershed Permit Adopted
Especially Busy Year with Permits
• Compliance Schedules are no longer
allowed in permits
• Numerical effluent limits for Dioxin
• New requirements for blending
• BACWA Permit Committee engaged and
working together on these issues
• Comments and Appeals on all permits
• ED testifies at Water Board
Groundbreaking Water Recycling
Work by BACWA Committee
• “The Importance of Recycled Water for
the San Francisco Bay Area”
– Copies for sent to all members so you can
share with your elected officials
• Workshop in October in cooperation with
Water Reuse Foundation
– Committee is considering next steps
BACWA As Visible Representative
of Our Agencies
• Annual Report provides information about
the activities of the organization
• Article for the Pulse of the Estuary
– “The History of Municipal Wastewater
Treatment; 35 Years of POTWs Protecting the
Bay”
– Provides historical view of our
accomplishments
– Prepared as part of the 35 Anniversary of the
Clean Water Act
Awards and Recognition for our
BAPPG
• EPA Environmental Award for Outstanding
Achievement
– Safe Medicine Collection Events in May 2006
and April 2007
• First Teng Chung Wu Award for P2
– Creating a Dental Amalgam Program
• Outstanding CCMP Award for SF Estuary
Project
– Pharmaceutical Collection Program
Biosolids Committee Active on
Solano County Ordinance
• Provides for ability to continue land
application of class B in Solano County
Anticipated Focus for 2008
• Collections Systems
• Implementation of
Basin Plan Amendments
• Permits
• Biosolids Strategy
• Special issues
– Dioxin and Bacteria
– Se TMDL
• Beyond Pollution Prevention
BACWA’s Commitment on Collection
Systems Issues is Unwavering
•Fact Sheet on Laterals
•Work with North Bay
Watershed Association on Model
Ordinance
•Continue to work on reporting
via statewide electronic systems
•Inspection/Audits from
Regulatory Agencies
Implementation of New
Requirements
• Hg TMDL
– Local Effects determination
– Risk Reduction
– New annual reports
– Complete WERF study
– Dental amalgam for entire region
Copper SSO – North of the
Dumbarton Bridge
• Provides for:
– Dissolved objectives for specific segments
– Translators for deep water
– Implementation Plan
– Monitoring Plan
Cu SSO Implementation in Permits
• WQBEL regardless of reasonable potential
• Baseline Program for P2
• Advanced P2 if warranted
• Support of Studies
• Monitoring and Reporting
Cyanide SSO
• New Standards for SF Bay Marine Waters
– Chronic
– Acute
4 day average 2.9 ug/l
1 Hour 9.4 ug/l
• Dilution Credits for Shallow Water
Dischargers
• Implementation Plan
What to Expect In NPDES Permits
• WQBEL
• Influent, Effluent Monitoring and
participation in RMP for ambient
monitoring
• Source Review every 5 years
• If potential for CN in influent
– Prevent illicit discharges
– Inspect, Educate and Emergency response
plan
New Challenges – Shellfish
Designation in Basin Plan
• Working with WB and national experts on
designation and what it means for
permits
Numerical WQBELs for Dioxin
• BACWA working with WB/EPA and
independent panel on Issue Paper
• Create a shared understanding of the
dioxin issues for SF Bay
PCB TMDL
• Many of the same issues as Hg
– Legacy
– WLA and Permit Limits
– Implementation of TMDL
– Adaptive management
• Continue development of multi-box
model of the Bay and these type of
legacy pollution
Biosolids – What Options Do We
Have?
• April 11, 2008 BACWA-Wide Workshop on
Biosolids Issues for the Bay Area/Nor Cal
– Understand our issues
– Discuss our options
– Create a strategic agenda and vision for our
Biosolids Committee
Pollution Prevention Will Play Even
Bigger Role in Compliance
• Our tool kit is getting more sophisticated
• Relying on our Media Relations and our
dedicated staff across BACWA Members
Wait, There’s More
• Lab Committee is working on important
issues related to analytical methods and
reporting for DMR
• Recycled Water Committee – follow up on
the successful workshop and update our
chapter for the IRWMP
• AB 32 and GHG issues as part of AIR and
participation in statewide committee
Forging Alliances and Focusing on
the 3Cs
• Our desire is to make our mission a reality
• Produce cleanwater for SF Bay
• Don’t want to get burned
Leading the Way to Protect Our Bay